NBA at 50: 1970s The NBA vs. the ABA
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- Опубліковано 14 лип 2024
- The American Basketball Association also succeeded in signing a number of major stars, including Julius Erving, in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. The NBA expanded rapidly during this period, one purpose being to tie up the most viable cities. From 1966 to 1974, the NBA grew from nine franchises to 18; the New Orleans Jazz (now in Utah) came aboard in 1974. Then, following the 1976 season, the leagues reached a settlement that provided for the addition of four ABA franchises to the NBA, raising the number of franchises in the league at that time to 22. The franchises were the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers and New York Nets. Some of the biggest stars of this era were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Barry, Dave Cowens, Julius Erving, Walt Frazier, Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, Dan Issel and Pete Maravich.
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I love this video because the 70s were a wonderful era for pro basketball. I used to watch both the ABA and the NBA and the NBA after the merger a lot and there were so many great players. In the ABA you had greats like Doc, Barry, McGinnis, Issel, Gilmore, Connie Hawkins, etc... and in the NBA you had Barry, Havlicek, Jerry West, Wilt, McAdoo, Cowens, etc... Thanks for posting! 👏
Well said
Loved the ABA......still miss it......
I remember watching the NBA vs. ABA All-Star game in the summer. Believe me there were no easy layups in that game! The ABA played hard for recognition and pride and the NBA barely won. Dr. J was impressive.
There used to be pre season interleague match ups between NBA and ABA clubs. Eventually the ABA beat the NBA, 79 wins to the NBA's 76 wins. The NBA didn't want the basketball version of the Super Bowl because they feared the ABA will show them up.
God I LOVED the ABA... You could go buy a ticket that day for the game, and sit two rows behind the bench.... I LOVED IT!!!!
Yes, you're right. I used to go watch the San Antonio Spurs downtown in the city's arena.
It was fun..no big money and you see the best basketball players of all time. Iceman Gervin, Dr.J of New Jersey nets, Artis Gilmore of Kentucky Colonels and many others.
ABA brought the 3 shot to the NBA.
You could hear players talking sitting there close to the arena's floor.
I had very good memories with friends there watching many ABA games.
Gerald Govan was the greatest rebounder ever in the ABA! What an underrated great player! Mr Govan was one of only 6 players to play all 9 seasons that the ABA was in existence.
What George McGinnis?
You are absolutely right about Govan's ABA career. He was joined by Freddie Lewis, Byron Beck, Bob Netolicky, Stew Johnson and Louis Dampier.
@@trapezemusic You mention the name of ABA fixture Byron Beck, shouldn't he deserve to be known as "Mr. Denver Rocket-Denver Nugget" just as Louie Dampier could be known as "Mr. Kentucky Colonel"? Congratulations to the 2023
NBA Champion Denver Nuggets, champions after 56 long years of play!
@@gregpaspatis9425 Very good idea. Have the Nuggets retired Byron Beck's uniform number?
The best time for basketball, in my opinion, was the '76 merger, the arrival of Bird and Magic in 79, the arrival of the "Class of 84, the Showtime Lakers vs. the Slow Down Celts, the Twin Towers in Houston, the Detroit Bad Boys, and the dominance of the Chicago Bulls, with Clutch City squeezed in. Probably the 1st half of the new Millineum, but after that ,😭😭😭! Today, it's a game of individuals and no loyalty. No wonder one team dominates. The stars, today, aren't willing to be patient the way Jordan was, to get the pieces needed to get three peat #1.
The ABA had a crappy TV contract with CBS to show about 8 games per season -- I tried to watch whenever I could. NBA games were on ABC pretty much every weekend.
I still remember the funky theme music CBS used for its ABA coverage.
@MANCHESTER UNITED F.C bruh gtfoh
I was lucky. The Pacers were on TV all the time in Indiana. Too bad most people didn't get great teams like the Utah Stars and the Colonels. And there was nothing better than watching George McGinnis and Julius Serving go head to head
I was lucky. The Pacers were on TV all the time in Indiana. Too bad most people didn't get great teams like the Utah Stars and the Colonels. And there was nothing better than watching George McGinnis and Julius Serving go head to head.
