Can you imagine the NFL or its media partners discussing the league's history, statistics, and great players without mentioning legendary AFL players and teams? Joe Namath's guarantee prior to the New York Jets' Super Bowl III upset win over the Baltimore Colts is one of the most iconic moments in pro football history.
In sad and inexcusable contrast, the NBA ignores the ABA's history and statistics. This leads to absurd conversations like the one that took place on ESPN's pregame show prior to game six of the Eastern Conference Finals when the panel debated where Stephen Curry should rank all-time. The consensus was that Curry probably does not belong in the top 10, and the debate focused on whether or not Curry has surpassed Julius Erving and Moses Malone, two players who ESPN has determined rank in the top 20 but not the top 10. ESPN graphics listing the players' career accomplishments and honors asserted that Erving won one regular season MVP, one championship, and no Finals MVPs. This is equivalent to asserting that Joe Namath's AFL statistics and honors should not be counted. Not counting ABA records does not harm Malone as much as Erving because Malone's ABA career was shorter and less distinguished than Erving's, but one also gets the sense that Malone is somehow "tainted" because he did not spend his entire career in the NBA. Is there any three-time regular season MVP whose career is as ignored as Malone's? How many fans realize that Malone won the same number of MVPs as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson?
Regarding Erving, no matter how often the NBA and its media partners deny history, these are the facts: Erving won four regular season MVPs, three championships, and two Finals MVPs. Further, in the 1976 ABA Finals, Erving played at a level that Curry cannot even dream of reaching: Erving led both teams in scoring (37.7 ppg), rebounding (14.2 rpg), assists (6.0 apg), steals (3.0 spg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg). Who was Erving competing against in that series? Just a Denver Nuggets team coached by Hall of Fame Coach Larry Brown, and led by Hall of Fame players David Thompson, Dan Issel, and Bobby Jones.
Erving still belongs in the greatest player of all-time conversation; pretending that he is fighting for a spot in the top 20 and that he has been surpassed by a 6-3 guard is ridiculous. The only player shorter than 6-5 whose impact can be compared with Erving's is Jerry West.
Before Curry is compared to players like Erving and Malone, he needs to surpass a few more of his contemporaries. There is no question that Curry was the second best player behind Kevin Durant on Golden State's 2017 and 2018 championship teams. If the Warriors win the 2022 championship that will not retroactively change what happened in 2017 and 2018. Durant may be a borderline Pantheon player, but Curry is definitely behind Durant (and not next in line, either).
Curry is a great player, and this article is not meant to bash him. I enjoy watching Curry play, and I think that he represents a lot of what is great about basketball, including his skill set development, his superior conditioning, and his unselfishness. The issue is not Curry or anything that he has accomplished; the issue is that the NBA is doing the sport of basketball a great disservice by ignoring vast swaths of history.