Source: George Gojkovich / Getty
Before the NBA became the premier destination for professional basketball, the American Basketball Association was king. A new documentary coming to Prime Video will document once prominent professional basketball league that gave us basketball legends like Dr. J.
Deadline exclusively reports Prime Video has ordered a currently untitled multi-part docuseries about the ABA’s rise and fall and how the league paved the way for the NBA we know and love today.
Per Deadline:
Prime Video has ordered a multi-part docuseries, currently untitled, about the rise and fall of the league, which defined one of America’s most turbulent eras and shaped the NBA as we know it today.
The series comes from Prime Video Sports, George Karl’s Truth+ Media, Todd Lieberman’s Hidden Pictures, and Kenan Kamwana Holley’s Holley Films. It comes after former Mandeville Films, and Television co-chief Lieberman recently launched his own film and TV company Hidden Pictures.
The American Basketball Association Has A Rich History
The American Basketball Association provided American basketball fans their fix for the sport between 1967 and 1976 and was the reason the New York Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs eventually made it into the NBA. The ABA was also the birthplace of the now deadly three-point shot, which is now a dominant tool in today’s NBA.
The ABA saw its demise after it merged with the NBA in 1976, but before its end was the home of legendary basketball talent like Dr. J, Rick Barry, Moses Malone, Spencer Haywood, George Gervin, and George Karl. He is directly involved with the project.
The news of the multi-part docuseries also comes after the NBA reached an agreement with the National Basketball Players Association to fund a $24M lifetime benefit recognizing ABA players’ contributions to the sport.
Prime Video did not share a date for the yet-to-be-titled project.
Photo: George Gojkovich / Getty
