The Albany Patroons have a very long history. The team began in 1982 as an expansion franchise in the Continental Basketball Association. During their time in the CBA, the Patroons won two championships (1983-84 and 1987-88), and provided a pathway for several players and coaches to matriculate to the NBA.
Then, in 1992, the Patroons underwent a corporate rebranding as the Capital Region Pontiacs (yuck), and lasted for one season with that name before relocating to Hartford, Connecticut for the 1993-94 season. The team, now known as the Hartford Hellcats, survived to the middle of the 1995 season before folding.
In 2005, the Patroons returned to the CBA, and played in the Washington Avenue Armory for 3 1/2 years, until the CBA itself folded in 2009. Albany made two CBA finals during that time – 2007 (lost to Yakama) and 2009 (lost to the Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry).
In 2017, the Patroons reappeared, now as a member of the North American Premier Basketball League (later rebranded as the TBL, “The Basketball League” in 2018). In 2019, the Patroons defeated the Yakima Sun Kings for the TBL championship. Then, partway through the 2020 season, the entire TBL closed up due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Patroons returned to the TBL in 2022, and picked up where they left off. They made it to the championship round in 2022, to the semifinals in 2023, and to the quarterfinals in 2024 and 2025.
And now … the Patroons are sitting out the 2026 season.
There’s a lot of moving parts here, and I’m not completely sure I can assemble all the pieces. Minor league basketball is a nexus of different leagues and organizations. The league one rung below the NBA is the NBA G-League (G for Gatorade, more corporate sponsorship), and that’s where most NBA teams keep their professional prospects. After that, there’s a mixture of independent leagues scattered throughout North America – the Basketball Super League (with most of their teams in Canada), the TBL, the ABA (they have a franchise in Saratoga Springs), and the newly-resurrected United States Basketball League, which originally operated from 1985 to 2007.
And right now, the Patroons aren’t in the plans for any of those leagues. With that in mind, it’s financially more feasible to sit a year and return in 2027 when the sports landscape is clearer.
But the Patroons aren’t going away completely. The team will remain in the community and participate in community projects and other prominent functions.
Even with that in mind … I hate this news. I hate not having the Pats take the Armory floor and dominate against all opponents.
I guess the only thing I can do is wait until 2027 for more Patroons games.
I mean, the Patroons have gone away before … and returned.
I just wish they didn’t have to go away.
Chuck The Writer 
It’s comforting to hear that “The team will remain in the community and participate in community projects…”, but that’s a tough way for a group of talented athletes to make a living for a year. Sad situation all the way around.
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