Claim: The Indiana Pacers were never allowed to join a basketball league.
Evidence: The Pacers were first established in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association -LRB- ABA -RRB- and became a member of the NBA in 1976 as a result of the ABA -- NBA merger.
The original American Basketball Association -LRB- ABA -RRB- was a major-league professional basketball league founded in 1967.