There were a lot of guys — Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Artis Gilmore, George Gervin — who started their careers in the short-lived ABA and went on to legendary NBA careers. But Mel Daniels is the exception, he played almost his entire career in the ABA and had only one season with the Nets after the merger and in the NBA.
But with even with all those other stars, Daniels may have been the best player in the ABA — three time ABA champion with the Pacers, two time ABA MVP, seven-time ABA All-Star, a force inside that averaged 18.4 points and 14,9 rebounds a game.
It’s fitting that Daniels goes in to the Hall of Fame in the same class as Reggie Miller, they are the two greatest Pacers ever.
