Erving, Julius

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Julius Erving

1950-

American basketball player

Julius Erving, commonly referred to as Dr. J, made his mark in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the grace he displayed on and off the court and by playing an instrumental role in the creation of the league as it's known today. As the lone superstar of the ABA, the professional basketball league in direct competition with the more established NBA during the 1970s, his presence was a major factor in the decision to merge the two leagues. He is also credited with putting the slam in slam dunk and being one of the games great ambassadors who, along with superstars such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird , elevated the game's popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Although he was originally recognized for his flamboyant play and oversized afro, it was his reserved manner and generous spirit that endeared him to the public and his peers.

In the Beginning

Born Julius Winfield Erving II on February 22, 1950, in Roosevelt, New York, his father abandoned the family when he was only three. At the age of seven his father was hit and killed by a car, forever erasing any possibility of having a father figure in his life. His mother raised her three kids on her own working as a house cleaner. Erving was withdrawn as a child but did well in school and athletics. He picked up basketball at the age of nine and was immediately successful on the court. At the age of ten, he led his team to the Inter-County Basketball Association championship. It was during these early years in his New York neighborhood that Erving was first called the Doctor, a name that would stick with him for the rest of his life. "Whether basketball chose me, or I chose it, I still don't know," he later recalled. "I think it's the former—it chose me."

After graduating high school he was offered many basketball scholarships and eventually decided to attend the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In his first year, he broke the school's records for scoring and rebounding for a freshman and led his team to an undefeated season. After his junior season, Erving decided to turn professional. He made the controversial decision in 1971 after being lured by lucrative offers from the American Basketball Association (ABA). Signing with the Virginia Squires for $500,000, he would stay with the team for two years before moving to the New York Nets.

The ABA

In his first season with the Nets, the young Erving won his second straight league scoring championship, averaging 27.4 points per game, and led his team to the championship against the Utah Stars. After that championship season, the Nets would struggle while their star's popularity continued to swell. In the less recognized league, Erving's presence would draw a crowd no matter where his team would play. ABA commissioner, and Hall of Fame forward, Dave DeBusschere once commented, "Plenty of guys have been 'The Franchise.' For us, Dr. J is 'The League.'"

The Greatest Game in Basketball History

It became increasingly more evident that the two competing leagues would merge by the 1975-76 season, but not before Erving played what is commonly considered one of the greatest games in basketball history. The ABA's final championship series between the New York Nets and the Denver Nuggets would come down to a final game in which the Nets would trail by twenty points but come back due in large part to the individual performance of Erving. Erving averaged 37.7 points in that championship series which would serve as his farewell to the ABA and his introduction to the newly expanded NBA. He won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the season and ranked first in scoring, fifth in rebounding, seventh in assists, third in steals and seventh in blocked shots. In short, Erving did it all, even becoming the first player to win a league wide slam dunk contest that year.

Offered a contract with the Nets, Erving turned it down and held out for a better offer before landing in Philadelphia with the 76ers. The 76ers were a talented team full of self-serving egos and little regard for team play. In his first year there, Philadelphia would go to the finals and lose to the Portland Trailblazers after winning the first two games of the series. It was after two disappointing seasons that the 76ers' management decided to unload their highly priced stars and build the team around Erving.

Chronology

1950	Born February 22 in Roosevelt, New York
1967	Named All-Conference at Roosevelt High
1968	Enrolled at University of Massachusetts
1970	Scores career high 37 points twice in one season
1970	Named All-America and All-Yankee Conference
1971	Decides to turn professional
1971	Joins the Virginia Squires
1971	Leads ABA in playoff scoring with a 33 point average per game
1972	Marries wife Turqouise
1973	Moves to the New York Nets of the ABA
1974	Named the ABA's MVP
1974	Wins first ABA championship with the Nets
1975	Scores career high 63 points in a game for the Nets
1976	Named ABA's MVP again
1976	Wins second ABA championship with the Nets
1976	Joins Philadelphia 76ers
1977	Named All-star Game MVP
1978	Named to the All-NBA First Team
1980	Named to NBA's 35th Anniversary All-time Team
1981	Named NBA MVP
1983	Awarded Walter J. Kennedy Citizenship Award
1983	Wins NBA championship with 76ers
1984	Scores 34 points in All-star Game
1987	Retires from basketball
1993	Enshrined in Basketball Hall of Fame
1996	Named to NBA's 50th Anniversary All-time Team

