![]() Like Magic, Jordan and LeBron later on, he melded exciting play and quality in a way that reeled fans in and never let them go. Erving then reeled off 11 straight All-Star bids in the NBA after the merger. J isn't just symbolically important as a harbinger of the style that would arrive in the '80s: he was a two-time ABA champion and won the last three MVPs of the ABA. He's one of the most interesting elite athletes ever, he was fully dominant for a long spell and he kept the Lakers afloat in bridging the West and Magic eras. A high scorer and rebounder, the purveyor of the Sky Hook and a thoughtful off-court presence, it's really a shame KAJ isn't more beloved. Kareem won five of the 10 MVPs awarded in the '70s, made the All-Star team every year but '78 and only missed All-NBA first team three times in the decade. I included ABA contributions as warranted. ![]() With no further adieu, here are your All-1970s teams. But let's face it: the old-school center has been going out of style for a long, long time, all thanks to the chaos and rebirth in the '70s. Sure, we still saw centers like Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Shaq, Tim Duncan and Yao Ming rise and dominate down the road. The three-pointer debuted in the NBA in late 1979, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson dominated the early years of the 1980s, Michael Jordan arrived a few years later and the rest is history. Kareem was the best pro basketball player of the '70s - that's more or less beyond debate - but hoops came out the other side fully enthralled with shooters and high-flyers. It was this transition, from earth-bound giants to brilliant athleticism, that paved the way for the glorious rebirth that was to come. As Paul Flannery wrote this week, the ABA's mere presence helped push the NBA in a fateful direction toward style, panache and run-and-gun tactics by introducing the three and elevating the dunk to a respectable art form. The '70s were a time of chaos in pro basketball, but the chaos was caused by the fate of pro basketball being completely up in the air. You had championships in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, signaling the weakening of the East's stranglehold on basketball dominance, as well as providing evidence that L.A. You had D.C.'s best era with Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. You had Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier in the Big Apple, drawing attention and respect to the Mecca of basketball. You also had the burgeoning troupe of high-flyers with style: guys like Julius Erving, David Thompson and George Gervin. There were also great centers like Bob McAdoo, Artis Gilmore and Bill Walton. You had dominating centers, of course, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a perennial MVP candidate and a fully dependable superstar in the middle for both Milwaukee and Los Angeles. Here's another argument: the '70s represented a battle for the soul of basketball. J, Skywalker, The Ice Man, Kareem and the Rolls-Royce backcourt in the '70s. The glory of the '80s was only possible because of the work done by Dr. My argument was that it was a time of testing new limits, of parity and of transition. I have defended the '70s before, notably in Free Darko Presents: The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History. It's famously noted that in this era the NBA Finals were on tape delay. There was actually a good deal of legal wrangling over the reserve clause, the ABA merger, draft eligibility and What Team Rick Barry Would Be Playing For. They were no strong national rivalries, no dynasties, no epic G.O.A.T. The 1970s are not the most fondly remembered decade of pro basketball.
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