Julius Ervin

Julius Erving, the great and wondrous "Dr. J," was the dominant player of his era, an innovator who changed the way the game was played. He was a wizard with the ball, performing feats never before seen: midair spins and whirls punctuated by powerful slam dunks. Erving was one of the first players to make extemporaneous individual expression an integral part of the game, setting the style of play that would prevail in the decades to follow.



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Dr. J was a true ambassador for the game.
Jerry Wachter/NBAE/Getty Images
A gracious, dignified, and disciplined man, Erving was an ideal ambassador for the game. He was the epitome of class, and no player was more respected.

"As a basketball player, Julius was the first to truly take the torch and become the spokesman for the NBA," said friend and former coach Billy Cunningham. "He understood what his role was and how important it was for him to conduct himself as a representative of the league. Julius was the first player I ever remember who transcended sports and was known by one name -- Doctor."

Erving began his professional career in the American Basketball Association with the Virginia Squires and the New York Nets. Widely regarded as the greatest player of his time, he is often considered to have been the main catalyst for the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. A 6-7, 210-pound small forward, he also played for 11 years with the Philadelphia 76ers, leading them to the NBA crown in 1983.

In his five ABA seasons, Erving won three scoring titles, three Most Valuable Player Awards and two league championships. During his 11-year NBA career Erving was an All-Star each season, the league's Most Valuable Player in 1981 and a five-time member of the All-NBA First Team. He scored 30,026 points in his combined ABA and NBA career; only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone and Michael Jordan have scored more points in the history of professional basketball.

Julius Winfield Erving II was born on February 22, 1950, in Roosevelt, New York. He starred for Roosevelt High School, earning a reputation as a fundamentally sound but not spectacular player. Although the origins of his nickname remain unclear, the most common story has the moniker coming from a high school friend, who dubbed Erving "Doctor" because Erving called him "Professor." The name stuck, and it even came to define the way Erving "operated" on a basketball court.

He enrolled at the University of Massachusetts in 1968, and although he averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds over two varsity seasons, he was still fairly obscure when he left the school in 1971 to sign as an undergraduate free agent with the ABA's Virginia Squires.

Professional basketball was extremely volatile in 1971-72, the year Erving launched his brilliant career. The ABA and NBA were already talking about a merger, players were jumping from league to league and franchises were in flux.

However, Erving initially went to the ABA. Although Virginia already had ABA scoring champ Charlie Scott, Erving began to contribute immediately. He later said he realized he was in his element during his first game as a rookie.

On a drive to the hole, he was challenged by the Kentucky Colonels' 7-2 Artis Gilmore and 6-9 Dan Issel. "I went in between both of them and just hung there and waited for them to come down. Then I dunked on them so hard I fell on my back," recalled Erving in the Boston Globe. "Just doing that made me confident to go after anyone, anytime, anywhere, without any fear."

He scored 27.3 points per game as a rookie, was selected to the All-ABA Second Team, made the ABA All-Rookie Team and finished second to Gilmore for the ABA Rookie of the Year Award.

Virginia finished 45-39 and in second place in the Eastern Division behind the powerful Colonels, who dominated the league at 68-16. In the playoffs Erving scored 33.3 points per game as the Squires beat the Floridians in four straight and then fell to the New York Nets and Rick Barry in the Eastern Division Finals.

When Erving's college class graduation rolled around that year, he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round (12th pick overall) of the 1972 NBA Draft. It may be tortuous for Bucks fan to reflect upon that now as Erving, Abdul-Jabbar along with a veteran Oscar Robertson would have been quite an assemblage of talent.

However, during this time players were playing musical teams and Erving was no exception. Rather than attempt to play for the Bucks, he attempted to jump to the Atlanta Hawks before the 1972-73 season began. Prior to Atlanta games, he would be at the arena ready to don a Hawks uniform, but he was legally barred from playing due to court injunctions initiated by the Squires and a court order eventually forced his return to Virginia four games into the ABA campaign.

He went on to lead the ABA in scoring that year, pouring in a career-best 31.9 points per game. Word began to spread of his exciting, innovative style of play, and he received the first of four consecutive All-ABA First Team selections, joining Gilmore, Billy Cunningham, James Jones and Warren Jabali.

Erving began to realize, along with everybody else, that he was something special. "That really didn't become something that I accepted 'til I was a professional," he told the Sacramento Bee. "I didn't think it was possible that I might be the most talented player in the world. But after I became a pro, after my second year in Virginia, I thought that there was a possibility that I could offer something unique."

Erving was gaining recognition in the ABA, but he was still hampered by the fact that the Squires were a low-profile team in a small market. Then, prior to the 1973-74 season, the Squires traded Erving and Willie Sojourner to the New York Nets for George Carter, the draft rights to Kermit Washington and cash.

Warmed by the media attention he received in New York, Erving led the Nets to a 55-29 regular-season record and the 1974 ABA Championship. The Nets' roster also included talented youngsters Larry Kenon and Billy Paultz, and once the players got used to each other on the court, the team was unstoppable. After claiming the Eastern Division by two games, New York beat Virginia in five playoff contests and then wiped out Kentucky in four straight to reach the ABA Finals. Utah was the opponent, and the Nets dropped the Stars in five games for the crown.

Erving repeated as league scoring champ with an average of 27.4 points per game. His all-around game began to emerge as well: he ranked sixth in the league in assists and third in both steals and blocked shots. As a reward, he picked up the first of three consecutive ABA Most Valuable Player Awards.

The ABA had plenty of good players, but Erving stood out as the essence of the league. He dominated the game from the small forward spot. But more than that, he took some of the things Connie Hawkins had done in flashes, such as swoop dunks, and made them an every-night occurrence. He was always doing something new: inventing, soloing, extemporizing. He was the first to combine extended hangtime with delicate grace and pure power. Erving was the ABA's top superstar and his success in New York cemented his reputation as the most thrilling player in either league.


"As a basketball player, Julius was the first to truly take the torch and become the spokesman for the NBA. Julius was the first player I ever remember who transcended sports and was known by one name -- Doctor."

-- Friend and former coach Billy Cunningham