Filed in 1970, the lawsuit was settled in 1976 and resulted in the free agency rules now used in the NBA.

[2] Robertson sought through his lawsuit to block any merger of the NBA with the American Basketball Association (ABA), to end the option clause that bound a player to a single NBA team in perpetuity, to end the NBA's college draft binding a player to one team, and to end restrictions on free-agent signings.

The suit also sought damages for NBA players for past harm caused by the option clause.

In 1972, Congress came close to enacting legislation to enable a merger but the measure was not passed.

The suit was settled in 1976, when the league agreed to let players become free agents in exchange for their old team's "right of first refusal" to match any offer they might receive.