The Minnesota Ripknees were an American basketball team of the American Basketball Association. The Ripknees briefly joined the Premier Basketball League after starting playing one season in the ABA.The team gets its unusual name after "Ripknee", a character in stories (with a hole in the knee of his blue jeans) which former co-owner John Jurewicz used to tell his son, William (also a former co-owner) on long car trips. The team ceased operations after 2008.