"The American basketball public is clamoring for a merger. So are the NBA and ABA owners, the two commissioners and every college coach. The war is over. The Armistice will be signed soon." - Basketball Weekly, 1971. During the summer of 1971, there seemed a good chance that the established NBA would merge with the upstart ABA. In anticipation of the merger, the two leagues began playing preseason exhibition games against each other in the fall of 1971. (These inter-league contests continued until the two leagues eventually merged in 1976. In total, there were 155 games played with the ABA ultimately besting the NBA, 79 games to 76 games. The rare and historic broadside on offer here dates from the fall of 1971 and advertises the two most celebrated of all the ABA-NBA inter-league games, featuring the 1971 ABA champion Utah Stars squaring off against the 1970 NBA champion New York Knicks (Frazier, DeBusschere, Reed) and the 1971 NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks (Alcindor, Robertson, Dandridge). In two closely-contested contests, the Knicks bested the Stars 96-89 (Frazier 19 points), while the Bucks bested the Stars 122-114 (Kareem 36 points) in what was dubbed "The Super Bowl of Basketball." Fabulously funky '70s graphics feature the Star's logo with headshots of Utah's starting five and head coach (Beaty, Robbins, Wise, Jackson, Combs, and Anderson) surrounding a red/white/blue ABA ball. Type reads "The ABA Champion Utah Stars host the past two NBA Champions. Milwaukee Bucks...and...New York Knicks." Great condition. Framed 22x14".