Hawk was the man. First true big ABA star. Sadly spent his prime in 2 ABA yrs and prior with Globetrotters.
Went to a lot of Nets games at the old LI Coliseum. Those unis were super cool. And the Nets were great! Dr. J, Larry Kenon (Dr. K), Super John Williamson... great team.
those maravich highlights--damn! way ahead of his time.
Funny, I think the best team of that decade in either league was actually the ABA's Kentucky Colonels (with one of the all-time great frontcourt tandems in Artis Gilmore and Dan Issel). Made the playoffs all five seasons Gilmore was with them, including two Finals appearances in '73 and '75 winning the latter due to improved team defense. Makes me wish they had a World Series-type finals for the best teams in both leagues to see which one was truly top dog...
@slip satch Nah, Gilmore was still deep in his prime when the Bulls got him. He also shot much better from the FT line with them than he did during his ABA heyday with the Colonels. They just didn't surround him with the right pieces like the Colonels' front office did prior to the merger. That allowed opposing teams to collapse the paint on him at will, knowing he didn't have enough reliable outside shooters to counter that annoying defensive scheme and allow him to fully dominate inside. Besides, Gilmore really didn't start declining until right after the 1982-83 season (his first with the Spurs) and even then he still remained an All-Star caliber center for another 2 seasons after that.
That's funny....I thought it was the Indiana PACERS that won the title 3 times!
ABA was the greatest basketball league ever loved it
Absolutely...especially Dawkins. He could jump so high for a big. Explosive talent that never really panned out.
World B Free aka Lloyd - Boy could he light it up!!! One of the best face up cross over dribble rainbow jump shots ever!!
The ABA won the overall series versus the NBA, played from 1971 to 1975, 79 games to 76. The ABA dominated the last three years of the series, winning 62 games to 34. The ABA had some tremendously talented players, including Julius Erving, Rick Barry, David Thompson, George Gervin, Connie Hawkins, Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel, Maurice Lucas, Moses Malone, George McGinnis, Bobby Jones, and Louie Dampier. I still miss the red, white, and blue ball!
A lot of the better NBA teams refused to play exhibition games against ABA teams. The Celtics in particular played very few ABA exhibitions.
NBA teams often made a big deal of not caring about ABA exhibitions, playing starters very sparingly and playing rookies and scrubs. On the other hand the ABA teams went all out to win.
@@JStarStar00 interesting. But not entirely true.
If they would've let teams like the Pacers, Colonels, Nets come into the NBA already assembled as they was, instead of treating them like expansion teams, they would've dominated the league in my opinion.
I had a red, white and blue ball, the leather ones were unbelievable. You'd hate to get it dirty.
@@JStarStar00the Celtics played the a b a teams in preseason games afew times but I remember the Lakers refused to do it
DR. J saved the NBA. He put respect on NBA.
I remember the St. Louis Spirit having basically a all star team that help build the NBA. Marvin Barnes could have been huge if wasn't so full of himself.
The Spirits of St. Louis (the former Houston Mavericks and the Carolina Cougars) had losing records in the ABA, but their players were colorful;
perhaps Marvin Barnes could have been its greatest player. Only trouble
is that he did not like to catch planes when the team played its games
on the road. Second, Barnes had a reputation as being incorrigible.
One more thing you probably did not know about the Spirits: they had a
young broadcaster named Bob Costas.
Thanks to the ABA!
The NBA was archaic and without his biggest rival, basketball would has never been that big. The NBA made many mistakes : players weren't allowed to be flamboyant, NBA dribbling rules were too strict; there was no camaraderie between players; athletes didn't practiced or played hard because they thought they were too good to practice (Doug Moe's words *reference -> Pluto, Terry. The Short, Wild Life of The American Basketball Association, 1990.*); the NBA pace was slow; offensive and defensive strategies were basically non existent; no three-point line!
ABA saved basketball!
Dave Toussaint Can you explain more please ????
Dave Toussaint. Balderdash!
