The Waiting Game

I’ve been an avid basketball fan ever since Michael Jordan burst onto the scene and popularized the sport to previously unthought-of heights. The forgotten story is how the ABA (American Basketball Association) played a huge role in helping the NBA become the juggernaut it is today, and even more lost to time are the former ABA players who never received the recognition, pension, or health care that they deserved. Director Michael Husain’s The Waiting Game focuses on the plight of the non-profit Dropping Dimes Foundation to get the ABA players financial help before it’s too late, with some former players sadly dying destitute before that goal is even seriously considered by the mega-corporation that is the NBA.

The film starts off with a quote from the Bruce Springsteen song “Youngstown,” which goes, “Once I made you rich enough, rich enough to forget my name.” The ABA, from 1967 until its demise in 1976, was a free-wheeling, high-flying dunking, 3-point shooting, and fashion magnet extravaganza long before those things were incorporated into the more buttoned-down NBA of that era. I personally have only seen clips of the league and heard stories about how great Dr. J (Julius Erving) was during his prime in that league. Still, people such as Dropping Dimes CEO Scott Tarter fondly remember his dad taking him to ABA games when he was young and he is now a lawyer working pro bono in order to help the players who he admired.

“…the former ABA players who never received the recognition, pension, or health care that they deserved.”

The fun parts of The Waiting Game are seeing the highlight clips of the players and entertainment, such as dancers and mascots of that disco era while hearing quotes from guys like Darnell “Dr. Dunk” Hillman stating that he was “7’ 2” with the hair, 6′ 9” without,” while laughing about his humongous afro. This documentary is split between the fight to get the players’ benefits and rightly so. It’s also cool to see the fondness for the ABA by stars such as announcer Bob Costas and Julius Erving because they were a big part of the league that added so much flair to basketball.

The stark contrast is the travesty of seeing former players such as Sam Smith lying dying on his hospital bed with an ABA ball near his head, as a way to denote the urgent need for financial help for these guys. That call for help worked because it got the attention of the NBA players union rep. C.J. McCollum, who made calls to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in order to get ABA players a pension. The other ugly matter discussed is the issue of race, that it was an unspoken NBA rule only to play two black players at the same time, but three black players if you were on the road, and five if you were losing by a large margin.

The documentary delves into how the ABA players were deceived by the legal documents when the ABA dissolved because it stated that ABA players would get the same generous benefits as NBA players. The caveat is that it would be handled by the ABA and not the NBA, but there was no longer an ABA. It’s sickening to see so many ABA players struggling with their health and finances while the NBA is basking in its riches. Kudos to Dropping Dimes and The Waiting Game for shining a light on the problem. Even though the battle may have been far too long and drawn out, it was more than a worthy cause to fight for and to keep fighting for.