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00:04I see an America, on the move again, the 1975, a diverse and vital and tolerant nation, what
00:19you have here is the acid drive, everyone here is going to a whole new plateau, I have
00:28Muhammad Ali, he got too big for the big money in New York, he went into places like the
00:33Philippines, I say I don't want to knock him out, but I'm going to let him go, insanity
00:41must be brought back to basketball, I think the climate has changed, there's criticism
00:45there's need for change, and no one can drag a player onto the court and make him perform,
00:50this isn't a slavery, $250,000 a year, if that's slavery, I'd like to know where to sign
00:54on, the American Basketball Association played with a bright colored ball that made you want
01:05to salute, look at that move behind the back, wow, that's the way the game should be played,
01:15I feel that I wasn't being paid when I should have, he appealed his case to the United States
01:20Supreme Court, if they don't merge, a lot of these players are going to be out of a job,
01:28there's no tomorrow,
01:46In the summer of 1975, the ABA reached its pinnacle, the 75 ABA championship was the most well-attended
01:56in league history, the talent in the league showed 16 active players and coaches who were
02:02going to be pro basketball, Hall of Famers, and the ABA was consistently beating the NBA
02:08in head-to-head exhibition games, while thriving on the court, the ABA's ongoing financial distress
02:17had the league on life support, anytime that you win a championship, the worst thing you can do is
02:23stand pat, so you don't worry about that when we get to camp on September 24th, but we do kind
02:29of feel
02:29that it will be quite competitive, when we won the championship in 75, that next fall, all of a sudden
02:37things are crumbling and falling apart. The league was under such pressure now, because there was only so much money.
02:46National television, NBA, ABA, local television, we needed the money, because certain teams are falling.
02:56Now you talk about tense. There's a tense time now. Last month, the New York Nets and the Denver Nuggets
03:04of the
03:04American Basketball Association applied for admission to the NBA without notifying the rest of their league.
03:10The other clubs sat down to discuss that disloyalty. The reason they gave is a good one. A lot of
03:15them are going broke.
03:17Carl Shear and my dad knew that the league was in trouble. You know, they always looked out for the
03:22other owners, but you know,
03:23did some of the other owners have the capacity to do it? They weren't quite sure. So did they make
03:27inquiries on their own? Probably.
03:29The Denver Nuggets and the New York Nets, two of the most successful franchises in the ABA, petitioned the NBA
03:35to be able to be
03:36brought into the NBA at that time, and basically would have abandoned their ABA brethren. And my understanding is that
03:43a lot of the players
03:44were not aware of this at all, that this was done at the behest of the ownership.
03:49I thought they should have notified us. I was kind of disappointed. You know, two players that the NBA really
03:58wanted was David Thompson and Jews Irving.
04:03Even though there were still some great players in the league, I don't think that was fair to a lot
04:07of players.
04:10You know, it comes across like mutiny on the bounty. Two franchises are going to go for themselves. That's not
04:16being team-like.
04:19New York and Denver are member franchises of the American Basketball Association. No franchise may withdraw from our league
04:27without first assigning all basketball-related property to the league and without obtaining the consent of the other trustees. This
04:34has not been done.
04:35What happens if the NBA does decide to act favorably upon these applications?
04:41I don't feel that they'll be approved.
04:44This overture was ultimately not successful.
04:47But nonetheless, that sort of morale that they all had, like, hey, we're the underdog.
04:51We're facing incredible odds, but we're doing it together.
04:54This must have been a body blow to them to sort of see two of their teams try to jump
04:58ship.
04:58It was total chaos, trying to keep the ship going.
05:03We lost some cohesiveness and some friendliness among the franchises.
05:08It sort of became like a shark-infested water, every man for himself.
05:13The whole league was like that, going into 76.
05:17It was clear that it was going to be a major struggle to have another season in the ABA.
05:26The process of the ABA was deteriorating.
05:35We would go to various cities, and the hotel would not allow us to stay there because the previous payments
05:45were not paid.
05:47My paychecks were bouncing, my daughter's school tuition at a private school was bouncing, car payments bouncing, house note bouncing.
05:56It just became very embarrassing.
05:58There were franchises that had just been hanging on, and owners that were ready to bail.
06:04And they bailed because they're just losing too much money.
06:07You could go to a city, and it could be your last time going to that city.
06:13You know, franchises start dropping like flies.
06:15I think we started with 10 teams, and then Utah folded.
06:20The ill-fated Baltimore Claws lasted a couple of months.
06:24They said, Baltimore Claws, and fold it up.
06:28I said, what? Folding up?
06:31San Diego's sales folded.
06:33So, ultimately, you were left with only seven viable ABA teams at the time.
06:38Down to seven teams, and you got to get in then 84 games.
06:42What do you do? You keep playing the same teams.
06:45And, believe me, you get to know them.
06:48There were more fights going on with them because you were seeing players, you know, every week.
06:55And things that you would let go, you weren't letting go.
06:59You know, it kind of just took your spirit, you know.
07:03It kind of just took your confidence, man.
07:06You're like, do I still want to put up with this?
07:10At that point, most people knew that the days of the ABA were numbered.
07:16So, we had an uphill battle to fight, but we weren't going to stop.
07:21We knew we had as much talent in the ABA as they had in the NBA.
