http://www.nba.com/hawks/history/DrJ.html
Historically, the National Basketball Association has been dominated by dynasties led by legends of the game. Starting with the Lakers of the 50's (four titles), the Celtics in the 60's (nine titles), the Lakers in the 80's (five titles), the Bulls of the 90's (six titles), and the recent run of the Lakers (five titles in the 2000's), each decade has had one or two teams rise a step above the rest of the league. The 1970's are the lone exception, as eight different teams won championships. For one fleeting month, and three defiant exhibition games, the Hawks had Atlanta fans dreaming of filling that void.
All of the aforementioned dynasties have one thing in common: star power. They were George Mikan's Lakers, Cousy and Russell's Celtics, Jordan and Pippen's Bulls, and the list goes on. On September 12, 1972, a Georgia Superior Court ruling allowed Julius Erving to join the Hawks training camp, and the dream that "Dr. J and Pistol Pete's Hawks" might join that list of dynasties appeared to be coming true.
What follows is a condensed version of a complicated story that could only have taken place in the 70's, when the existence of the rival American Basketball Association (ABA), had caused players to jump from one league to the other for more lucrative offers.
