It All Started in 1976 With the ABA — NBA Merger

In the late 60s, the NBA wasn’t the powerful league you know today. At that time, the NBA was challenged by different professional basketball leagues, among which the most famous was probably the ABA.

Created in 1967, the ABA existed for about ten years. It has seen a large number of players pass through its ranks who then became NBA stars whose names will tell you something right away: Rick Barry, Spencer Haywood, Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel, Moses Malone, or Julius Erving.

When the ABA decided to merge with the NBA in 1976, Julius Erving was clearly its biggest star.

“Dr. J.”, as he was already known, played for the New York Nets who had just finished second in the regular season in the ABA. Top scorer in the ABA with 29.3 points per game, Julius Erving was also a fierce rebounder with an average of 11.0 rebounds per game. He added 5.0 assists per game while leading his New York Nets to the ABA championship title.

At the time of the merger, the Nets found themselves under attack by the Knicks, who were demanding $4.8 million because the Nets were invading their territory, namely New York.

Obviously, the Nets were not in a position to pay that amount. The Nets were forced to trade Julius Erving to the Philadelphia Sixers for $3 million.

By the time Julius Erving arrived at the Sixers, the team was led by Doug Collins and George McGinnis, who were also ABA stars in the past. The team had just finished the season with 46 wins, but was then easily eliminated in the first round of the 1976 playoffs.

During the 1976–1977 season, the Sixers improved their regular season record to 50 wins. The biggest difference came in the playoffs where Julius Erving’s presence made all the difference. In the 1977 NBA playoffs, Julius Erving surpassed himself.

He turned in 27.3 points, while ensuring a big defense every night on the opposing forwards. The Sixers reached the NBA Finals where they were beaten only by the Blazers of the legendary Bill Walton.

The following year, the Sixers dominated the regular season, still led by their trio. The team won 55 games but could not repeat its performance of the following season. They lost in the Eastern Conference Final against the Washington Bullets.