Philly was one big man away! They had two centers and Big Bill beat them both to shame, Darrel Dawkins and Caldwell Jones were worthless in the Post season. The finally got ABA great Moses Malone.
so basically this was streetball before streetball
ABA was where "Pistol" Pete Maravich should've played in his prime instead of the old, stifling, and completely rigid system of the NBA. Him, Dr. J, Iceman (George Gervin), and Skywalker (David Thompson) would've kept fans glued to their damn seats in a way never seen before since...
Those were the wild and woolly days. What fun! Run and gun!
I have to get a throw back Sixers Jersey. Those were dope
The only thing better about the NBA now is the technology has gotten better, and it has been able to create a much larger hype machine to promote the game. As far as the game itself and how it is played, they are doing everything backwards. They reward unproven kids with massive contracts, they play for the 3pt shot instead of getting it inside for the highest % shot. There is very little post play, making the game seem softer, and it seems to be over coached in the direction of the 3pt shot, they don't have 130 to 140 scores anymore like the "run and gun" style of the 70's and 80's. Imagine Lebron playing in that fast paced style, he would probably avg 30 plus a game with way more easy baskets and chances to show his athleticism. In todays game he spends most of his time in the half court shooting outside shots.
SCREW the nba..they ALWAYS say Doc won 1 championship...he won THREE...they still have NO respect for the ABA
Mark Ash-Petta A lot of people also say the Pacers never won a single championship when they really won 3 in the ABA.
No doubt, it's revisionist history, Ervings two ABA titles were from underdog odds and the Pacers ABA dynasty were all time great team.
This is why I think the "merger" is just laughable when NBA can't evencounted all of the player accomplishment from ABA. They'll just count based on their league lmao ! Nba is play themselves
And the nba took ideas from what the ABA had, the slam dunk contest and the 3 point line.
No question, those 3 would have fit right in to the style.
Much Gratitude
ABA Players we COOOOOOL
aba saved the nba in 70s
master 82575 you got it backwards, aba, had dr j, he sold tickets, refreshments drove people to the basketball game, artis Gilmore, he have jabber dome competition, mose malone legendary super great center my hero, but
@@lloydkline7245 aba is better in 70s then nba,
@slip satch yes it was dr j thompson gervin gilomore come from aba in nba. and lot of young players
@slip satch aba have 3 points shoot befiore nba and all star slam dunk conest.and they played faster modern basketball
an beatiful basketball ball blue red white
Roger Brown is the best ABA player never to play in the NBA. He should be in the Hall of Fame now.
Finally got in a few years ago. Took too long.
the 1 dislike is from David Stern
The ABA was far more superior than the old NBA as the old AFL was superior to the old NFL.
Yup, ABA finally "came of age" during the 1970-71 season and from 1974-76 they were THE premier league in all of pro-basketball (THANK YOU DR. J, WOO-HOO!!!).
;-D
@PeekaPeep ABA started in 1967-68
No it wasn't..
@@PeekaPeepthe NBA teams played better defense
@@manny4552 Debatable, especially during the final 3 seasons of the ABA in which that league was pretty much taking the NBA's "lunch money" more often than not (lol)...
Love the old unis
I also loved the Ball!
Big Bill Walton was simply awesome! I also luv da docta Julius ERRRRrrrVVVvvving!
Yes, in the NBA. But in the ABA, George was a killer. Never fit in too well w/Erving at Philly. He seemed to pattern his game after Julius, or tried to. He would have been better off as a Karl Malone type of a wingman.
Those 76ers warmups were🔥
Just because doctor J was there, the ABA was better then the NBA.
How odd it would have been in 1968 to think the Dallas Chaparalls would one day supplant the Cowboys as the top pro team in Texas
i thought the Spurs were the top pro team in Texas. That's what it looks like from the outside. Both have been incredible and I think it's good for basketball in the south that they have really good basketball teams. Historically, California has the Lakers, New England has the Celtics, Illinois has the Bulls, and Texas has the Spurs.
Mark Aponte I know. In terms of basketball, they are the best team in Texas.
Mark Aponte No. the Chaparrals weren't the best team by far back then. There was an era where the Cowboys dominated the NFL in the early and late 70s and they haven't been elite in a long time.
I don't know. I thought that's what we were talking about when you mentioned the OP talking about the late 60s an early 70s. I didn't think I was going off topic but I guess I did.
