To fully understand today’s NBA, you must familiarize yourself with the American Basketball Association. The league, which existed from 1967 to 1976, ushered in a new era and provided much of the entertainment that fascinates present-day fans.
Though the league was short-lived, it birthed many eventual basketball Hall of Famers, including Julius “Dr. J” Erving, George “The Iceman” Gervin, Moses Malone, Connie Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, Artis Gilmore, David Thompson and Charlie Scott. Erving, Gervin and Scott are Virginia Squires Hall of Famers for a team that was a box-office draw but, at times, gets lost in history.
The Squires were part of the ABA from 1970 until the league merged with the NBA in 1976. The team was the last major professional sports franchise in Virginia — one reason local residents have so much adoration for the Squires — as it entertained fans at the Norfolk Scope, the Old Dominion University Fieldhouse and other locations surrounding the Hampton Roads, Richmond and Roanoke areas. Fans ultimately saw a variety of exciting players who are now a part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Last week, as a prelude to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a basketball showcase for college seniors that is celebrating its 70th anniversary in Portsmouth, Va., the Squires were honored by the city. As former members of the team entered the room for a panel discussion, fans in a sold-out Renaissance Portsmouth-Norfolk Waterfront Hotel expressed their love and support.
It was a chance for some of the greatest basketball players of all time to reunite — and a friendly reminder of how important the ABA was to fans and players, as well as how important the Squires were to Virginia.
“(The ABA) was a great place to start,” said Erving, who first joined the league in 1971. “I played two seasons with the Virginia Squires, and I’m forever indebted to the way I was treated here in Virginia — not only by the Squires organization but by the people.”
“When you come to a new city, the excitement is really high,” Scott added about arriving in Virginia to play for the Squires. “We felt we were really starting something that was going to be worthwhile.”
The Squires franchise was founded as the Oakland Oaks, an ABA charter member in 1967 playing home games in Oakland, Calif. After two seasons on the West Coast, the team moved to Washington, D.C., and played as the Washington Caps. The franchise spent just one season in the nation’s capital before relocating to Virginia. Al Bianchi coached the team from 1970 to 1975, and Mack Calvin, Bill Musselman, Jack Ankerson and Zelmo Beaty saw head-coaching stints in the final two seasons when the Squires struggled.
Erving played college ball at Massachusetts and left after his junior season. He spent five seasons in the ABA — two with the Squires and three with the New York Nets, where he won two league championships. With a cool demeanor that matched his talent and superb athleticism, Erving was one of the main catalysts for the ABA-NBA merger.
Erving and Gervin were teammates during the 1972-73 ABA season. Gervin spent four years in the league with the Squires and San Antonio Spurs. He, like Erving, enjoyed his time in the NBA, but his days in the ABA will never go unappreciated.
“I was fortunate enough to play with Dr. J here in Virginia,” Gervin said. “The game just meant so much to me, and to be able to play with a guy — we always felt Doc was ‘Mr. ABA’ back in the day — for me to have the opportunity to play with him, for him to teach me what it takes to be a real pro was real special. I’m very thankful for the opportunity that I had here in Virginia.”
Also present at the panel discussion were Scott, who played two ABA seasons in Virginia before ultimately winning a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1976; Jim Eakins, one of the original stars of the ABA and a two-time league champion; and Dave Twardzik, who played four seasons with the Squires and later won an NBA title with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977.
All of the legendary players reminisced and shared laughs before, during and after the panel as they remembered when their professional careers were just beginning. It was a time when the 3-point shot was a fixture in the ABA. (The NBA didn’t add the 3-point line until 1979, three years after the merger.) It also was a time when the multicolored ball — red, white and blue — was the staple.
There was excitement within the league, plenty of it coming from Virginia.
“If you know anything about the ABA, you’d think the NBA is playing ABA basketball today,” Gervin said. “The NBA got the 3-point shot from the ABA, and that’s all people talk about is shooting 3s. That’s from our foundation in the ABA. … The NBA was slow; the NBA wasn’t that exciting. They were scoring 80, 90 points; we were scoring 115 (in the ABA).
“It’s entertainment. We were entertaining back in the ’70s and in the early years.”
Scott added: “Because of the 3-point basket, there were spread defenses. So, we had more opportunity, more room to work with.”
Though shooting from long distance has taken over today’s game, the annual slam dunk contest during NBA All-Star Weekend has taken a major hit. The allure has weakened over the years, primarily because the league is seeing fewer marquee players participate.
Players such as Erving, Gervin, Thompson and Gilmore helped make the dunk contest a must-watch event in 1976. Erving won and was the first professional player televised to take off from the free-throw line. The excitement surrounding that event led star players like Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter to follow suit in the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s.
1976 ABA slam dunk contest participants (from left): Julius Erving, Larry Kenon, George Gervin, Artis Gilmore and David Thompson. (Carl Iwasaki / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
“I was fortunate enough to win that first slam dunk contest,” Erving said. “I think the man upstairs had a lot to do with it because David (Thompson) was really the favorite. He jumped the highest, he had some unbelievable dunks. He came around the corner, did a 360 and the ball hit the back of the rim and he missed the dunk. So, I made sure my dunk was going in. I didn’t care what it was, but it (had to) go in.”
In addition to bringing added excitement to the sport, the ABA also was able to help break down barriers for those who initially didn’t view the NBA as a place for them.
“In the ’60s and ’70s, there was a very limited number of Black players in the NBA. What the ABA did was really bring light to (the fact) that Black players can play in the NBA if given the opportunity,” Scott said. “You had the Roger Browns and Connie Hawkinses that came from the ABA, the George McGinnises. The ABA brought a lot of the style that is now in the NBA.”
On May 11, 1976, the ABA canceled the franchise after it missed a $75,000 assessment. It also cost the Squires a chance to be compensated as part of the NBA merger. Nearly 50 years later, Virginia is still without a professional team representing the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB.
The players at the panel, however, had nothing but glowing things to say about playing in the state.
“We know they love basketball here,” Gervin said. “You’ve got a good foundation. You’ve got a beautiful area. You always can find room from leadership to create space to build. … We’ve already proved that it can be back in the ’70s. Now, it comes down to leadership.
“The NBA is always looking to expand. What better place to come than where a franchise made the NBA what it is today?”
Talks of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals moving from Washington to Northern Virginia recently fell through. Virginia also has attempted to be the home of the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Norfolk once was in consideration for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets before they relocated to New Orleans in 2002.
Gervin, Erving and Scott were among the players who helped blaze a trail. The Squires brought a handful of legendary players to the scene and gave basketball a respected entertainment factor. And the ABA helped professional basketball transition to what it is today.
Last Friday was proof that fans didn’t forget. And also proof that they’d be up for reliving the past.
“I have a different set of eyes than most who aren’t a part of history to see what the ABA was,” Gervin said. “Do your own research and see how valuable the ABA’s implementation into the NBA (was) and how it has affected the NBA. It’ll blow your mind, man.”
(Top photo of George Gervin, Julius Erving, Charlie Scott, Charlie Neal and Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover courtesy of Glen Mason)
