Melvin Joe Daniels (July 20, 1944 – October 30, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds, and in the National Basketball Association for the New York Nets. One of the greatest players in ABA history, Daniels was a two-time ABA Most Valuable Player, three-time ABA Champion and a seven-time ABA All-Star. Daniels was the All-time ABA rebounding leader, and in 1997, he was named a unanimous selection to the ABA All-Time Team. Daniels was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

Early life

The son of Maceo and Bernice Daniels, Mel Daniels moved with his family back to his birthplace of Detroit, Michigan, from Lincoln, North Carolina, when Mel was a toddler. Mel had two sisters. Back in Detroit, the family first lived with Mel's grandfather, then in a tenement on 8 Mile Road and finally in a house on McDougall Street. Maceo Daniels worked in an automobile parts factory.

Bernice read poetry to Mel. He began writing poems by age eight and continued to write them throughout the rest of his life, generally focusing on the lives of athletes, but wrote poems about non-sports topics as well. Daniels mostly did not share his poems with his teammates, “This is the side I’ve kept quiet,” he said of his poems.

Daniels attended Pershing High School in Detroit. Pershing also produced Spencer Haywood, Ralph Simpson, Kevin Willis, Ted Sizemore and Steve Smith.

Will Robinson, physical education teacher and basketball coach at Pershing High School, recalled Daniels being absent from PE class for a few weeks. So Mr. Robinson went looking for the truant Daniels and finally found him in the hallway and ordered him to the gym. A few days later, Daniels still had not appeared in class, so Robinson went looking for him again. The way Mel Daniels, then a sophomore, remembered it, he was ordered by Coach Robinson to report to the gymnasium at 3:30 to join the basketball team. While at Burlington, Daniels was recruited to play for the New Mexico Lobos by coach Bob King. Daniels transferred, played for New Mexico from 1964 to 1967, averaged 20 points per game in his New Mexico Lobo career and was named an All-American.

Starting as a sophomore in 1964–65, the 6–9 power forward played in 27 games and averaged 17.0 points and 11.2 rebounds as New Mexico finished 19–8.

During the 1965–66 season, Daniels suffered a severe injury when he put his arm through a glass door at Johnson Gymnasium, requiring 352 stitches and almost ending his athletic career. With various sutures being put on him to close the wound over the coming days, Daniels missed only one game and averaged 21.2 points and 10.3 rebounds as the Lobos finished 16–8.

The 1966–67 team won a school-record 17 straight games to start the season as New Mexico climbed to No. 3 in the national rankings. Daniels led the Western Athletic Conference in scoring at 21.5 points, along with 11.6 rebounds as New Mexico finished 19–8.

For his career, Daniels averaged 20.0 points and 11.1 rebounds in 77 games at New Mexico. He had 44 career double-doubles, still the most in school history.

ABA/NBA career

Daniels was the ninth pick of the 1967 NBA draft, selected by the Cincinnati Royals, and was also drafted by the Minnesota Muskies of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He chose to play in the fledgling ABA.

After rejecting Cincinnati (with Oscar Robertson), Daniels became the first NBA first-round pick to snub the established league and go to the ABA. "At that time, it wasn't about money for me. But y'know, 2 + 2 is still 4," Daniels said of his decision to go to the ABA. "I was offered $15,000 by Cincinnati as a bonus and $17,500 as a salary. I was offered $15,000 as a bonus in Minnesota and $30,000 as a salary. So the higher number somehow won out."

Daniels's decision to play in the ABA led to great success for him. Daniels won three ABA championships, was a two-time ABA Most Valuable Player, a seven-time ABA All-star and led the ABA in rebounding average in three different seasons. Daniels is the ABA's all-time leader in total rebounds and second in ABA career average rebounds (15.12) behind only fellow Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore of the Kentucky Colonels (17.07). His seven All-Star selections are tied with Louie Dampier for most in ABA history. Daniels had 1,608 career postseason rebounds in the ABA.

Indiana Pacers (1968–1974)

With Indiana in 1968–69, Daniels was named the ABA Most Valuable Player as he averaged 24.0 points and an ABA leading 16.5 rebounds. With Hall of Fame Coach Slick Leonard taking over from Larry Staverman as the Pacers coach early in the season, in the 1969 ABA Playoffs, Indiana, defeated the Kentucky Colonels 4–3, Daniels's former team, the Miami Floridians 4–1 before losing to the Oakland Oaks with Rick Barry 4–1 in the 1969 ABA Finals.

"Slick was one of the most creative, innovative coaches ever," Daniels said of his longtime Pacers coach. "He would change our offense at halftime. He'd create six new plays and we executed them the way he drew them up on the board."