Awards and Accomplishments

1974, 1976	ABA Most Valuable Player
1974, 1976	ABA championship
1975	ABA co-Most Valuable Player
1977, 1983	Named All-Star Game Most Valuable Player
1981	NBA Most Valuable Player
1983	Wins NBA championship with the 76ers
1983	Named to NBA 35th Anniversary Team
1983	Walter J. Kennedy Citizenship Award
1983	Jackie Robinson Award from Ebony Magazine
1985	American Express Man of the Year
1993	Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
1996	Named to NBA 50th Anniversary Team

The NBA Championship

Very shortly afterward, the 76ers would become perennial contenders on a heartbreaking streak of near misses and no championships. Although Erving was continually recognized for his artistic play and gravity defying moves, he was ultimately concerned with winning an NBA championship. After losing repeatedly in the playoffs and finals to NBA powerhouses, Boston and Los Angeles, the 76ers signed Moses Malone for the 1982-83 season. He provided the missing link and Erving and the 76ers won their first and last NBA title together against the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career, Erving was in the finals four times total with this the one and only NBA championship for the superstar.

Erving retired from basketball in 1987 after becoming only the third player to score 30,000 career points. His feat would go largely unnoticed because he played in the less recognized ABA and their statistics are not included in the NBA record books. Erving, along with the rest of the former ABA players, quietly accept this fact while privately feeling that their accomplishments deserve equal billing in the history of professional basketball.

Retirement and Beyond

After basketball, however, he would go on to become a successful business man and analyst with NBC sports. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and recognized as one of the forty greatest athletes of all time by Sports Illustrated the following year. In 1997, he was named executive vice-president of the NBA's Orlando Magic.

Married to Turquoise Erving since 1972, with four children, his reputation was slightly tarnished in 1999 when it was revealed he fathered a child in 1980 with a freelance writer who covered the 76ers in their heyday. The daughter he fathered out of wedlock turned out a surprising prospect in the world of women's tennis, taking Wimbledon by storm in 1999. In 2000, Erving's youngest son Cory went missing and was tragically found drowned in his car in a pond only a mile away from his family's Florida home.

Career Statistics

Yr	Team	GP	PTS	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO
NYN: New York Nets; Phil: Philadel phia 76ers; VA: Vir ginia S quires.
1971-72	VA	84	2,290	.498	.188	.745	1,319	335	—	—	342
1972-73	VA	71	2,268	.496	.208	.776	867	298	181	127	326
1973-74	NYN	84	2,299	.512	.395	.766	899	434	190	204	341
1974-75	NYN	84	2,343	.506	.333	.799	914	462	186	157	301
1975-76	NYN	84	2,462	.507	.330	.801	925	423	207	160	307
1976-77	Phil	82	1,770	.499	—	.777	695	306	159	113	—
1977-78	Phil	74	1,528	.502	—	.845	481	279	135	97	238
1978-79	Phil	78	1,803	.491	—	.745	564	357	133	100	315
1979-80	Phil	78	2,100	.519	.200	.787	576	355	170	140	284
1980-81	Phil	82	2,014	.521	.222	.787	657	364	173	147	266
1981-82	Phil	81	1,974	.546	.273	.763	557	319	161	141	214
1982-83	Phil	72	1,542	.517	.286	.759	491	263	112	131	196
1983-84	Phil	77	1,727	.512	.333	.754	532	309	141	139	230
1984-85	Phil	78	1,561	.494	.214	.765	414	233	135	109	208
1985-86	Phil	74	1,340	.480	.281	.785	370	248	113	82	214
1986-87	Phil	60	1,005	.471	.264	.813	264	191	76	94	158
TOTAL		1,243	30,026	.504	.271	.827	10,525	5,176	2,272	1,941	3,940

Dr. J: Getting Straight to the Point

Erving's nickname, "Dr. J," is a nom de guerre more widely recognized than any other in sport. Picked up years ago in the macho games of his youth, "Dr. J" has become the code word for a certain thunderous, awesome elegance on the basketball court.

Such is the distinction with which Erving … plays the game. Even his own teammates have been known to pause in wonderment at his airborne exploits. Many players nowadays can dunk the ball. Few, if any, can do so with Erving's flair. With hands so large they seem to reduce the basketball to grapefruit size, he can leave his feet far from the basket and float, angling as he goes, to jam the ball through the hoop.

Source: Barry Jacobs, Saturday Evening Post, November 1983, p. 64.

Erving continues to be one of the games most recognized personalities because of his role in creating the modern game. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Erving. and his peers brought the league new popularity with their grace, improvisation and high-flying technique. So well known for his fluidity on the court he was granted an honorary doctorate in dance from Temple University, Erving is also considered a gentleman and ambassador of the game. "He's got one of the most beautiful hearts in the world," said former player Gene Banks. "He's what the NBA is all about."