Julius Erving plays for the Hawks in an exhibition game in September 24, 1972 against the Kentucky Colonels. However, Erving enjoyed success off the court, becoming one of the first basketball players to endorse many products and to have a shoe marketed under his name. The tomahawk dunks, spin moves and converted alley-oops echoed the Doctor at his height. Julius Erving. PHOTO. [20], Although NBA rules at the time did not allow teams to draft players who were less than four years removed from high school, the ABA instituted a “hardship” rule that would allow players to leave college early. Erving argued those were put together by management. LeBron James: 13 (2006, 2008-2018, 2020) Julius Erving: 9 (1973-1976*, 1978, 1980-1983) *ABA [citation needed]. In 1994, Erving was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the 40 most important athletes of all time. Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Dr J called it "just another move". [22] Erving took advantage of the rule change and left Massachusetts after his junior year to sign a four-year contract worth $500,000 spread over seven years with the Virginia Squires. ), there are no weak links on Erving’s list. Dr J's famous "Rock The Baby Dunk" Against Lakers. Free shipping on many ... 2016-17 UDA SUPREME HARD COURT JULIUS ERVING AUTO ON GAME USED FLOOR 85/99. [43] In 1986, he announced that he would retire after the season, causing every game he played to be sold out with adoring fans. Prior to that, he lived in nearby Hempstead. [33] That season, he finished in the top 10 in the ABA in points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, steals per game, blocks per game, free throw percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted, three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made. As of 2019[update], Erving ranks eighth on the list, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Wilt Chamberlain. Erving retired in 1987 at the age of 37. He received the nickname "Doctor" or "Dr. J" from a high school friend named Leon Saunders. Business West, Breaking Down the Barriers, December 1, 2004, Julius Erving Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement speech, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders, List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders, For Some N.B.A. One against one, "one on one", without any team members that could disturb. Even his critics will concede he’s a top-10 player of all time, but Dr. J had an answer. Three things to know: Draymond finds time stone, Curry scores 41, Warriors... PBT Podcast: Talking ‘Bubbleball’ with Ben Golliver of Washington... Daryl Morey defends NBA play-in tournaments, Julius Erving went on the Posted Up Podcast with Chris Haynes. The Squires received $750,000, George Carter, and the rights to Kermit Washington for Erving and Willie Sojourner. [14] He explains. [7] Although the slam dunk is still widely used as a show of power, a method of intimidation, and a way to fire up a team (and spectators), Erving demonstrated that there can be great artistry and almost balletic style to slamming the ball into the hoop, particularly after a launch several feet from that target.[8]. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Converse (prior to their 2001 bankruptcy), Darden Restaurants, Inc., Saks Incorporated and The Sports Authority. Erving was one of the best all-around players to step out on the court. The Nets also sent $425,000 to the Hawks to reimburse the team for its legal fees, fines and the bonus paid to Erving. The Bucks asserted their rights to Erving via the draft, while the Squires went to court to force him to honor his contract. Julius Erving Tale of the tape Chamberlain: 30.1 points/22.9 rebounds/4.4 assists on 54/0/51.1 shooting splits. In 2004, he was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame. During his 16 seasons as a player, none of his teams ever missed the postseason. Although Erving's fatherhood of Alexandra Stevenson was known privately to the families involved, it did not become public knowledge until Stevenson reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1999, the first year she qualified to play in the tournament. Julius Erving, the great and wondrous “Dr. 32 jersey, and the Philadelphia 76ers his No. Sep 18, 2015 - Dr J ABA All Star Game, slam dunk winner. Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American retired basketball player. Julius and Turquoise Erving were subsequently divorced and Erving continued his relationship with Madden, with whom he had three more children, Jules Erving and two others, thus four in total. He would go all the way to the end of the court and run to release a free throw line dunk. Erving has spoken about his faith, saying, "After searching for the meaning of life for over ten years, I found the meaning in Jesus Christ. In 1993, Erving was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In the postseason, Erving averaged 34.7 points and was named Most Valuable Player of the playoffs. This was considered one of the worst decisions in franchise history. "Dr. J's" game of in-your-face hoops appealed to everyone and he made the game cool to play and fun to watch. Erving refused to play under these conditions and held out in training camp. In 1997, he joined the front office of the Orlando Magic as Vice President of RDV Sports and Executive Vice President. Despite these defeats, Erving was named the NBA MVP in 1981 and was again voted to the 1982 All-NBA First Team.[41]. [25], Under NBA rules, he became eligible for the 1972 NBA draft and the Milwaukee Bucks picked him in the first round (12th overall). It’s Erving’s opinion, and while my list or your list may differ (why does nobody put Tim Duncan on these? That said, there are plenty of fans who feel the way Erving does. An 11-time All-Star, Baylor averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game for his career – one of only four players in league history to average at … The basketball slang of being posterized was first coined to describe his moves. 