07:26I remember the Nets were in town to play, and Julius Irving walked from the Hilton Hotel
07:32over to Angelo Drosa's office and sat down unannounced and said,
07:38Angelo, what can I do to save this league?
07:42That was the spirit.
07:44The rebellious nature of the ABA, when faced with his own termination, didn't shrink.
07:50It grew.
07:51The ABA, having in 1969 broken the NBA's long-established rule by drafting college underclassmen,
08:01now decided to take it a step further.
08:11Nineteen-year-old Moses Malone signed a five-year, $1.5 million contract to forego college,
08:17but he's a fast learner.
08:18When Moses finds he can't do things against the pros he got away with in high school,
08:23he's quick to adjust.
08:25Moses Malone was LeBron before LeBron.
08:29In fact, Moses and LeBron are the only 18-year-olds to come into the league and start from day
08:36one.
08:37He was a force to be reckoned with.
08:40Oh, Moses Malone? Shit, he could boil it, man.
08:43You talking about a dude who could go up?
08:45When you go down, the other guy's just coming.
08:47He's back up again.
08:49My theory of rebounding, do you want the damn ball or don't you?
08:53You've got to want the ball.
08:54It's got to be an obsession to want the ball.
08:57Moses, he wanted that ball.
09:01That's all I can hear him say, man, I'm going to the rack, man.
09:03I'm going to the rack.
09:04He did.
09:06He went to the rack as hard and aggressively as anyone has ever done it.
09:13The ABA's aggressive pursuit of survival led them to seek out new basketball fans in cities the NBA had not
09:21yet considered.
09:22When the Dallas Chaparral struggled, the ABA moved them to San Antonio and renamed them the Spurs.
09:38People in San Antonio didn't know a lot about pro basketball, but they did understand a fiesta atmosphere, a party
09:45atmosphere, 10-cent beer a night.
09:48You could smoke in the arena.
09:55What we wanted to do is make it as San Antonio and as Texas as we could, and that's what
10:00the city liked.
10:01They had a rabid fan base, and they had their star in George Girvin, the Iceman, an all-time Hall
10:08of Fame legend.
10:15George Girvin, this real slim guy, real thin.
10:19You think, how's he going to play pro basketball?
10:20But he wafted in the air, and he had this touch, and he had these shots.
10:266'8", 170-something pounds.
10:29But he wasn't missing.
10:31He was dropping dimes, man.
10:34I think the fans here give up more for us than a lot of arenas in the league.
10:40With that kind of support, we can't do no but win down here.
10:44They was in love with they San Antonio Spurs, so we brought that excitement, man.
10:50And you had talent.
10:52We were gunning.
10:53We were getting 115, 120, running up and down.
10:57I mean, you know, we built up the fan base.
11:00You know, Baseline Bombs was our sixth man on the court.
11:03You know, people came in here and they thought about the Baseline Bombs, not just the San Antonio Spurs.
11:09I remember one time Larry Brown said he didn't like nothing about San Antonio but his guacamole soup.
11:15So Larry Brown went in the locker room and the Baseline Bombs was right on top of their locker room,
11:20and they pulled guacamole soup all on his sweater.
11:24It was wild, man.
11:27San Antonio is one of the great basketball cities of all time.
11:31And a lot of that started with the ABA Spurs.
11:38The Spurs were a very good team.
11:41And even while other teams may have been struggling toward the end of the ABA's existence, the Spurs and the
11:47Nuggets, they were an anomaly in the ABA.
11:49They sold out every night.
11:54The Denver Nuggets, this is a team that is absolutely loaded.
11:59And they had a crowd.
12:00They had a new arena.
12:01They packed it.
12:02They were crazy for it because it was the new game in town.
12:05So they loved their Nuggets.
12:07And Larry Brown was their coach.
12:09And his assistant was his longtime pal going back to college, Doug Moe.
12:16We were a deep team, a talented team.
12:19We had Bobby Jones.
12:22Bobby Jones!
12:23How many nights have we seen him do that?
12:26We had Dan Issel.
12:27Dan Issel lays it in.
12:28That was Issel's great move.
12:30He's got 17 points, leads all scorers in the game.
12:33We had Ralph Simpson.
12:34Young man with me right now is Ralph Simpson.
12:37His coach has said he has the potential to become one of the greatest basketball players at guard.
12:41And we had, you know, one of the greatest young players ever in David Thompson.
12:50David Thompson, the Skywalker.
12:53When he was in college at North Carolina State, they were in the final four against UCLA.
12:58And this is the UCLA team that never lost for like 12 years.
13:01And they played one of the greatest games of all time, triple overtime.
13:05And David was the guy.
13:08So, for him to go into the ABA, it was a big deal for the ABA to get him.
13:12As great as MJ is, as much respect as people have for MJ, David Thompson was Michael before Michael.
13:21The talent was unbelievable.
13:22We always talked about what we're going to see tonight.
13:28His explosiveness was unbelievable.
13:35I heard this whistle come past me.
13:38I turned around.
13:40The teams were doing like a 360 dunk.
13:45That's it.
13:46That's what I call him Skywalker.
13:51The thing that made him hard to stop was that you try to cut him off in the lane and
13:55he would just float it up over you.
13:57He had a great touch.
13:58He was a skilled player.
14:00He had the complete package.
14:02I mean, he was an excellent jump shooter.
14:04But if he got close to the rim, he was going to throw one down.
14:07There was nothing that he couldn't do when he first came to Denver.
14:13I mean, nothing.
14:14He was just a super superstar.
14:21Midway through the 1976 season, while the ABA found themselves mired in their greatest period of financial struggle, they never
14:30stopped pursuing new ways to entertain.
14:33At the 76 All-Star Game, when faced with having not enough funds to pay for a halftime musical performance,
14:41the ABA decided to create some entertainment of their own.
14:53About to bear witness to one of the most spectacular events in professional basketball.
15:10The idea of thrilling people with thrilling dunks and high wire acts, that wasn't happening over in the NBA.
15:19NBA, come on, man.
15:21I brought white paint dry.
15:24You know, so, you know, for me, it was like, we've been ready to show y'all, man, what y
15:28'all was missing.
15:30I was the very first individual to go in that contest.
15:33And I was like, what am I supposed to do now, you know?
15:38The first one, they had artists, they had Larry Keenan, Gervin, David, Julius.
15:48That was such a special night.
15:50You know, because we knew the ability of some of these guys and the freaky things they did in the
15:56game.
15:57But to see that, you know, for the first time, a first dunk contest blew us all away.
16:05William Garbink of the New York Tats.
16:07Oh, my goodness.
16:08Those guys are so good, man.
16:10Goddamn.
16:11Ice.
16:12Oh, man, he could fly.
16:22Oh, man.
16:24He comes back strongly with that one.
16:27You know, David comes out and does 360, you know, which at that time was not being done.
16:37God, what is that?
16:39I've never seen anything like that.
16:41David Thompson.
16:45David Thompson, he was actually the favorite.
16:55I was sitting on the sideline, waiting for David.
16:59But we knew the doc would show off.
17:03David Thompson finishing it.
17:05And now the doctor goes to work.
17:07You know, David Thompson was the high flyer, throwing it down.
17:13And I would applaud it because I was like, here we are.
17:17We've taken it back to the playground.
17:28He has a few ducks, but then his last dunk, everybody started to wonder, well, what is he doing?
17:34Because he went from the free throw line and he went all the way back to the other free throw
17:39line.
17:42Turn around, David.
17:44I said, Doc going to take off from the free throw line, watch.
17:47He said, Ralph, stop being nervous.
17:50And the fans are all stirring and cheering, or what in the world is going on?
17:54When Julius started stepping off the paces to the other end of the floor, I think we all had a
18:00pretty good idea of what he was going to do.
18:09Those of us that had played against Julius had no doubt that he could pull that off.
18:15Sure enough, that big airflow flying back, far way up in the air.
18:33I said, oh my goodness, I was like, God dang, I've never seen anything like this.
18:40You know, whoa, that was a wow moment, whoa.
18:43We look at each other, you know, did he really do that?
18:51This is the very first time people had seen anything like that.
18:56It was pretty obvious Julius was going to win this slam dunk contest.
19:01The doctor thinks that this is just incredible.
19:05It was just natural for him.
19:06And I think God gave him something that he didn't give the rest of us.
19:14I think the story of the last year has to be Dr. J, just because of the amount of pressure
19:20on him, both on the court and off, being the face of the league, taking it as seriously as he
19:25did, and then having to face a superior team on paper in the finals, knowing this was the end, and
19:33rise to the occasion.
19:36Amid speculation that a merger was near, the two most appealing teams to the NBA owners advanced to the finals
19:42in the ABA playoffs.
19:44Would this be the last hurrah for the red, white, and blue basketball?
19:48If so, it would be farewell and a blaze of glory as the New York Nets and the Denver Nuggets
19:53stage a fantastic finale.
19:56That first game in Denver, I was ready.
20:00It was like, man, I had so much energy.
20:03And here's a steal by the doctor.
20:05Julius with one man back. Look out!
20:09Julius was being guarded by one of the best defensive guys ever to play the game, and that was Bobby
20:14Jones.
20:15I learned how to play defense in college, but playing against a guy like Julius was just a different level,
20:20so it was quite a school for me.
20:23I knew how good Bobby Jones was. I love Bobby Jones, but on the court, it could be your mother.
20:30It don't matter.
20:33You gotta go at him.
20:37I thought we had the better team, but he showed us his greatness.
20:43Oh, it's blocked by Dr. J.
20:46Any time you played against Julius, you knew you had to bring your A game, because single-handedly, he can
20:53figure out a way to beat you.
20:55The doctor.
20:57The doctor.
20:58He had 18 points in the fourth quarter.
21:02Julius just took over that game at the end.
21:05There's Julius again.
21:07The doctor.
21:07Flinging the ball.
21:08Almost went in.
21:09That is on rebound and scored.
21:11Boy, is that something.
21:12I just kept coming, kept coming.
21:16The doctor.
21:17The doctor.
21:18Oh, what a shot.
21:20Ten seconds on the shot clock.
21:23Repelled there by Simpson.
21:24Recapped it by Julius.
21:25Julius scores!
21:28And I remember at the end of the game, hitting a jump shot on the baseline to win the game.
21:34He gets it over to the doctor.
21:36Time all game.
21:37Here's the shot.
21:38Julius.
21:38He scores!
21:40He scores!
21:41At the buzzer.
21:42And the Nets win.
21:43120 to 118.
