fact that he had never played basketball at the college level. The 11 teams selected a total of 130 players. In June 1967, NBA leading scorer Rick Barry left the San Francisco Warriors to sign with Oakland, making him the seventh player and the first superstar to defect to the upstart league. The landmark three-year contract offer from singer and team owner Pat Boone was estimated to be worth $500,000 and would make him one of basketball's highest-paid players. The agreement included 15 percent ownership in the franchise, with led Barry to remark, "The offer Oakland made me was one I simply couldn't turn down." In August, however, a superior court judge upheld the reserve clause in Barry's contract and ruled that he was obligated to play for the Warriors or sit out for the entire season. Barry ultimately chose to sit out for the year, rather than play for San Francisco. Mikan unveiled the league's distinctive red, white and blue official ball in August, calling it "a patriotic ball" and saying that it would be more appealing visually on television. Regular season The Oakland Oaks defeated the Anaheim Amigos by a score of 134–129 in the league's inaugural game in front of 4,828 fans at the Oakland Arena on October 13, 1967. Oakland's Andy Anderson was high scorer with 33 points and Les Selvage hit four three-point field goals. The league's first all-star game was played in Indianapolis on January 9, 1968, at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Coach Jim Pollard of the Minnesota Muskies led the East to a 126–120 win over the West team coached by Babe McCarthy of the New Orleans Buccaneers. Larry Brown of the Buccaneers was chosen as the game's Most Valuable Player. The nationally televised game was played in front of 10,872 fans, the largest attendance for any ABA game in Indianapolis as of that date. At the end of the regular season, the New Jersey Americans and the Kentucky Colonels finished the season tied for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Division, with identical 36–42 records. The teams were supposed to play a one-game playoff to determine who would advance to the postseason, which was supposed to be played at the Teaneck Armory in Teaneck, New Jersey, home court of the Americans, but could not be played there as the circus was in town and had the space booked. The team tried