The time Julius Erving almost joined the Milwaukee Bucks

Just imagine a Big 3 with Julius Erving, Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

© Malcolm Emmons - USA TODAY Sports

It's hard to imagine now, but once upon a time, the NBA wasn't the only major basketball league in the States. The ABA was a real thing full of talented players, some of which even became NBA legends in the long run. One of them was Julius Erving.

Joining the big league

After an impressive rookie campaign with the Virginia Squires during which Erving averaged 27.3 ppg and 15.7 rpg, the then-22-year-old decided to terminate his contract and start searching for an NBA job. But the situation was a bit more complicated.

“The NBA came out with an announcement saying all valid ABA contracts would be honored by the NBA. When that happened, all but one NBA team backed out. Atlanta was the team that showed good faith,” Erving explained.

This would lead to Julius signing a 4-year contract with the Hawks; one that would come into effect once his deal with the Squires expired. But to Dr. J's wish, that information wasn't publicized, as he went into the 1972 Draft as an unavailable player.

This is where the Milwaukee Bucks came into play.

The Bucks-Hawks drama

Despite winning a championship in 1971 and going deep into the 1972 Playoffs, the Bucks still had two high first-round picks, and they looked to add more pieces to the already deep roster led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor at the time) and Oscar Robertson.

The Bucks used their 6th pick to select Russ Lee and their 12th pick to get themselves Julius Erving. It was an amazing steal, but Milwaukee soon learned the cold truth of Erving's unavailability due to his contract with the Hawks.

The team owner Bill Putnam was adamant about their rights to keep Erving.

"Julius Erving has signed an agreement with the Atlanta Hawks that will become valid at the expiration of his contract with the Virginia Squires. Even if we do have to wait three years to get him, he's still worth it. He's just turned 22 and is one of the most exciting players I have ever seen," Putnam explained.

But the Bucks also thought they had the rights to Julius. That's where the drama began. 

Both teams engaged in extensive negotiations, all while Erving's contract with the Squires got terminated by a Supreme Judge, allowing him to immediately take his talents to the NBA.

Dr.J. then joined the Hawks' training camp before the 1972-1973 season and even played in preseason games, despite the Board of Governors awarding the 22-year-old to the Bucks, which sparked hefty fines towards the Hawks organization from the commissioner.

Things got really tense, and the whole drama ended with a federal judge issuing an injunction that prevented Erving from playing professional basketball for any organization except the Squires. Julius returned to the ABA for one more year; he led the league in scoring and eventually got traded to the New York Nets in 1973.

Fast forward to 1987, Erving retired as one of the best players in the league's history. But throughout his all-time great NBA journey, he never got to play for the Bucks.