21:45Julius serving.
21:46Finishes up with 45 points.
21:48And this arena is simply stunt.
21:51Bobby Jones right in his face as you saw that time.
21:54And I was all over him.
21:56And he swished it.
21:57And I remember thinking to myself, hey, I did all I could.
22:01Bobby Jones, when he went to block the shot, told me he busted a blister.
22:06And it kept him from getting out there.
22:08I don't know if it would have mattered, but...
22:10He did have a blister.
22:12I believed him.
22:14But that was his blister, not my blister.
22:18The 1976 ABA Finals was a fitting finale for one of the most colorful and innovative entities the sports world
22:29has ever produced.
22:47Following a Game five Denver victory.
22:50The New York Nets held a 3-2 series lead.
22:55The team's headed to New York for Game six.
23:00game six was in new york and uh what i remember about that game is this was the last chance
23:10great atmosphere at the nassau coliseum here this evening the nets lead three games to two
23:15in the quest for the championship of the american basketball association needless to say the nets
23:20do not want to go back to denver and play a seventh game we shall see along with everybody
23:24else what develops thompson lets it go oh is he quick webster oh my goodness leaping david thompson
23:34with 13 points forget about doc there wasn't anybody in the aba that could guard david when his game was
23:40was really on oh they are really on fire this team oh we got off to a big lead i
23:49was sitting on the
23:50bench and i was convinced we were beating simpson fires it up we had a lead 24 point lead i
23:59believe
24:00and again they got the ball in jewish's hands every time down the court
24:10and that momentum changed in that fourth period
24:16this is game six in new york and i said okay we cannot go back to denver we cannot go
24:23back
24:30he has that talent and he imposes his will like he did i mean you do all you can but
24:36i'm just i'm just alive
24:40dr j
24:42bobby jones doing just about everything a human can do
24:48they just started beating us up
24:55john williamson
25:02john williamson he just wasn't going back to denver
25:0626 for williamson 22 in the second half
25:10williamson
25:11the nets lead
25:16just came back and beat us nothing you can do about it
25:31you know in julius being in new york you know the popularity
25:34it was probably meant to be
25:38it was probably meant to be
26:08i think you know basketball has always been
26:12an escape
26:16from the real world
26:19so i think sitting in the shower sitting in the shower and the floor and it was like the preparation
26:24for going back to reality
26:28you know and knowing this is the swan song of the ava
26:35you know it was like it was like just looming over you
26:42you know with all the joy and the excitement of playing basketball and winning trophies and all that
26:50there's this flip side
26:52there's this flip side
26:53the sadness associated with
26:57the ava
26:59being done
27:11do you see a need for the leagues to merger
27:14i see a need for basketball and all sports in this country to progress
27:19and i see a need to ensure that progression
27:24before he became a commissioner
27:26he was an absolute big-time political player in the 60s into the early 70s
27:32actually his office was burgled as part of watergate
27:37which i think is a fascinating little factoid
27:39so that was a big freaking deal
27:42to get larry o'brien to head this league that really was rinky-dink
27:47i mean it was it was the third option for the american sports viewing public
27:53larry o'brien was used to hardball
27:55he was essentially being brought in to sort of wrap up its costly battle with the ava
28:01knock some heads a little bit and push for a merger
28:04discussions that were going on in terms of the merger of leagues being involved with the players association
28:12i don't think decisions had already been made but i think you know the aba was
28:19certainly not going to be the beneficiary because a lot of guys are going to lose their jobs
28:38the national basketball association announced today that it is taking in four teams from the american basketball association
28:45each aba team will pay more than three million dollars to join the nba
28:49and the aba the rival league whose competition for players made pro basketball players on the average
28:54the highest paid athletes in sports will cease to exist
29:00it was the off season
29:02i was president of the aba players association
29:06i got a call from the players association attorney
29:12he says i'm up in massachusetts here at the owners meeting and they're talking about merging
29:21and i said okay i'll be on a plane tomorrow and he said no don't it'll be done by the
29:32time you get there
29:35the last and final meeting of the aba in hand of sport i was there
29:41i represented a lot of athletes at that time
29:44aba and nba
29:47everybody put all their cards on the table
29:50and all the aba owners had financial difficulty
29:54so it was not good
29:57and the nba
29:58they weren't going to take any more than four
30:01teams in the league
30:03and it aggravated a lot of people because
30:07it was a merger that should have taken place properly
30:10and it wasn't being orchestrated properly
30:14primarily because the nba told these four teams that were getting in
30:20either you get in or we're cutting all the aba out
30:24so i mean the owners they almost had no choice
30:38where were you when you found out the merger was happening
30:41i think i was in uh
30:44chicago
30:45i was out in oakland visiting my sister
30:47i was in mexico city playing on aba all-star team
30:51we were back at the hotel and the merger came through
30:54i thought the players should have had a vote
30:59the last thing we heard was there was a merger now
31:03you know and we had to go where they wanted us to go
31:06i didn't want to see the merger come down like that you know
