A slightly different version of this article was originally published in the May 2001 issue of Basketball Digest.

Julius "Dr. J" Erving. Rick Barry. George "the Iceman" Gervin.
David Thompson. Artis Gilmore. That looks like a formidable starting
five, but there is one way to contain them. Each of these players spent
time in the ABA--and the NBA has put the ultimate defensive clamps on
them by acting like those seasons do not exist.

The Official NBA Guide has
hundreds of pages of history and statistics. Each of the five players
from the above "Dream Team" is listed among the Guide's career scoring
leaders. But take a look at what appears next to Julius Erving's name:
11 years (1977-87), 18,364 points in 836 games (22.0 ppg). Question:
How do you stop a guy who averages 28.7 ppg? Answer: Act as though he
never did. Erving's career began in 1972, not 1977. In his first five
years he scored 11,662 points in 407 games (28.7 ppg), but the NBA
pretends that those numbers do not matter. The same holds true for
Barry, Gervin, and the rest.

To find Dr. J's first five seasons and the statistics of other ABA
greats in the Guide, you have to search for a list that is awkwardly
titled "Combined NBA/ABA, Career Scoring."

Unfortunately, the "combined" numbers are not considered "official"
by the NBA and are almost always ignored in discussions of basketball
history. Karl Malone's climb up the career scoring list a few years ago
was well documented. When he passed Michael Jordan and topped the late
Wilt Chamberlain, those accomplishments were justifiably celebrated in
the media. What wasn't mentioned is that Erving and Moses Malone should
appear just below Chamberlain on the career scoring list (Moses' first
two pro seasons disappear down the same memory hole as Erving's first
five years, so Karl "officially" passed Moses during the 1997-98
season).

It's even worse when you examine the media guides of the four
former ABA teams, the New Jersey (then New York) Nets, Indiana Pacers,
Denver Nuggets, and San Antonio Spurs. These teams have every right to
be proud of their ABA heritage and to even overstate the importance of
their ABA years but instead they act as if franchise records set during
the ABA years hardly exist.

This shortchanges players such as Erving and Gilmore by wiping out
the first five seasons of their careers. Erving won two championships,
three MVPs (sharing one with George McGinnis), two Playoff MVPs and
three scoring titles in the ABA, while Gilmore notched one
championship, one Playoff MVP and four rebounding titles.

No player's resume would emerge unscathed from such drastic
revisions. Take away Michael Jordan's first five years and you erase
one MVP, his two highest scoring seasons, his only Defensive Player of
the Year award, two scoring titles, one steals title and his playoff
single game scoring record of 63 points. Larry Bird would lose two of
his three championships, one MVP, one NBA Finals MVP and his best
single season totals in rebounds and steals. Magic Johnson would
forfeit two of his five championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, two steals
titles, one assists title and his single season bests in rebounding and
steals.

Pacers Roger Brown and Mel Daniels are two Hall of Fame-caliber
players whose great careers are largely ignored in no small part
because their statistics are unrecognized. Brown was a four-time ABA
All-Star who won three ABA championships with Indiana. More than one
observer has said that Brown was Jordan's true precursor. In the 1970
ABA Finals, Brown averaged 32.7 ppg, scoring 53, 39 and 45 in the final
three games. In the 1972 ABA Finals, Brown led the Pacers to a series-clinching victory
in game six by outscoring future Hall of Famer Rick Barry 32-23.
Daniels played center on those three championship teams, winning two
regular season MVP awards. His 1608 career playoff rebounds place him
14th in pro basketball history.

It doesn't have to be this way. In the NFL Record and Fact Book
(2008 edition), Len Dawson, George Blanda and others are listed as
statistical leaders even though they spent parts of their careers in
the AFL. The section on team histories includes the statistics of
players such as Joe Namath, Don Maynard, and Paul Lowe among many
others who set franchise records that date back to the AFL. NFL records
show that Joe Namath is the first player to pass for 4,000 yards in a
single season (4,007 in 1967); no one suggests that Dan Fouts' 4,082
yard performance in 1979 is more valid because it is the first such
effort that occurred after the NFL and AFL merged.

The 76ers feted Larry Brown several years ago when he reached the
1000 victory milestone as a pro coach, which served as a de facto
recognition of his combined ABA-NBA win totals. Was that a sign that
things are changing for the better? Perhaps, but it also underscored
the nature of the problem. During a TNT broadcast shortly after the
ceremony honoring Coach Brown, commentator (and ABA old-schooler) Pete
Vecsey quipped that if Brown's ABA wins were being recognized, Dr. J's
ABA points should be acknowledged. Vecsey did not pursue the issue
further, but as long as ABA statistics are not "official," media guides
and other publications will continue to ignore them or mention them
only as afterthoughts.

ABA numbers should be made "official" by the NBA. Then Larry
Brown's wins, Dr. J's points and the rest of the ABA's glorious history
would assume its proper place in the basketball record book.

(Note: To see charts of the ABA-NBA career leaders in scoring, rebounding and assists for both the regular season and the playoffs, visit the original 20 Second Timeout post, because the Yardbarker post template does not display those lists in a readable fashion)