Perhaps this is a reach, but I was wondering if there are some folks here either old enough to remember the ABA or who are enough of a basketball historian to evaluate the relative strengths of the two leagues. If we establish a baseline where the NBA is say a 10, how would you all rate the ABA?
It's been so long I can't really remember enough to compare the talent level. As a kid, my first 2-3 years of following professional basketball was watching the Pacers on local TV and going to games. I didn't even know about the NBA yet. As a wild guess, if the NBA was a 10 the ABA was about a 6. There were great players, great action, great games and great rivalries (at least for the Pacers), but I think the depth of talent was lacking. Those were great time for me.
When it first formed, the ABA was definitely a minor league. But despite financial problems and frequent franchise moves/folds, it was able to attract top-level talents throughout the early 1970s. Because of its instability, the league as a whole was never as good as the NBA, but by the end, its all-stars — Julius Erving, David Thompson, Artis Gilmore, George McGinnis, Maurice Lucas, George Gervin, Moses Malone, Dan Issel, Marvin Webster —*were better than what the NBA had to offer. Also, the league's top teams, the Nets, Nuggets, Colonels, Spurs and Pacers, were at least the equal of the 1975 Warriors and 1976 Celtics that were winning NBA titles. The ABA was a lot more fun, too. It had the three-point shot, the red-white-and-blue ball, dunk contests, outrageous personalities and Dr. J, the ultimate legend that the public rarely saw because of the league's poor TV contract. If you ever get the chance, watch "The Last Night of the ABA" on NBA TV. It features an all-time classic game between Denver and New York, a duel between Erving and Thompson that's better than any NBA game of that era. I'm old enough to remember basketball in the early and mid-70s, and I absolutely preferred watching the ABA.
That statement, from the link proved above, is completely, totally, and utterly untrue The ABA won the overall interleague series, 79 games to 76. The NBA dominated early, but look at the last 3 years: 15-10 ABA in 1973, 16-7 ABA in 1974, 31-17 ABA in 1975. http://www.remembertheaba.com/abastatistics/abanbaexhibitions.html By the time of the merger, the surviving ABA teams were the full equal of good NBA teams. Of course, financial problems had consolidated teams and talent by dispersal drafts, to the ABA's advanatge, though some top talent like George McGinnis became unaffordable and jumped to the NBA. I watched ABA games, in person, from 1970 until the merger. I watched NBA games, in person, in the same time frame. The reason? As a kid I lived halfway between Indianapolis (home of the Pacers) and Cincinnati (then the home of the Cincinnati Royals, who eventually became the Kings). After the merger, the NBA stripped the ABA teams of an entire draft and didn't allow them any TV money at all. Basically the ABA teams were severely finacially stapped and lost their remaining best players to teams with money. This made the NBA lok better and seem like the ABA franchises were worthless. That is my firsthand account, and I stand by it!
interesting fact: After the 1974-75 regular season, the ABA Champion Kentucky Colonels formally challenged the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors to a "World Series of Basketball," with the winner to take a $1 Million purse (to come from anticipated TV revenues). The NBA and the Warriors refused the challenge. Again, after the 1975-76 season, the ABA Champion New York Nets offered to play the NBA Champion Boston Celtics in a winner-take-all game, with the proceeds going to benefit the 1976 United States Olympic team. Predictably, the Celtics declined to participate.
I remember hearing about that. The NBA had nothing to gain and everything to lose so their decision was understandable. Your inter-league stats surprise me. Interesting.
Growing up in Indianapolis, I was a huge Pacers fan as a kid when they were in the ABA. It was definitely an innovative and exciting league. The NBA stole their best ideas (except the red, white and blue ball), and put them out of business.
I did! It smelled like cows all year long because of the animal auctions from the fair in August. I watched George McGinnis set an ABA record with 30-something rebounds in a game. Big Mac was a beast for 5-6 years but was a smoker and a junk food junkie, so his career peak was rather short. The Pacers ended up stupidly trading to get him back, giving up Alex English. Of course there was a 5 year span in the late 70s/early 80s there where: -they traded future HOF-er English for washed up older Big Mac -they "needed a player now" so didn't draft Larry Bird as a draft-eligible redshirted junior, under the rules of the time, and picked Rick Robey instead -they traded a future first rounder for a journeyman center (Tom Owens), a pick that could have been used for Michael Jordan -They lost the draft lotteries for Patrick Ewing and Ralph Sampson, settling for second picks Waymon Tisdale and Steve Stipanovich -They lost a young all-star perennial 20/10 player, Clark Kellogg, to a career-ending knee injury - Stipanovich looked to be on the way to becoming a servicable center, then he was lost to a to a career-ending knee injury The NBA years pre-Reggie were frankly a long nightmare
