It’s all built on the legacies of the old lores: It will be apt to fit this with the labor union for basketball players, the National Basketball Players Association. It can be referred to as the union that protects and supports the rights and talents of the players, along with negotiating for their collective bargaining agreement. The union also has other duties that aim only to get the players the best or something in the best interest.

Such an organization has been the reason why players like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum can bank on massive contracts without any trouble while having massive basketball players on their backs. However, it was not the same for players during the 60s as it all changed with a certain point guard from Boston Celtics, Bob Cousy.

Upon graduating from the College of Holy Cross in 1950, the Boston Celtics acquired Cousy for a $9,000/season salary. The NCAA 1947 champion who had demanded $10,000 saw it being rejected right to the final agreement, even by Tri-Cities Blackhawks who initially drafted him. He thus knew that the players were being underpaid and there was no representation for them at the league to negotiate their rights.

It took him four years, but somehow, he created a players’ representative union through the cooperation of an established player from each team to form the National Basketball Players Association. Bob Cousy himself bore the responsibility of the Union President and went to the NBA President Maurice Podoloff along with some demands. The list included:

• Back salaries to the members of the defunct Baltimore Bullets club
• Abolition of the secretive $15 fine for a “whispering foul” that referees could quietly place on players during a game
• Establishment of a 20-game limit on exhibition games, after which the players could share in the profits
• Establishment of an impartial board of arbitration to settle player-owner disputes; payment of $25 for public appearance expenses other than radio, television, and charitable functions; and moving expenses for traded players

However, the league did not recognize the union until 1957 and rejected all demands except the first one.

It was when the players threatened the league with a strike in 1957 that the NBA Board of Governors officially recognized the NBPA In April 1957 and accepted their demands that read:

• Abolition of the whispering fine
• A $7 per diem and reasonable traveling expenses
• An increase in the 1957-58 playoff pool
• Reasonable moving expenses for players traded during the offseason
• Referral of player-owner disputes to the NBA League President or a committee of three NBA Governors chosen by the players
• Elimination of exhibition games within three days of the season opener
• Regular players are not required to report to training camp earlier than four weeks prior to the season

Out of the aforementioned points, one of the revolutionary demands from the players that the league accepted was raising players’ diem from $5 to $7. The $2 change that Cousy brought might seem small, but that’s where the players established their will in front of the league. Even Cousy considers it a pioneering event as he said to Sports Illustrated, “I held out for $10,000 so Jaylen could hold out for [$304] million.” Although Jayson Tatum crossed that paramount soon with his $314 million deal after the Finals.

Even though Bob Cousy’s move was a heroic one, what compelled the ex-Celtics point guard to go to such limits to form an association?

What motivated Bob Cousy to establish the NBPA?

Apparently, Bob Cousy was the first-hand victim of the problem for whose solution he was striving. His $9K salary with the Celtics might not have gotten to him as easily as it seems to the players today. They have an authorized table to look over their contracts and help them get what they want. However, Cousy did not have such luxuries. Rather, he stood out for himself, but when he saw the hectic game schedule, he decided to uproot the problem once and for all.

The second thing that Cousy witnessed was that the exhibition game schedules had no proper parameters with long stretches of 23 games. In Cousy’s words, it was like a “full college season.” Surprisingly, the pay for such a hectic schedule was not that impressive, and they had no scope for even growing in the future. That’s when Cousy realized that “we needed a seat at the f—-ing table,” prompting him to establish the union for representing the players known as NBPA today. Also, the players did not enjoy as many perks as they do today due to the television streaming of the game.

The television streaming was still a dream back then in Bob Cousy’s era, and the on-court audience for the games was limited to about 4000 spectators. In today’s era where players even get an amount on featuring in a game if a game is based on sports, Cousy did not have any privileges back then. That’s why, with what little impact he had with the NBPA, the Celtics point guard tried to get the players their rightful compensation.

That’s why Bob Cousy said to NBC Sports last year, “One of the things I’m most proud about is starting the Players Association. Because that somehow has lent itself, 60 years later, in terms of the interaction between the Players Association and the owners, to guys signing $300 million contracts for five years for playing a child’s game.”

About 60 years later, Cousy’s legacy has come so far to be a great forehand to the players who shake the hand to go ahead with multi-million dollar deals that Cousy could not even imagine during his era. No wonder Bob Cousy will count that achievement equal to his 6x NBA Championships and 13x All-Star appearances. It is something that the now Celtics players like Jaylen Brown, vice president of NBPA, are mounting on to help other players with their contracts and other interests in the league.

What will be your rating on the level of impact that the NBPA marks on the players’ interest? Let us know in the comments.

Before checking yourself out, do make sure to go through the latest basketball exchange between BG12 and All-SEC freshman Silas Demary Jr. on Caitlin Clark and WNBA!