[2] Jackson then partnered with Tawan Slaughter to purchase an American Basketball Association (ABA) franchise for the city in November 2012.

[3] Amateur teams were fielded by Jackson under the Buffalo Blue Hawks name beginning in 2013, and in December 2015 the club joined the American Basketball Association's Northeast D2 Division.

In its inaugural game of the 2015–16 ABA season, the team lost on the road to the Steel City Yellow Jackets by a score of 61–147 on December 12, 2015.

[9] Smith was again named NABL Player of the Week after scoring 38 points, 20 rebounds, and 7 assists in the team's 135–102 victory over the Detroit Cobras on June 1, 2019.

[12] Robert Cornelius announced in October 2019 that the franchise would rebrand as the Buff City Braves and once again join the American Basketball Association (ABA), but instead the team was folded.