Indy Star
In the days following Mel Daniels’ death, friends and former opponents have echoed this same truth. Daniels was a strong man. Strong enough to have had a 48-year dunking shelf life – first rising and slamming as a teenager in Detroit then throwing one down as a 61-year-old man with an AARP card, because he wanted to show he still had it.
Mark Montieth & NBA.com
Four former Pacers remain on the list of players eligible for direct selection from the ABA to the Hall of Fame, bypassing the standard nominating process. One in particular stands out. George McGinnis was as good as any player in the game during his peak period in the mid-Seventies, ABA or NBA.
McGinnis was co-Most Valuable Player of the ABA with Julius Erving in the 1974-75 season, when he averaged 29.8 points, 14.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.6 steals. He led the Pacers to a surprising journey to the ABA finals that season, averaging 32.3 points, 15.9 rebounds, 8.2 assists, two steals and 6.2 turnovers in the playoffs.
Washington Post
Moses Malone, a three-time NBA MVP and Hall of Fame player who was one of the most dominant centers of his era, has died at the age of 60. Malone became one of the first high school players to turn pro, choosing to sign with the Utah Stars of the ABA rather than attend the University of Maryland after he graduated from Petersburg, Va., High School. After the ABA and NBA merged, Malone went on to play for the Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs.
Indy Star
Dampier may be the only man to ever play the game of basketball who, deep down within his soul, secretly hoped he would never get into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.
MMA Crossfire
It’s been 28 years since professional basketball great Julius “Doctor J” Erving’s [retirement] and there still seems to be a glaring lack of basic knowledge for what the man did to earn the accolade as one of the greatest players ever.
NBA Pacers
It seems incongruous, this 6-foot-9 Hall of Famer with the vice-grip handshake reflecting on such tender topics with such sincerity. That is, unless you get to know him. And then it makes perfect sense that this bare-fisted brawler has written, by his estimation, at least 20,000 poems.
Vigilant Sports
On a Sunday evening in mid-July, seven former ABA Pacers were together in one room — for one cause they care dearly about.
If you knew these guys, you would know coming together is nothing out of the ordinary for them. They’ll often meet up at one of their houses and hang out. Some attend Pacers games regularly. The men (and their families) have remained close through the decades as the American Basketball Association merged with the National Basketball Association we know today back in 1976.
On Sunday, July 19th, The Dropping Dimes Foundation held its Tip-Off Fundraiser at the Arthur M. Glick Jewish Community Center in Indianapolis. The location held a special place in the hearts of both players and fans alike—it was once the site where the Indiana Pacers practiced.
During the event, fans had the opportunity to meet and greet former ABA greats and listen to the players share some of their favorite memories of playing in the ABA. Highlights included tales of the famous ABA brawls on the court, a committed fan who left little to the imagination when showing her devotion to the team, and a little off the cuff motivation from Bobby “Slick” Leonard — hockey style.
However, the high point of the evening was undoubtedly the return of Roger Brown’s Hall of Fame jacket when Brown’s former teammates were able to present the jacket to his family. The jacket will be on display at The Fieldhouse this coming season.
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Over the weekend, the Dropping Dimes Foundation, the NBA’s Indiana Pacers (formerly of the ABA), and an assortment of family and friends to the Brown family came together to help buy back Roger Brown’s Hall of Fame Jacket. Brown was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013, and since the induction Read more
Dropping Dimes Advisory Board Member and ABA great Spencer Haywood and ABA All-Star Louie Dampier made it into the 2015 Class of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Read more
