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In financial trouble and fighting with the NBA for viewers, the ABA started the slam dunk contest as a gimmick to attract viewers nationwide. In Remember the ABA, Jim Bukata recalled, "We were sitting around the office one day, discussing things that would draw more people, and it just came to us...It was Julius [Erving] really giving us the idea that we're the league of the dunkers. So we said, 'Well if that's the case, let's have a contest.' It really was as simple as that. ...Three guys talking about what we could do to sell a few more tickets."

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