31:09but because uh that's the end of it for me
31:12i didn't you know really try to do anything else
31:15i was really sad that we would lose the camaraderie that we had in the aba
31:19we just liked one another
31:23i just want to stay with my guys
31:24i was not pleased with the fact that maybe 70 80 90 players
31:31were not did not have jobs were not included and didn't have an opportunity
31:36not even to try out with nba teams after the merger
31:41in the summer of 1976 when the nba-aba merger took place
31:47the merger agreement stated in writing that the aba players would receive a pension from the aba after retirement
31:56but as time went on those pension payments never materialized
32:09the nba was very clear that that this was not a merger they viewed that they were going to bring
32:14on quote-unquote expansion teams
32:16seven teams ultimately finished the season but immediately afterwards the virginia squires folded
32:22only four of the aba teams actually came into the league
32:26denver san antonio indiana new york
32:29two of the aba team st louis and kentucky were forced to go away
32:34kentucky colonel's attendance was outdoing anybody in the nba
32:38and then kentucky was one of the teams that was excluded from the nba
32:45to me that's bs
32:47the chicago bulls probably had more to do with us not getting in anybody
32:51chicago bulls didn't want to see him because they had the first draft choice
32:54of aba players and that happened to be artist gilmore
32:59artist was the key person
33:02because the other key players were already with teams
33:05dr j is already with the nets that's why they wanted the nets
33:08they had george gervin at san antonio
33:11they had isle and david thompson in denver
33:15and uh the pacers of course were
33:18always strong in the league
33:20so in my opinion chicago because they had their number one choice
33:24they're the ones that really forced the nba
33:27to leave us out so they could get ours and uh it's very very sad we didn't want to get
33:34rid of anybody
33:35it's just like you know what's what's happening here and uh it was very disappointing
33:42uh we loved the players and i was sad we just didn't go any further
33:53the aba teams that were brought into the league as expansion teams came in under very very difficult conditions
34:00they had to pay john y brown approximately three million dollars to buy him out for his
34:04uh kentucky franchise
34:05well you have to remember now john y brown and ellie brown
34:10they've had incredible success by turning kentucky fried chicken into a worldwide company
34:17supposedly john y brown didn't want to pay
34:20the amount of money that was being asked
34:24for these four slots to come into the league
34:27versus getting three million dollars for stepping out
34:32i don't even know if that's true that's something just reading the paper
34:36but nobody has
34:38the real reasons
34:40john i'm sure would do things differently
34:42today but in the time john made the right decision
34:46he decided to take the money
34:48he bought the buffalo braves
34:50and then traded if you can believe this
34:53the buffalo braves for the boston celtics
34:56i'm guessing mr arback was probably a little upset
35:01red arback was indeed the ultimate symbol of old line establishmentarianism in the nba
35:08and the idea that the magnet of kentucky fried chicken would become his boss
35:12totally infuriated red
35:15while one of the franchises
35:17not allowed into the nba
35:19via the merger
35:20was able to maneuver their way in through a side door
35:24the other was locked out and left
35:28initially
35:29only with the feeling of bitterness
35:33a basketball league is a league of everybody doing the same thing trying to get to the same goal
35:39everybody expected
35:41that the merger would take place
35:43or hoped that the merger would take place
35:47but the way it occurred
35:48i use the word betrayal
35:50i was betrayed by my partners
35:52because the aba was a partnership
35:55you could not
35:56have the league dissolved
35:58without the agreement of all the partners
36:02and when
36:03only four teams got in
36:05my brother came up with the thought
36:07that the teams that got admitted
36:09should give one seventh
36:11of their tv revenue
36:14that they would get
36:15by being in the nba
36:16as compensation
36:17for not being admitted to the league
36:19so we
36:20stuck to our guns
36:22if we were going to be excluded
36:24we wanted that compensation
36:26for us
36:29the sooners would get what they were asking for
36:32one seventh of the television revenue
36:35of each of the four aba teams
36:37merging with the nba
36:39at the time
36:40with the nba small tv contract
36:42the amount seemed inconsequential
36:45but the term of the deal
36:47was in perpetuity
36:48meaning as the league grew
36:50nba owners
36:51would have to pay the sealers
36:53forever
36:56oh my god
36:59easily one of the best deals
37:01in the history of deals
37:03to go from where they were
37:05with
37:05the spirit of st louis
37:07to negotiate that tv deal
37:11those meetings were not fun
37:13everybody's like
37:14what the
37:15you know
37:15we can't get out of this
37:17there's not
37:17nope
37:18couldn't get out of it
37:19just one of the best deals ever
37:21unfortunately it cost me a lot of money
37:23and my peers a lot of money
37:24but
37:30in 1974
37:30the sealers had purchased
37:32their aba franchise
37:34for an estimated
37:35three million dollars
37:37by the time the nba
37:39finally bought them out of their deal
37:41in 2014
37:42they had made
37:44eight hundred million dollars
37:47we made a very good deal
37:50but it still did not satisfy
37:52the reason we got into basketball in the first place
37:55we got into basketball for the love of the game
37:59and the ultimate success in that game
38:01is to win a championship
38:03and
38:04we did not get that opportunity
38:09the irony was that the aba was starved for television money
