Though they were not the first professional basketball team in Pittsburgh, the Pipers may be the most remembered. Whether it was due to their name, their uniforms, or their instant-success, the Pipers have left an imprint in Pittsburgh to never be forgotten. The next round ball team to arrive in the city after the Rens departure in 1963, the Pipers emerged in 1967, and found immediate achievement.

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In their debut season, the Pipers would win the ABA’s very first ABA Championship. Led by future Hall-of-Famer Connie Hawkins, the team would go on to win game 7, of a 7-game series over New Orleans at the Civic Arena. Despite the ABA’s best record, a championship, the league’s MVP, and a decent attendance at the Igloo, the Pipers were moved to Minnesota the following season. The Pipers would return one year later, but would not reach success as quickly as before. With a decline in attendance, the team changed their name to the “Pittsburgh Condors”, and would only last two more seasons – never being picked up by the NBA merger.