Kansas City, Missouri was granted a charter franchise in the American Basketball Association in February 1967.
In 1961, the American Basketball League was formed; one of its teams were the Kansas City Steers, who qualified for the ABL's first (and only) championship series in 1962, which they lost to the Cleveland Pipers.
On February 2, 1967, the ABA was created with eleven charter teams, including an unnamed Kansas City franchise.
[1] The Kansas City team was awarded for $35,000 to James B. Trindle; on March 27, 1967, Vince Boryla was named general manager.
Meanwhile, Trindle's financial problems lead Boryla to resign; ultimately, the team was sold to J. William Ringsby and his son, who soon renamed the team the Denver Rockets in homage to his local trucking business, Ringsby Rocket Truck Lines.