4x NBA MVP, 13x All-Star, 10x All-NBA, 2x … [38] Years later, Boe regretted having to trade Erving to join the NBA, saying, "The merger agreement killed the Nets as an NBA franchise. [44][45] He drove past Lakers forward Mark Landsberger on the right baseline and went in for a layup. In his ABA and NBA careers combined, he scored more than 30,000 points. In the following years, Erving coped with a team that was not yet playing at his level. They defeated the defending champions, the Boston Celtics, to win the Eastern Conference. [29] He agreed to report to the Squires while his appeal of the injunction made its way through the court. Finally, Atlanta would receive draft compensation should a merger of the league result in a common draft. He is considered by many as the greatest dunker of all time. ESPN Books. “He can pick his own team, I ain’t going to pick his team,” he said with a laugh. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential basketball players of all time, Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA) and was the best-known player in that league when it merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–76 season. Still, this list is a little shocking (hat tip NBC Sports Boston): Dr. J’s all-time starting five is Robertson, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Chamberlain and Bill Russell…. The cash-strapped team sent Erving to the Nets in a complex deal that kept him in the ABA. Fifteen years later Erving fulfilled a promise he had made to his mother by earning a bachelor's degree in creative leadership and administration from the school through the University Without Walls program. Over the course of his 18-year career, James has … 6 With Sixers to Be Like Bill Russell, ‘One of My Heroes’ (Video)", Original Old School: First and Foremost SLAM 72: From high school to the pros, Moses Malone was on another level, https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/ervinju01.html, http://www.umassalumni.com/membership/notable.html, http://www.nba.com/careers/legends__erving.html, http://www.allbusiness.com/specialty-businesses/1074099-1.html, http://www.nba.com/history/legends/julius-erving/index.html, "NFL and NASCAR: Former NFL stars who dabbled in stock-car racing", http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/dr-js-golf-course-in-foreclosure/nQdpQ/, "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement", "Son of Julius Erving died of accidental drowning", basketball-reference.com: Career statistics, National Basketball Association's 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_Erving&oldid=1021208334, All-American college men's basketball players, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, National Basketball Association All-Stars, National Basketball Association broadcasters, National Basketball Association players with retired numbers, Sportspeople from Nassau County, New York, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, BLP articles lacking sources from February 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2012, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2019, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Denotes seasons in which Erving's team won an, This page was last edited on 3 May 2021, at 13:56. All-NBA First Team. [32] Erving established himself as the most important player in the ABA. [59], In 2003, he fathered a second child outside of his marriage, Justin Kangas, with a woman named Dorýs Madden. The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy. [36] The Sixers then decided to offer to buy Erving's contract for $3 million—in addition to paying roughly the Nets same amount as their expansion fee—and Boe had little choice but to accept the $6 million deal. On the combined NBA/ABA scoring list, Erving ranked third with 30,026 points. [58] They married in 2008. His second team? J,” was the dominant player of his era and an innovator who changed the way the game was played. "[39], Erving quickly became the leader of his new club and led them to an exciting 50-win season. Armed with one of the most formidable and unstoppable center-forward combinations of all time, the Sixers dominated the whole season, prompting Malone to make the famous playoff prediction of "fo-fo-fo (four-four-four)" in anticipation of the 76ers sweeping the three rounds of the playoffs en route to an NBA title. In mid-air, it was apparent that Erving would land behind the backboard. He is also one of the few players in modern basketball to have his number retired by two franchises: the Brooklyn Nets (formerly the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets) have retired his No. Julius Erving oddly left LeBron off his all-time NBA top 10 list because of role in superteams ... Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards game, … Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. He scored 27.3 points per game as a rookie, was selected to the All-ABA Second Team, made the ABA All-Rookie Team, led the ABA in offensive rebounds, and finished second to Artis Gilmore for the ABA Rookie of the Year Award. While Connie Hawkins, "Jumping" Johnny Green, Elgin Baylor, Jim Pollard, and Gus Johnson performed spectacular dunks before Erving's time, Erving brought the practice into the mainstream. In 2000, their 19-year-old son Cory went missing for weeks, until he was found drowned after driving his vehicle into a pond. [37] For all intents and purposes, the Nets traded their franchise player for a berth in the NBA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Erving Dr. J Julius Erving Dunks On Michael Cooper. The team had secure sponsorship from Dr Pepper for most of its existence. ", "Clubhouse Lawyer: Law in the World of Sports", "Julius Erving Wore No. However, playing with other stars-such as former ABA standout George McGinnis, future NBA All-Star Lloyd Free, and aggressive Doug Collins allowed him to focus on playing more team-oriented ball. 19-Year-Old son Cory went missing for weeks, until he was an attempt to raise interest in NASCAR African-Americans! 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