ABA Players Get 'Recognition Payments' From NBA In Time For Christmas

The NBA has had a stellar 2022 which featured big moments like its celebration of 75th year existence while honoring the stars who paved the way to make the league into the global phenomenon that it is.

However, the NBA is closing out the year by honoring a much earlier batch of trailblazers: former ABA players.

The Indy Star broke the news that ABA players have finally received their "recognition payments" from the NBA with many ABA players being confused with the amounts indicated on the checks they received in the mail.

"They were all literally sitting around going, 'What the hell?' These checks were so much bigger than many expected," Dropping Dimes Foundation (DDF) president Scott Tarter said.

"Just in time for Christmas. Yes, it kind of is a Christmas miracle. Unbelievable. I am telling you. I have shed some serious tears over this. It's just insane how impactful this is going to be to these players."

The foundation, established in the mid-2010s and headed by Tarter and CEO John Abrams, aimed to help former ABA players receive some form of compensation from the NBA after the game-changing merger in 1976, which unfortunately left many of them without jobs.

While there are only a few around the world who remember the ABA and its contributions to basketball, fewer still are those who stepped onto the hardwood which allowed it to go toe-to-toe with the NBA.

DDF sought to alleviate some of the financial issues that some players found themselves in and went to bat for them against the NBA in discussions that finally found a breakthrough in the summer.

In July, it was reported that the NBA board of governors and NBA Players Association (NBPA) had agreed to pay out $24.5 million to about 115 eligible players after years and years of discussion.

To become eligible to receive such payments, the official DDF website confirmed that players who spent at least three years in the ABA (including being on a roster, active or injury reserve) and had never vested in an NBA pension benefit at any time since the merger.

The payouts have been tiered based on the number of years they spent in the ABA, with about an average of $3,828 going to them annually.

"These pioneers made meaningful contributions to help grow the game of professional basketball and we all believe it's appropriate to provide financial recognition to this group for their impact," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said at the time.

While many were only expecting to earn money from their ABA playing years, it was revealed that some of them received extra from their time in the NBA.

The NBA sending out checks at this time of the year is an extremely heartwarming end to a long, drawn-out conversation that had many ABA alums wondering if they would ever receive something for their contributions to how basketball is being played today.