If you love basketball, Prime Video has a docuseries for you.
The NBA would not be the entertaining league it is today without the ABA. The 3-point shot, the Slam Dunk Contest, and the overall joyful aesthetic of professional basketball were all innovations pioneered by the upstart ABA.
The four-part Prime Video docuseries Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association aims to educate and remind fans of the ABA’s influence on the modern game. There is material here that younger viewers might not know and that older viewers may have forgotten. Soul Power will debut on Feb. 12.
The rise and fall of the ABA is detailed here, thanks in part to executive producers “Dr. J” Julius Erving and George Karl. While the league died following the ABA-NBA merger in 1976, its legacy endures.
Through interviews with former ABA players and coaches and archival footage, viewers will see the pomp and pageantry. The ABA wasn’t just another league competing with the NBA. It showcased a different lifestyle on and off the court, putting a premium on fun. The NBA was viewed as way too conservative. The ABA featured fashion and fast breaks. Just look at what Larry Brown wore on the sidelines, rocking denim overalls.
Of course, the ABA was about the players. The face of the league was Dr. J. He was the biggest draw because he was among the first to take the game above the rim. Soul Power goes into great detail about his impact, why he was so coveted, and his role in the merger. While his story is important, the interview that stands out most in this docuseries is Spencer Haywood’s. The son of a Mississippi sharecropper and one of 10 children, he was motivated to succeed to lift his family out of poverty. Hearing about Haywood’s experiences on the court and in court is fascinating and heartbreaking.
While ABA alums included Dr. J, Haywood, Rick Barry, Moses Malone, George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, Connie Hawkins, and others, the league also produced a famous broadcasting alum. One of the best things about Soul Power is hearing from Bob Costas.
Costas was the 22-year-old voice of the Spirits of St. Louis. In the docuseries, he tells a terrific anecdote about how he feared an on-air faux pas might cost him his job. If he had been punished, perhaps we never would have heard of Costas. But this occurred in the 1970s and went relatively undetected.
Today, only four former ABA teams remain: the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, and San Antonio Spurs. They joined the NBA as former teams such as the Kentucky Colonels, Virginia Squires, and Spirits of St. Louis faded. Yet the league’s overall impact remains—a legacy not only through its teams but also through its pioneers.
Soul Power acknowledges many contributors, including Ellie Brown Moore. In 1973, the then-33-year-old Moore became the owner of the Colonels, making her the first woman to own a pro basketball team. She appointed the first all-female board of directors in pro sports history. Moore was also credited with increasing ticket sales and attendance.
“(They were) able to develop something really special,” Gilmore said in the docuseries.
Soul Power is available to stream on Prime Video starting on Feb. 12.
About Michael Grant
Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant.