There were three great big men in the ABA.
Zelmo Beaty came from the NBA and had some great years in
the ABA. Artis Gilmore started in the ABA and then was an All-Star in the NBA. Mel
Daniels was ABA through and through – other than a short stint with the New
York Nets when he was on the way out.
Daniels was the first high draft pick to spurn the NBA. He
was the No. 9 overall pick by the Cincinnati Royals. Cincy offered Daniels a $15,000
bonus and $17,500 salary. The Minnesota Muskies offered the same bonus but also
a $30,000 salary. Daniels took the higher salary.
After one year with Minnesota, the owners ran into money troubles,
and they sold Daniels to Indiana for $75,000. The Pacers became the ABA version
of the Boston Celtics. In Daniels’ six seasons in Indiana, the Pacers won three
ABA titles and finished second twice.
Daniels has some important black ink on his basketball-reference page. He led the ABA in rebounding three of his first four years in the league and twice in the playoffs. He had PERs above 20.0 his first five years in the league and win shares above 8.0 the same number of years. He wasn’t quite as consistent in the playoffs, but he still had above 20.0 PER in four of his eight playoff seasons.
Daniels has some important black ink on his basketball-reference page. He led the ABA in rebounding three of his first four years in the league and twice in the playoffs. He had PERs above 20.0 his first five years in the league and win shares above 8.0 the same number of years. He wasn’t quite as consistent in the playoffs, but he still had above 20.0 PER in four of his eight playoff seasons.
Even with a 5 percent discount on ABA stats, the two-time ABA
MVP is easily an all-time top 100 player.
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Mel
Daniels bio info
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Career
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1967-1977
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Games
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639
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Points
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18.4
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Rebounds
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14.9
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Assists
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1.8
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FG Pct.
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46.8%
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All-Star games
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7
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ABA MVPs
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2
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ABA titles
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3
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Playoff seasons
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8
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Playoff games
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109
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Points
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17.4
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Rebounds
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14.8
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Assists
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1.5
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FG Pct.
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44.9%
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Hall of Fame
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2012
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Top 100
rankings
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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339.63
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46th
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5-year
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1,518.02
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34th
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10-year
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2,079.60
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97th
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Career
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2,079.60
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Not in top 100
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Mel Daniels
at his peak
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1970-1971
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Daniels
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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21.9
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25.06
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Win Shares
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11.4
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15.87
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Box +/-
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NA
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NA
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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33.3
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40.92
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81.37
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Playoff PER
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23.0
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25.46
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Win Shares
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1.7
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2.95
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Box +/-
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NA
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NA
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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24.7
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28.41
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86.94
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Reg. Season Win %
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68.29
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68.29
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Playoff Win %
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63.64
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63.64
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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84/110
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57.27
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
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0
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0
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Total Score (95%)
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339.63
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Daniels’ 10 greatest seasons
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1970-1971
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339.63
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1969-1970
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310.46
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1968-1969
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305.89
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1967-1968
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301.26
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1972-1973
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260.78
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1971-1972
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243.98
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1973-1974
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160.30
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1974-1975
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111.14
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1976-1977
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46.15
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NA
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NA
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Career
winning percentage
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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370
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270
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57.81%
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Playoffs
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63
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46
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57.80%
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