38:13and they were looking forward to coming in
38:15these teams to the league
38:16and enjoying the television money
38:17but under the terms of the expansion agreements
38:20they were not to receive any television money
38:22for the first four years that they were in the nba
38:25denver san antonio indiana and the new york nets
38:28they each had to pay
38:30approximately 3.2 million dollars
38:32to the nba
38:33the new york nets came in
38:35for a particular difficult time
38:37and they had to pay
38:38approximately 4.8 million dollars
38:39toward the new york knicks
38:40for having intruded on their turf
38:43so it was sort of an indemnity payment
38:44to the new york knicks
38:47yeah it's exciting
38:49the nets are going to be in the nba
38:50but it's an expensive ticket to get in
38:54roybo you know he got raked over the coals
38:56once he went into new york market
38:59he's a guy who meant well
39:02and he just kind of ran out of money
39:07julius wanted to renegotiate
39:09you know with that's those staggering
39:12fees to join the nba
39:14my father you know he had a choice to make
39:19and my father said no
39:22i'm not going to renegotiate
39:25the deal was done
39:27in a six million dollar business transaction
39:30the new york nets have sold their star basketball performer
39:34julius irving
39:35dr j
39:36to the philadelphia 76ers
39:41well i have mixed emotions about leaving
39:43um you know i feel very very sorry
39:46for the position that
39:47uh my teammates my ex-teammates
39:50are in
39:51and i don't think that uh
39:53you know they'll
39:54uh be there when the team finishes rebuilding
40:09the 1976-77 season
40:12were marked the first after the merger
40:15while some in the nba held a grudge against their former adversaries
40:19the aba players entered the nba with something to prove
40:25the reality was you know i think there was
40:28there was a strong prejudice against the aba
40:31i remember you know
40:32there was jealousy there was animosity
40:35i was probably
40:37you know best player on the team
40:38head and shoulders
40:40and you know you're being asked to tone it down
40:43what does tone it down mean
40:46and as well as the girvin and i laugh about right now
40:48i mean we want to go out there and entertain the fans
40:50you know this is what our priority was
40:53they weren't ready for us man
40:55some of them nba guys be saying
40:57who down there in san antonio that can play
40:59and then say ah nobody
41:00and then they come down there and girvin got 30 at half
41:03you know i mean if you
41:05boy i tell you man i
41:06they were stagnated
41:0976
41:10and when we merged
41:12everything went up
41:14look at 77
41:1610 guys was in the all-star team
41:18in front of the aba
41:22gervin
41:22julius ervin
41:24george mcginnis
41:25dan hissel
41:26david thompson
41:27bobby jones
41:28they get hall of famers
41:30because the aba
41:31merges with the nba
41:33basketball players
41:35that for the nine years in the aba
41:37was criticized as a
41:39a bullshit league
41:42that's not true
41:43and that we proved that
41:45taken away by david thompson
41:47hit three on one
41:48and thompson
41:50flies to the back
41:53george gervin
41:54to san antonio
41:55here's dr j
41:56of philadelphia
41:56oh
41:57oh things are going good
41:59on the nba
42:00sandy is still watching
42:01in denver
42:03after we went
42:04to the nba
42:04the first two years
42:05we won the
42:06midwest division
42:07so that's how good
42:09the teams
42:09and the players
42:10were
42:10larry brown
42:12of the jenver nuggets
42:13goes into that huddle
42:14to talk to his team
42:16we were all trying to
42:18make everybody understand
42:20we're just not this
42:21funny league
42:22that plays with a crazy
42:23looking ball
42:24and a three point shot
42:25we're quality players
42:27and quality coaches
42:28we can compete
42:30at the highest level
42:31most valuable player
42:33of this all-star game
42:34julius ervin
42:35come on over here
42:37come on here
42:38by winning this award
42:39thank you
42:40at this 27th all-star game
42:42the merger
42:44has brought the stability
42:45that this league
42:46has been elusively seeking
42:47for over 30 years
42:49the nba
42:50it would appear
42:51has decided
42:51not to be
42:52the peter pan
42:53of professional sports
43:00it is
43:01philadelphia
43:01against portland
43:02portland
43:03leads this series
43:04three games to two
43:07first year after the merger
43:08dr jay and the sixers
43:10go to the final
43:11here comes the doctor
43:12house call
43:14oh my goodness
43:16the doctor
43:18magnificent as usual
43:20has scored
43:2140 points
43:22in this game
43:24now philadelphia
43:25they got beaten
43:26in the finals
43:27but as time went on
43:29in the nba
43:29you know the great revelation
43:31if anyone needed a revelation
43:33was the 77 season
43:34that would tell you
43:36all you need to know
43:37about the level of high talent
43:38that the aba
43:39came into the league with
43:41it was only after
43:42the best aba players
43:44began to really make
43:46an impact
43:46that a lot of people
43:48woke up and said
43:49hey
43:49this was a hidden treasure
43:51there are so many names
43:53in the aba
43:54that people have forgotten
43:56or never knew
43:57to begin with
43:58some unbelievable players
44:00it would be nice
44:01if more people knew
44:02who matt calvin was
44:03or ron boone
44:04or james jones
44:06there's such a rich history
44:08and there's such a great
44:09legion of players
44:09you can talk about
44:11some of these guys
44:12man
44:12like mcginnis
44:13george dominated the aba
44:15come on man
44:17louie
44:18dampier man
44:20larry tina
44:21james solid
44:24rob simpson
44:26and you can just keep
44:28naming them man
44:29that's how good we was
44:31ain't me talking
44:32you do your own research
44:37oh yeah look at the pictures
44:40here we got the pictures
44:41there's a mark really
44:42wow
44:43slicks picture
44:44who's that netto
