The Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonel. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history. However, the team did not join the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger. The downtown Louisville Convention Center was the Colonels' venue for their first three seasons before moving to Freedom Hall for the remaining seasons, beginning with the 1970–71 schedule.