Re-writing NBA History: An Introduction

An introduction to my revised NBA history using Fast Break Pro Basketball 3

Any talk about the National Basketball Association in the first half of the 1960s began and ended with the Boston Celtics. At the end of the 1965–66 season, the Celtics won their ninth championship in 10 years, cementing their place as one of pro sports’ greatest dynasties.

However, as 1966 ended, things were about to change. The Celtics’ dynasty was about to end as Bill Russell closed in on the end of his playing career. The NBA was about to embark on a series of expansions that would balloon the number of teams and expand the league’s footprint out west. A rival league, the American Basketball Association, was also about to form for the 1967–68, giving a slew of players unable to break into the NBA a chance to make a name for themselves in pro ball.

In the NBA, eight teams would join the league in a span of five years, with four of the new teams being based on the west coast: Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix and Portland. Chicago would get a new franchise after a couple of old NBA franchises failed in the city. Another midwest city, Milwaukee, would get its first NBA team. Also joining the league in this time period were Cleveland and Buffalo. This dynasty will fully begin in 1967–68, the first year of the ABA and the second year of expansion for the NBA.

I will be building an expansion team from scratch in this NBA historical replay using the game Fast Break Pro Basketball 3. I haven’t delved to deeply into Fast Break and basketball isn’t the sport I’m most knowledgeable about. What I have discovered is Fast Break is the only sim game on the market allowing for basketball replays with historical league formats, drafts and scheduling.

For this dynasty, I will be the GM and head coach of the San Diego Rockets. The two expansion franchises of the 1967 expansion are no longer in their original cities in real life. While the Seattle SuperSonics departure a little more than 10 years ago is well known, its easy to forget the Houston Rockets actually played a few seasons in San Diego. Outside of the mid-1990s, the Rockets have been unsuccessful during their history in the NBA. I am hoping to make the Rockets competitive for their early years in Houston and bring more championships to the Rockets in this replay than in relay life.

I will be starting with a clean slate and choose an original roster for the Rockets through the 1967 Expansion Draft.. In order to participate in the expansion draft, the game forces players to play the previous season. This historical replay will therefore begin with a simulation of the 1966–67 season. I will take over the Rockets for the start of the 1967 offseason.