The ABA was, to its credit, a revolutionary league. Its focus on the excitement of basketball became the guiding principle behind the NBA's attitude era of the 1980s. Their best players rapidly became the faces of the NBA, and their ball became the iconic image of multiple decades of streetball.
From the games of the Harlem Globetrotters to the rubber basketballs available for sale in Old Navy, the imagery of the ABA was both inspired by the past of the sport and evocative of the future. It was glorious.
The visionary changes were not just in jerseys and balls, though. The three-point shot, the cornerstone of the modern era of the NBA, was implemented by ABA Commissioner George Mikan. The shot clock, something so standard across all levels of the game, came from the same origin.
When the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, it did so to survive the slow downfall of both leagues. Despite how the Will Ferrell movie Semi-Pro made it seem, professional basketball was in a bad place in the 70s.
After just nine years in existence, the ABA agreed to vacate all but four of the franchises, marking the end for all but the Denver Nuggets, New York (now Brooklyn) Nets, San Antonio Spurs, and your very own Indiana Pacers.
Despite this era being an integral part of the NBA's history, however, many fans still echo the idea that the Indiana Pacers have not won a championship.
That is, quite simply, stupid.
ABA titles are not given the proper respect
The New York Knicks won their first title since 1973 this past season. Their rivalry with the Pacers had been postponed after Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles tear and Indiana's gap year, and they had used that time to earn the championship that had eluded them.
However, the Pacers have actually won a title that same year, their third in four years. Instead of that being celebrated, by the team or otherwise, it has been largely ignored.
The past of the NBA deserves better than that. The ABA deserves its respect, and the teams leading that charge should be the ones that exist today because of the league's innovation. Even teams that did not survive the merger but proved as prototypes for future expansion teams, like the Minnesota Muskies (Timberwolves), Utah Stars (Jazz), and Memphis Sounds (Grizzlies), should be helping too.
There's so much of the NBA's history that has been ignored.
The ABA should not join that list.
Indiana's organization acknowledges George McGinnis as one of its best players of all time and draws on the jersey history that those teams established. While the modern Pacers are, comparatively, losers with only two Finals appearances in 20-odd years and no rings, those Pacers were arguably the top team in the league's history.
There's no need to crush history to celebrate the present. Considering Indiana's standing as a franchise, they should draw from their history more often. Fans often point to the 90s as the start of the Knicks - Pacers rivalry. They are two decades late.
How many more stories are there hiding in Pacers history? Did you know they had a bear during their halftime shows? Look it up!
This is what makes basketball wonderful: generational history. It's time to actually highlight it.
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