44:44that me
44:46yeah that's netto
44:47there's roger
44:48number 35
44:55the aba greats
44:56of the past
44:57serve as some
44:58of the last living
45:00legends
45:00in american sports
45:03wow
45:03the roots
45:05of what they
45:05accomplished
45:06still reach out
45:07to connect us
45:08today
45:09i know
45:11because my dad
45:12played in the aba
45:14this picture
45:15right here
45:16of my father
45:16in the denver
45:17rockets
45:17he had that one
45:18in his house
45:19man i was proud
45:20of it
45:21it's funny
45:22because i look
45:23and i'm like
45:23man i guess
45:23i do look
45:24somewhat like
45:25my dad
45:26my name is
45:26hudson mays
45:27and i'm the
45:28grandson of
45:28roger brown
45:29roger brown
45:30the first
45:31pacer ever
45:32signed
45:39here's your
45:40grandpa
45:40see it
45:41were we ever
45:42that young
45:42that's now
45:43hearing stories
45:44and what went on
45:45back in those days
45:46it's something that
45:47brings me a lot of
45:48joy and happiness
45:49who's 24
45:51that's rick berry
45:52i'm sorry
45:52yeah
45:53yeah that's rick berry
45:54god he ate him up
45:56oh god he ate him up
45:59i never got to see
46:01an aba game per se
46:03like while it was
46:03being played
46:06oh okay
46:07yo i ain't know
46:08casters doing that
46:09like because you know
46:11sometimes when you see
46:12a lot of old footage
46:12you don't see
46:13the athleticism
46:14that i'm seeing
46:15right now
46:15like
46:17how they hooping
46:24goose you've had
46:25a lot of time
46:25back in louisville
46:26now you've been
46:27out for a couple
46:28of weeks with the
46:28torn achilles and
46:30you're sitting around
46:30thinking about a lot
46:31of things what are
46:32some of those things
46:33that are going
46:34through your mind
46:34well for one thing
46:35i'm hoping that my
46:36injury would
46:38it would be you
46:39know feel like it'll
46:39be all right when i
46:40come back next season
46:41and another thing i'm
46:42thinking about the
46:43future what's going
46:44to happen to me if
46:45if it don't heal back
46:47right you know and
46:48like i say since i
46:49didn't go to college
46:50i didn't really have
46:51anything nothing to
46:52fall back on
46:53that's all things
46:55that that should have
46:56been taken care of
46:57at the merger
46:58we were told that we
47:00were going to get
47:01credit for our aba
47:02years for our nba
47:04pensions and i
47:06understand it wasn't
47:07the nba's responsibility
47:09to now to make good
47:11on those things that's
47:12why i i so love the
47:14dropping dimes
47:15foundation uh that
47:17the people in in
47:18indianapolis have put
47:19together to help some
47:21of these former aba
47:23players i grew up in
47:25indianapolis and all
47:27these amazing pacers who
47:28were my heroes when i was
47:30a kid so next thing you
47:32know i'm sitting there
47:33talking to george mcginnis
47:35and darnell helm and mel
47:37daniels and mel's getting
47:39pissed by the way he's as
47:41he's talking to me i can see
47:42that fire as he's talking
47:44about the lack of respect
47:45the nba had for the aba
47:47and then he got most
47:49um passionate about aba
47:51players uh were not part
47:53of the pension plan for
47:55the nba they weren't part
47:57of any kind of health care
47:59benefits and he was
48:00really really serious about
48:01it you know as an attorney i
48:04did some did some research
48:05and then i saw that this
48:07language was put into the
48:08settlement agreement that
48:09said that the aba defendants
48:13would provide pension benefits
48:15to the players but the aba as
48:18a league dissolved about a
48:21year after the so-called merger
48:23and what little bit of money
48:25was in the actual real aba
48:28pension fund ended up it was
48:30mismanaged sort of disappeared
48:32the aba went out of existence
48:35and so that's when we took the
48:36formal step of forming the
48:38dropping dimes foundation to
48:40help these guys
48:41batted out back and track down
48:42by kentucky
48:43abert with a penetration dump
48:45off and two more for a
48:46running
48:48burt abert was as quick with
48:49the basketball as anybody i've
48:51ever seen
48:53and then i saw him you know in
48:55his later years really having
48:56a tough time getting around
48:58couldn't afford to pay the
48:59electricity bill and you know
49:01didn't have anything
49:04one of the saddest ones was
49:06george carter he basically you
49:08know was a limo driver with
49:09throat cancer and and had no
49:12family no friends nothing still
49:15no pension from the nba and so
49:18when he died they were going to
49:20give him a pauper's funeral where
49:21basically you're buried with no
49:24recognition because they couldn't
49:26find any next of kin and it was
49:28just amazing to me that that could
49:31be possible
49:33those players who did not make it
49:35over into the nba should have been
49:37taken care of you know they're just
49:39out there they didn't have any money
49:41and sam smith was one of them
49:44he was my father's supervisor at the
49:46ford motor plant after he finished
49:48playing in the aba and again like so
49:50many of these guys are he was so
49:52humble that my father didn't even
49:54know after working with him for 20
49:56years that he played professional
49:57basketball you know he had some health
49:59issues and he had spent some time in a
50:02medicaid nursing home and i was
50:05visiting sam i said you know sam if i'm
50:08so angry if i could take a picture of
50:10you right now and send it to new york
50:14and get somebody's attention i would do
50:17it and he said you think that would
50:20really help and i said yeah i think it
50:22would and he said we'll take the
50:23picture because he was a friend and i
50:26said you don't look that great right
50:27now i said you know this is not going
50:28to be a super flattering picture so i
50:30was just kind of saying that
50:32facetiously because i'm kind of pissed
