Kareem (known as Lew Alcindor at the time) was one of the most coveted draft prospects of all time, having set numerous records at UCLA.

In the 1969 ABA draft, his hometown team, the New York Nets, selected him 1st overall. At this time, the ABA was fairly weak compared to what it became in the mid-1970s and considered an upstart league, but they wanted to make a splash. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks selected him 1st overall in the NBA draft that same year.

Kareem told both teams to submit a one-time bid, and he would choose the highest one. The Bucks submitted an offer of 1.4M, which was the highest. However, the Nets saw this and countered with an offer of 3.25M, significantly higher than the Bucks offer. Nevertheless, Kareem believed in principles and integrity (and he quoted John Wooden when telling his story), and he rejected the Nets new offer because it was not their initial offer. As a result, Kareem went to the NBA instead of the ABA.

Had the Nets not lowballed their first offer, NBA history would be different. One of two things would definitely have happened:

1. The ABA survives and does not merge with the NBA. By the mid-70s, the ABA already had elite talent, including arguably 3 of the top 5 players in the world (Julius Erving, George Gervin, and David Thompson - all 3 made the NBA 1st team right after the merger), along with other players such as Moses Malone, Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel, Bobby Jones, James Silas, etc. In the early 70s, they also had Rick Barry and Connie Hawkins before they went to the NBA (with Barry returning). In an alternate world, all of these guys stay in the ABA to go along with Kareem. Getting Kareem to come to the ABA also possibly entices Bill Walton, who naturally followed Kareem at UCLA, to join the ABA.

2. The ABA merges earlier with the NBA. The NBA didn’t really care to merge with the ABA that fast due to Oscar Robert son’s case and that they didn’t think the ABA was that big of a competitor. However, having Kareem in the ABA would make the NBA reconsider. If the ABA merged earlier with the NBA (say by 1972), more teams might have joined because it would have been more attractive since Kareem was the main prize. In addition, if the merger happened earlier, many of the later ABA players would have gone directly to the NBA, changing NBA history. Guys like David Thompson and Moses Malone would have gone to very different teams, which would change the championship winners going forward. Even someone like Maurice Lucas does not go to the Blazers, which would greatly impact Bill Walton’s legacy.

The Nets got overconfident thinking Kareem would come to his hometown for a discount, which changed basketball history.