Ultra-competitive superstars like Rick Barry (Nets and Warriors), Dave Cowens (Celtics), and Charlie Scott (Squires, Suns and Celtics) were thrown out of interleague games with multiple technical fouls (see details below). NBA exhibition games were always intense, due to the bad blood between the leagues. The ABA won the overall interleague rivalry, 79 games to 76.ĪBA vs. Over the last three seasons of the rivalry, the ABA steadily pulled ahead: 15-10 (in 1973), 16-7 (in 1974), and 31-17 (in 1975). Buoyed by younger, better talent and (in many cases) the home court advantage, ABA teams began winning most of the games. However, in the later years of the rivalry, the tide began to turn. And the ABA was red-faced because its teams lost most of the early games. Again, the NBA did not want to promote the fact that its teams were competing against ABA teams. The games attracted extra fans, made money, and painted the ABA as "major league." Results from the first few years were not highly publicized by either league. On the other hand, ABA cities were happy to host well-known NBA teams. The NBA simply did not want to showcase (and legitimize) the ABA in front of NBA fans. ABA Championship Game played from 1968 through 1976: the "Basket Bowl." Check it out, it is great reading!ĭuring the first few years of the rivalry, most of the interleague games were played in ABA arenas. What would have happened if these "ultimate" post-season games had been played? Writer Cort Reynolds asked this question and wrote a fascinating fictional account of a yearly NBA vs. Predictably, the Celtics declined to participate. 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. The NBA and the Warriors refused the challenge. They didn't count for anything except pride.Īfter 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). ABA games actually played were exhibition (pre-season) games. ABA game on Septem(photo above left), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#33) and the NBA Milwaukee Bucks barely squeaked past John Beasley (#44) and the ABA Dallas Chaparrals, 106-103. Even though the merger talks fell apart before the 1971-72 season, the ABA vs. In this short-lived congenial atmosphere, the two leagues agreed to play pre-season interleague exhibition games for the first time. So are the NBA and ABA owners, the two commissioners and every college coach. Basketball Weekly reported that: "The American basketball public is clamoring for a merger. In the summer of 1971, a merger between the NBA and ABA appeared imminent. NBA Exhibition Game Results All-Time ABA vs.
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