In 1970–71, the Pacers finished 58–26, as Daniels was again named the ABA Most Valuable Player. He averaged 21.0 points, a league leading 18.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists. The Pacers were defeated by the Utah Stars 4–3 in the Western Division Finals in the 1971 ABA Playoffs. Daniels averaged 21.4 points and 19.2 rebounds in the playoffs.

In 1971–72 the Pacers added Hall of Famer George McGinnis. They then won their second ABA Title, as they defeated the Denver Rockets 4–3, the Utah Stars 4–3 and the New York Nets with Rick Barry 4–2 in the 1972 ABA Finals. Daniels averaged 19.2 points, 16.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists as Indiana finished the regular season 47–37. Daniels averaged 15.3 points and 15.1 rebounds in the playoffs.

The Pacers won their third ABA championship in 1972–73. Daniels averaged 18.5 points and 15.4 rebounds alongside McGinnis (27.6 points and 12.5 rebounds), as Indiana finished 51–33. In the 1973 ABA Playoffs, Indiana, defeated the Denver Rockets 4–1 and the Utah Stars 4–2. In the 1973 ABA Finals the Pacers defeated the Kentucky Colonels with Hall of Famers Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel, Louis Dampier and former Pacer teammate Rick Mount 4–3 to capture the ABA championship. Daniels averaged 15.9 points and 13.8 rebounds in the playoffs.

In his last season in Indiana, Daniels averaged a double-double 15.4 points and 11.6 rebounds in 1973–74. The Pacers finished 46–38 and lost to the Utah Stars in the Western Conference finals in the 1974 ABA Playoffs, with Daniels averaging 12.2 points and 11.4 rebounds in the playoffs.

Head coach Bobby Leonard described Daniels as "the leader on the ballclub. He expected his teammates to bring it every night and he would get on 'em. But off the floor, he was like a big bear." Daniels used his size and strength to go with an interest to "knock guys down" on his way to stellar defense.

In 479 career games with the Indiana Pacers, Daniels averaged 19.0 points and 16.4 rebounds.

Memphis Sounds (1974–1975)

In 1974–75, Daniels (along with Freddie Lewis) was traded to the Memphis Sounds for Charles Edge. Roger Brown joined them in Memphis as well. Early in the season, Daniels suffered pulled stomach muscles and missed a month. Then, he fell in a bathtub and injured his back, ending up back on injured list. His back problems were chronic. Daniels averaged 9.8 points and 9.0 rebounds.

"I was traded (to Memphis) with the understanding that we'd play together," Daniels recalled of his Memphis experience. "But Roger was traded to Utah and Freddie went to St. Louis. We were lied to. Then I hurt my back. Everything kind of fell apart. I never got my passion for the game back. Once you're lied to, you lose respect for the people who did it to you. You start doubting yourself a little bit. And your boys are gone."

The Baltimore Claws players were then available to other ABA teams in a special draft. The 31-year-old Daniels was passed over in the resulting dispersal draft, as other teams were likely wary of assuming the contract he had with Baltimore. Daniels decided to retire from the league rather than play for another ABA team.

Career totals

In the 1990 book Loose Balls by Terry Pluto, Daniels was quoted about his play: "I loved to knock guys down. When you went to the boards, you did it with your elbows out. If there was a fight, it wasn't just one-on-one, it was 12-on-12. The fine for fighting was $25. That wasn't going to stop any fights."

Daniels had a 0–2 record as interim coach of the Pacers in 1988–89. He replaced Jack Ramsay, who was fired after an 0–7 start. George Irvine and later Dick Versace were the head coaches who followed. He was survived by his wife, CeCe Daniels, son Mel Daniels Jr., two granddaughters, and two sisters.

A lover of horses, Daniels lived on a ranch in Sheridan, Indiana, at the time of his death.

Daniels appeared in 30 for 30 Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks (documentary, 2010), Magic vs. Bird: The 1979 NCAA Championship Game (TV special, 1979) and Undefeated: The Roger Brown Story (TV Movie, 2013).

A poet, Mel Daniels wrote more than 20,000 poems in his lifetime. His favorite poet was Edgar Allan Poe.

Honors

  • In 1978, Daniels was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.
  • Daniels's jersey (#34) was retired by the Indiana Pacers in 1985. He is one of four players (the others are teammate Roger Brown, Reggie Miller and teammate George McGinnis) to have his jersey retired by the Pacers.
  • In 1997, Daniels was selected as a member of the ABA All-Time Team by a panel of ABA sports media, referees and executives.
  • Daniels was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 2012. He formally joined former ABA players Billy Cunningham (1986), Rick Barry (1987), Connie Hawkins (1992), Julius Erving (1993), Dan Issel (1993), George Gervin (1996), David Thompson (1996), Moses Malone (2001) and Artis Gilmore (2011) in the Hall on September 7, 2012.

References

  • ABA Records