Reflecting on the ABA, what it did well, and the economics behind their merger

   The story of the ABA is a somewhat similar one to the USFL, with the same end result, of not being a league of their own. However, the difference in the two leagues we have learned about is that the ABA had merging occur, as four of their teams joined the NBA.  The NBA was a monopoly and the ABA challenged it. They had the same product, being the production of professional basketball, however the two leagues were differentiated. The NBA had the majority of skilled players, so they were a scarce commodity for the ABA. Due to this reason, forwards played the postilion of centers. Additionally, in the ABA, all players took shots which was a big change from their competitor. The ABA did not have a strictly followed college wait period such as the NBA, which brought popularity to their league. They were able to bring in new players, and by not following this rule their demand on necessary players was able to be met. Lastly, the ABA brought to the table faster paced basketball, and help to increase the popularity of basketball in the US. In some ways the merger has aspects of a bail out, such as the US bailing out the Mexican economy, in the way that they saved something. The ABA turned basketball into what it is today, and helped to increase the popularity of the sport into what it is today.
   This merger is a case where two companies can come together and mutually benefit from their joining. However, the merger was not 50/50, as the ABA only had 4 teams merge into the league. This is economically very good for these teams, their managers, and owners. The other ABA teams that did not merge, clearly did not thrive from this merger and it was detrimental to them. The difference between the USFL and the ABA and how one was successful in their in market goal, is that the ABA wanted to merge from the beginning. From their business model, it can be seen that they had a clear idea from the beginning of what they wanted to do and this is how they achieved joining in the monopoly, in which is the NBA.