6 Long-lost franchises the NBA needs to breathe life back into

1) Pittsburgh Pipers/Condors

With recent rumblings that Pittsburgh was looking to land an NBA expansion team, were that to happen, then the league could dust off the Condors. The Pipers were an inaugural ABA team and won the first ever ABA championship.

They briefly left town for Minnesota before returning and later changing their name to the cooler-sounding Condors. Of course, they didn't survive and actually folded years before the merger and no professional basketball team has resided in Pittsburg in more than 50 years since.

Surprisingly, Pittsburgh actually has a larger population than Philadelphia, which is home to the 76ers, one of the NBA's earliest franchises. Pennsylvania also has nearly 13 million residents, making it the largest state in terms of population not to have two NBA teams.

With the NBA seriously looking at expansion, that fact alone should have some sway, though two cities may have them beat. If the league does eventually expand beyond those teams, then we could one day see the Condors fly again.