The Dallas Chaparrals were a bust. The franchise was poorly promoted and could not compete with the city's most successful franchise (at the time)-the NFL's Cowboys. The Chaps moved to San Antonio in 1973,
where they were renamed the Spurs. In 1980, the NBA came to Dallas
with a franchise that was here to stay-the Mavericks.
Did you see Cowen's diving for that ball....these punks today would not think of doing something like that. Now that was basketball in the 1970's. I grew up watching the players and teams from that era....to me it was the "Golden Age" of professional basketball!
I literally have seen people dive into crowds, breaking bones etc. to keep the ball in....
+Milky Way Bull#$%@.....what game are you watching?
+R.E. Lopez apparently the games you arent, I've seen people in my city league 12U, dive out for the ball, you obviously are being ignorant and just don't watch basketball anymore, or enough.
Me too a great era
Bull @@luzivrr7753
I was clearly an ABA fan, but since they didn't have games on TV, I embraced the ABA
When North America used to had 2 major basketball league...
At least there's a new version now.
Groovy!
@tuzwol You should go back and look at the NBA archives footage from his days with the Phoenix Suns. He faced the dominant Wilt Chamberlain led Lakers and gave those guys quite a series in the early seventies playoffs. He was amazing. The guy was actually past his prime then because he was barred from the NBA in his younger days due to an alleged scandal
Basketball changed a lot
You make aba jerseys? I was wondering if you have any idea where to even find a pic of 1975 virginia squires jersey
The aba offered a ton of money to the great John havlicek .. he loved the Celtics and Boston but he said he was tempted by their huge offer at the time
The NBA needed the ABA to understand that there were other great players and markets out there for them.
Aba was the best
Imagine if Maravich, Monoe and Archibald had played in the ABA...I think Pistol for sure should have...he was too much too soon for the NBA hence the lack of playoff success during his career. He would have fit great in that run and gun style the ABA had.
THIS is the kind of excitement the NBA lacks now.
@dalmain77 that song is called "let it flow by grover washington this song was made for and inspired by julius dr.j erving
Exactly...what documentary is this clip from? The narrator sounds like the guy on PBS's "Frontline."
NBA at 50 DVD, which might have been a doc on TNT first?
ua-cam.com/video/77U8iUiC9GA/v-deo.html
where are the flint tropics i love coffee black and jackie moon
If The ABA was still here, they'd wipe out the NBA
@realraw99 Thanks. I found some music by Washington Jr. I have an old vhs tape that has great music to some of the all time greats like Chamberlain, Dr. J, Kareem, and others. Always wanted to find the complete music pieces.
Correction Dr j was the aba
Sorry to burst your bubble but it was a team with 4 aba allstars, the PACERS that made the NBA take notice. They beat the NBA champions every year that the series was held. I know,I was there. Oh by the way ,Dr J shared one of those MVP'S with George Mcginnis, who then left for Philadelphia. IJS
I"m glad you Acknowledge the Greatest Player to play in the ABA. But it was Roger not Connie. ps, I make jerseys off all Aba players. I"ll be posting a video soon.
1972 dr j nd pete teamed up never forget bucks drafted dr j in 72 at 12th pick
What is the jazzy music in the background?
Larry Bird would have fit right in the ABA.
Good thing Larry Bird came in the league by late 70s-early 90s, 3 years after the merger. Talk about the late 60s and 70s player, I think Fred Brown, Jerry West and Pete Maravich would have fit right in the ABA. Rick Barry should have stayed in ABA league too
@@ytgc-royalewarex5190Rick wanted to stay with the (NY) Nets, after moving from Oakland to Washington, then the Nets. But the courts ruled he had to return to the NBA Warriors after his ABA contract expired.
Basketball with style.
