Bringing back the retro 70's basketball style

On a fitting day such as Leap Day a part of basketball history is being relived in the new comedy movie, Semi-Pro. I like the idea of a historical piece on the ABA league. Back then the short shorts were in as well as the puffy afros. It was a time when white guys never rushed shots and made a good 10 passes on each possession. The object I think back then not to outscore the opponent, but to see how long you could play keep away from them. Plus witnessing a white player dunk was a rarity. Only until stars like Julius Erwing entered the league did the real razzle dazzle finishes evolve.

In an era where disco was popular the players all sported the thick sideburns and briskly mustaches. The knee high socks were a big deal too for some reason. If an athlete chose to maintain such an appearance today he would definitely feel out of place and probably be heckled to the point of no end. Today some players like to wear the headbands, color-coordinating them to their jersey. In the 70's, uniforms were so tight on players defenders probably uncomfortable guarding them so close. The headbands looked so snug that it was cutting off oxygen to the brain. I did like those red, white, and blue regulation basketballs though because at least you could spot them easily on the court if had suffered from poor farsighted vision.

Warm-up drills seemed to set more on a serious tone in that era than they are now. No screwing around was allowed and a routine of fundamentals was expected. That meant no missed layups. If players failed to maintain 100% accuracy the coaches benched them for long periods and made them run extra suicides in practice. Today's penalties in the NBA are a far cry from the stern repercussions in the 70's. For getting a physical confrontation with a coach could result in a player being banned from the league. I can only imagine back then what would have happened to former Golden State Warrior Latrell Sprewell if he would've lashed out and tried to choke his coach.