THE ABA...Best PLAYERS...Professional Hoop way before it's time....The Best Teams....MERGER with NBA

In the BLUEDUDE'S Opinion....write this down.....the best Professional Basketball League in the US from the Mid to late 60's through mid 70's was the AMERICAN BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION.....known as the ABA.

This league would've fit right into what we call the NBA now. And it's players were BAR NONE better as a whole than the NBA Players at the time. While the NBA had it's CELTICS and LAKERS......the ABA had a High Flying, Above the Rim, Let me do this for the Crowd Game.

The ABA started in 1967 and ended in 1976 with the merger to the NBA although the NBA didn't take all the ABA TEAMS. Some of the Well-Known ABA Teams an its PLAYERS:

Carolina COUGARS- Doug MOE-Later Head Coach of the NBA 's NUGGETS
Denver NUGGETS -David THOMPSON SKYWALKER Bobby JONES -Later a NBA Philly 76er and the Secretary of Defense
Indiana PACERS-Mel DANIELS/George McGINNIS-McGinnis later joined JONES as a NBA SIXER in PHILLY
Kentucky COLONELS-Artis GILMORE/Dan ISSEL-Gilmore starred later for the NBA BULLS and ISSEL for the NBA Nuggets
Memphis PROS-Steve "SNAPPER" JONES-later Color MAN Commentator for the Portland TRAILBLAZERS in the NBA n NBC
New York NETS-Juluis DR.J ERVING-the BEST ABA Player Hands down..A NBA 76er Later..The DOC was JORDAN in the ABA
Pittsburgh PIPERS-The HAWK..Connie HAWKINS....later NBA Hall of FAMER....and with the Phoenix SUNS...got him late
San Antonio SPURS - George GERVIN the ICEMAN...Future NBA Hall of FAMER....Swen NATER and James SILAS also
San Diego CONQUISTADORS- Travis MACHINE GUN GRANT.......Wilt Chamberlain had a coaches ROLE ONLY w/SD
SPIRIT of St.LOUIS- Marvin MAD BARNES and Moses MALONE....who later JOINED the SIXERS and the '82 Championship
Utah STARS-Drafted Moses MALONE out of St PETERSBURG HS in Virginia...same HS of R&B Singer Trey SONGZ
Virginia SQUIRES-Loaded..Charlie SCOTT...Julius ERVING and later added George GERVIN

Just some of the NAMES that went on to even BIGGER NAMES in the NBA. and before the NBA/ABA Merger in 1976 the best ABA teams by WINNING % were:

Utah STARS
Kentucky COLONELS
San Antonio SPURS
Indiana PACERS
Denver NUGGETS
Carolina COUGARS
New York NETS

The ABA High FLYERS aka DUNKERS......these guys were better than anything they had going in the NBA at the time:

Julius DR. J ERVING Nets Squires From the Free Throw Line TAKEOFF

David SKYWALKER THOMPSON Nuggets Best VERTICAL I have ever seen....NO JOKE a straight Beast at NC STATE

Connie the HAWK HAWKINS Pipers kicked out of the UNIVERSITY of IOWA on a Supposed Assault Charge...was on JV at IOWA

George the ICEMAN GERVIN Spurs ALL I DO IS FINGER ROLL

George McGINNIS Pacers 6'8" and about 250 and the MAILMAN before the MAILMAN and an extremely Explosive Leaper

Artis GILMORE Colonels A gifted 7' footer out of JACKSONVILLE FLA University...later starred with the BULLS of the NBA

Dan the HORSE ISSEL Colonels Nuggets a Kentucky WILDCAT Great......known for his Teeth missing LOL

Later some of the well-known ABA commodities went on to star in the NBA with the merger in 1976. and just dazzle even bigger CROWDS then. The ABA was just simply before its time with its FLASH and DASH. From the Entertainment from the Halftime Shows and between Timeouts and Quarters to the FASHION displayed by PLAYERS and COACHES and how they marketed the ABA.

The NBA has kinda took a Marketing page out of the ABA as far as MARKETING its Great PLAYERS...then the GREAT TEAMS.....not one before the OTHER.

The most notable ABA Player of all-time was the DOCTOR Julius ERVING from the Big APPLE by way of the UNIVERSITY of MASSACHUSETTS Minuteman. The DOC was a SHOW within a SHOW from his ACROBATS and Aeriel Displays...whether it was jump-shooting or DUNKING.

Then the DOC took the Whole ABA on is shoulders and did not Disappoint once he got to PHILADELPHIA to play for the 76ers. And to this DAY my 2nd favorite team all-time is the 76-77 SIXERS Team that lost to the Late Maurice LUCAS and BIG RED Bill WALTON.
Names like the DOC, Henry BIBBY, Doug COLLINS...YES that Doug COLLINS, Daryl CHOCOLATE THUNDER DAWKINS, George McGINNIS, Caldwell JONES, Joe JELLYBEAN BRYANT Kobe's DAD, Mike DUNLEAVY, Harvey CATCHINGS the FATHER of TAMIKA CATCHINGS, and Fred MAD DOG CARTER......Will someone explain how the TRAILBLAZERS BEAT THEM?

The ABA was just a fun league and a LEAGUE I always refer to when people talk about the NEW GUYS.....you know circa 1984-now.....The ORIGINAL SHOW ME PLAYERS were in the ABA....Don't FORGET.