Rick Mount: Back from Oblivion, 1972

As a Memphis reporter wrote to mark the occasion: “You’d think that Rick Mount was born in a moonless night under a ladder in the presence of 13 black cats.”

Does Pro Basketball Have a Drug Problem? 1975

A former trainer in the ABA said, “I’d never be able to walk into a court of law and state that members of (my) team were taking drugs. But I do feel that drugs are more prominent than when I first started in the league in 1968.”

Warren Armstrong (Jabali): Like a Rock, 1969-1975

“Warren plays like he was 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7. It’s not all jumping ability, either. He can jump with anybody, but [when] he gets around the ball, he’s got timing and he’s strong.”

Balls of Confusion: Signing Lew Alcindor, 1969

Brown handed him the certified check from Chemical Bank. Alcindor fingered the paper, eyed his name printed as clearas day across the middle, and handed it back. “Mr. Brown said to me, ‘We’ll give you a million dollars,’” recalled Alcindor, but without mentioning a timeframe.