Fansided

The best NBA Draft pick of all time at every slot

By Brandon Jefferson

NEW YORK - JUNE 26: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers poses with his jersey during the 2003/2004 NBA Draft Portrait at Paramount Theatre Madison Square Garden on June 26, 2003 in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 2003 NBAE (Photo by: Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - JUNE 26: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers poses with his jersey during the 2003/2004 NBA Draft Portrait at Paramount Theatre Madison Square Garden on June 26, 2003 in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 2003 NBAE (Photo by: Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Original Caption) A smiling Julius Erving greets newsmen here 10/21 after he signed a 3.5 million dollar contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Erving had been playing for the New York Nets. The Sixers are also reported to have given the Nets three million dollars for Erving.
(Original Caption) A smiling Julius Erving greets newsmen here 10/21 after he signed a 3.5 million dollar contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Erving had been playing for the New York Nets. The Sixers are also reported to have given the Nets three million dollars for Erving. /

12. Julius Erving 1972 NBA Draft, Milwaukee Bucks

This selection might be one of the all-time greatest “what if” moments in the history of the NBA. Julius Erving started his professional basketball career as a member of the ABA. The ABA had a “hardship” rule that allowed a player to leave college early — back then the NBA required players to attend college for four years — and Erving left the University of Massachusetts after his junior year and signed a contract with the Virginia Squires. Erving quickly became one of the best players in the entire league.

In 1972, Erving became eligible for the NBA draft and with the 12th pick, the Milwaukee Bucks selected him. The Bucks already had the likes of Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) on their team. Adding Erving to that duo likely would have made the Bucks the team to beat in the 1970s.

Erving would never suit up for the Bucks. Before the 1972 NBA Draft, Erving signed a contract with the Atlanta Hawks — who had “Pistol” Pete Maravich at the time and would have also made for a very formidable duo — but the Bucks and Squires contested it claiming that their team held the rights to Erving to play for their team. The dispute went to court, during which time Erving played a few preseason games with the Hawks. At first, the court ruled that Milwaukee was the team that had Erving’s rights since they acquired him in the draft. Atlanta appealed the ruling and ultimately it came to an end when a second judge issued an injunction that only allowed him to play for the Squires in the ABA. Before a ruling was made the Squires sold Erving’s contract to the New York Nets.

The Nets would play three more seasons before they were selected as part of the ABA-NBA merger in 1976, thus ending any hopes of the Bucks reclaiming Erving.

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