Four-time ABA All-Star, Indiana Pacers legend, and Dropping Dimes Foundation Advisory Board Member Bob Netolicky and Foundation President Scott Tarter joined SB Nation Reinis Lacis’s podcast The Handle.
Netolicky and Tarter share numerous stories on the ABA. Bob and Scott both reminisced about the glory days of the league and the Pacers, as well as explained the purpose of Dropping Dimes and the unfortunate financial situation several ABA players find themselves in nowadays.
Listen now:
Topics discussed in the podcast:
02:20 – Scott’s connection with basketball, him rooting for the Indiana Pacers in the ABA days, Darnell Hillman being the favorite Pacer of his;
05:55 – The chemistry of those Indiana Pacers teams, the impact of the Mel Daniels trade and coach Slick Leonard‘s influence on the team;
10:45 – Roger Brown being the best player with whom Bob has played, how Brown was unsure about jumping to the ABA, the finances of that time;
15:25 – A rare radio broadcast of Game 5 of the 1972 ABA Finals between the Pacers and the New York Nets, a clutch three by Bill Keller and a Freddie Lewis steal on Rick Barry;
19:20 – “We Changed the Game” – a book soon to be released on the ABA, which will contain nuggets previously unavailable to the public;
25:10 – ABA vs. NBA, the fierce battles and the animosity being primarily created by front office people;
29:55 – A Mel Daniels vs. Flynn Robinson fight which was halted by San Diego Conquistadors coach Wilt Chamberlain picking Daniels up;
31:45 – The opening game at Market Square Arena, a win against the Milwaukee Bucks in which Bob faced up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in front of an ABA record crowd;
35:55 – The story behind the Dropping Dimes Foundation, how it supports former ABA players who aren’t doing well financially, the support Mel Daniels and Bob Netolicky offered, the Roger Brown documentary “Undefeated”;
42:35 – The bad conditions in which several former ABA players find themselves in, the lack of a pension plan for which Bob is fighting;
45:55 – Future goals of Dropping Dimes and information about donating to the foundation;
49:00 – The upcoming 50th anniversary of the ABA, additional information on the book;
53:05 – Scott meeting the members of the board, having to tell Willie Wise, Louie Dampier and Dan Issel that once upon a time he rooted against them.
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