50:34off and uh he grabbed my gown and
50:37pulled me closer to him and uh and said
50:40take the picture in a very serious tone
50:44of voice and i just kept staring at him
50:46for a second and he said i would do
50:48anything to help these guys
51:04the photo of sam smith laying there
51:08with an aba basketball red and white
51:10basketball about to die that caught the
51:14attention i think of the world
51:19there's like a million people reading
51:21that story all at once and i'm like
51:23what in the world it was the photo
51:28that is the image that that sent the
51:30nba over the edge because shortly after
51:32that
51:33the nba said we're gonna figure out
51:36something to do for these guys
51:42i think it's really important to note
51:44that here we are nearly 50 years post
51:48merger and a lot can be said about the
51:50battles between the nba and the aba
51:52but in the end the nba and the nba
51:54players association did step up and do
51:57something they had absolutely no legal
51:59obligation to do
52:06last week nba and the national
52:08basketball players association
52:10announcing they would create a fund to
52:12support aba veterans
52:14these are guys that i rooted for when i
52:16was a kid so it's been a very humbling
52:19experience let's hear it for scott
52:20tarter yeah scott tarter
52:24now i did what we did it's a good story
52:28i'm celebratory i just felt good that
52:31maybe this can give them a few more
52:34years of good life and and celebration of
52:37basketball i'm 81 years old a lot of the
52:41guys are gone
52:43but hey it's great and i appreciate that
52:47they think enough but they want to give us
52:49something
52:49i think it's good for all of us but it's
52:53especially phenomenal for the guys that are hurting
52:57that will allow some dignity
53:01it will allow when they pass on to say the nba did the right thing
53:06for a league that did so much to
53:09make the game better today
53:11i hope and i think it should be a beginning
53:15of respect for the aba
53:20the legacy that the aba players have left is that when you look at today's game
53:28it looks a whole lot like the way you we used to play in the aba the dunk contest the
53:35three-point shot we brought that in the three-point shot coming from the aba dramatically
53:41changed what's happened in the nba because you're not winning an nba championship nowadays
53:45if you can't shoot the three-point shot
53:48rick barry let's fly with a three-point bomb bang
53:52curry gets a look fires away bang
53:55as a shooter i've loved the aba
53:59i think it's had a huge impact on the game of basketball
54:02to me what the nba has turned into at this point in time
54:07is the great balance
54:09of the aba mixed with the nba
54:12now you have the modern nba which is the fastest growing sport in the world it's a global phenomenon
54:21i do think the evolution came directly from the aba aba was so freelance
54:31and you could do and play like you did in the parks dribbling passing shooting scoring
54:40the fun of the game that's what i see today the nba playing exactly the way the aba was playing
54:48back in
54:49the day the thing that's really i think is ironic about the aba is the first thing most people
54:57remember about the aba is the slam dunk contest that aba slam dunk contest is one of the most iconic
55:03basketball treasures we've ever had
55:05i honestly think that's why the nba started their slam dunk contest
55:17oh my god if you go back and look at the aba story we owe a great deal of gratitude
55:25to the aba
55:27because when those guys came to the nba and they were all great players
55:32it really was the turning point in the history of basketball and i'll always be thankful for that
55:41history will show that in a nine-year fight between the aba and the nba
55:48and this david versus goliath battle goliath won but in this story in order for goliath to defeat david
55:58he had to become him
56:02a small band of brothers known as the american basketball association would change the game forever
56:14we had a real camaraderie in the aba i don't know if it was because we knew we were the
56:21underdogs or
56:22because we played each other so more often than the nba teams played each other uh but i was surprised
56:30that never happened once we got to the nba i kind of room with so many guys especially the one
56:38i really
56:38left room with was louis dampier because uh to him the man him has been friendly since he's been with
56:44the organization the current organization and to me he's like a brother you know there was just a bond
56:51there that uh maybe because of you know where we are up against the giants so to speak uh we
56:58all felt
56:58like we were all in it together and it's just a lot of good friendships that developed over the years
57:04uh even though we were opponents for all that time now we got brotherhood i mean come on man you
57:11know
57:11what a brotherhood is man you know we was in a league man that wasn't really well respected by
57:18marketing or corporate america there really was a brotherhood it wasn't just
57:25talk it wasn't just hot air we really liked one another
57:33i get kind of emotional about that because
57:37these were my brothers
57:42i love those guys and they love me
57:48the essence of it is really what it's all about because the essence is about how you feel about
57:53so during that time you know people really feel passionate about you know what that what that
58:01experience was about and there was a one for all and all for one mentality
58:11that has continued throughout my lifetime
58:16time has marched on but the memories are forever
58:23and that was the soul of the aba
58:28so
58:34so
58:53It was over before it even began.
59:01Since the day I saw her walking around.
59:09I know you never meant to hurt me.
59:17You're the only one who knows why I'm gone.
59:33You're the only one who knows why I'm gone.
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