...what a horrendous double dribble by Pistol at 22s
RUMPELSTILTSKY it's called a carry but good try, it's quite common in today's game
Eric "but good try"? How rich. It was a double dribble once Pistol dribbled the ball with his left hand. How did the ball get to his left hand? From his right hand - without having bounced on the ground to continue the dribble. He effectively picked up his dribble once it left one hand and went to the other without having bounced. That he continued the dribble with the left makes it a double dribble. Perhaps you think a carry should've been called when he scooped the ball behind his back with the right, seemingly going under the ball to do so. It only would have been a carry if after he scooped the ball it then bounced and he continued dribbling it with the same hand. That didn't happen. A player can put their hand under the ball as it bounces up off the floor as long as they don't continue the dribble. He did. In this specific case it became a double dribble the instant it touched the ground after leaving his left hand. Picking up the dribble doesn't necessarily require a player to have put both hands on the ball after dribbling. Carries happen just about every third dribble in today's game. Almost all go uncalled. Double dribbles are rarer and are almost always called. But what Pistol did in that clip simply doesn't happen in today's game. You don't know what you're talking about.
Yup. I had to watch it at .25 speed to see it, but the play didn't look quite right. In the refs' defense, there were only 2 of them and they weren't expecting anything like that, so I can understand how they missed it.
The colorful Darryl Dawkins should have been an ABA player also, and Bill Walton would have fit right in to the league with his unconventional, countercultural image.
What is this from?
It's been 38 years now, and I still think the NBA ripped off the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA...top 10 in pro attendance, a very competitive team and a top-rank front office in a major-league arena as of the 1976 dissolution. Guess the NBA didn't want to compete with another good team-besides, the NBA coveted the Colonels players (Gilmore et al). And metro Louisville is bigger than 3 current NBA markets. Anti-trust violation...hmmm?
4 THE PAST FEW DAYZ I BEEN OBSESSED WITH THE COLONELS HOPE THEY COME BACK
The ones that made out like BANDITS were the Silnas brothers of the Spirit s. What some call the " greatest buyout in the history of sports". 250 million And counting on the annual tv revenue of all four teams bought out...forever.
***** I believe they came to an agreement to end the buyout. It's a shame a great sports city like St. Louis doesn't have an NBA team.
King Bee They had a NBA exhibition game at the KFC Yum Center and drew over 21,000 fans. The interest is still there, maybe its time to get a team to move there and resurrect the Colonels name.
rockvilleraven Kansas City needs a team 1st
Correct.
Man, this was a misleading title. I thought it was a game of ABA stars vs NBA stars.
*70s brought style.*
Right.
Dr J pattered his game from Connie Hawkins or the HAWK !
Bill Walton's voice still annoys me to this day.
Hey BILL WALTON. U really dont believe that the trailblazer 77 so called championship was won by the blazers over the sixers because of contrasting styles of play!!!!!
3:53
The ABA was more exciting with the Red White and Blue Basketball with better Players, the NBA was slow and clumsy Eastern North Carolina Basketball ❤️💯 K-Town 🏀🏀🏀💪🏾
ABA = And1's Granddady !!
It always boggled my mind how that 1977 NBA championship was defined as the 76ers being this 'crazy, Ghetto-ball circus' team vs. the 'Quiet smart, team-ball oriented Portland team! I mean, how did the 76ers GET to the finals 'without ' playing like a 'team'??? The obvious racism in that always blew me away, then and now!!
6:09 watch Dawkins use his free hand to enhance his dunk...never saw that before...legal?
@PeekaPeep that was a good team,wish they would have come into the nba. that spurs team was nice also(Paultz,Gervin and my man Larry kenon)all of which played for the nets(best uniforms also)
The two league's would merge? Hah! More like a massacre.....
CatfishHunter61 What happened?
The fact MILLIONAIRE NBA players didn't give a crap about Mikan when he couldn't afford proper dialysis treatment is pathetic.
What about the billionaire owners?
Dr just was the aba
I am sorry but the NBA in the 60's was boring as what you can see. If you can not adapt to change, or make innovations then you will die as an institution.
Nba
Revisionist History. The NBA was the greatest. ABA did not have the major stars. The league was minor league. No defense. Walt,West,Hondo,Wilt,Kareem,Pete,Barry,Thurmond,Bing,Haywood,and Wilkins. Dr. J wanted to play in the NBA with the Hawks. That league was saved by Dave Debuscherre!
the aba was the shit, basketball at its finest!
N!ce
ray allen's better
george mcgennis was over rated....with his stupid one handed shot...