In honor of Black History Month, I decided to introduce a series that highlights some of the most historic and influential African-American Philly athletes. I will begin this series with the Doctor himself- Julius Erving.
Long before Erving was the notorious Pro Basketball Hall of Famer and
icon we now know him to be, he was just like any other kid- trying to make
his parents proud and be something more than what he started as. Born in
East Meadow, New York on February 22, 1950- the birthday of fellow icon
and first United States President George Washington- a nurse suggested to
his mother Callie that she name him after the famous politician.
Confident that her son would be able to blaze his own trail and create
his own legacy, his mother retorted “Have your own baby if you want to
name him George Washington,” Callie said. “I’m naming mine Julius Winfield
Erving II.”
A decision, it turns out, that would alter reality as we know it.
Erving was raised by his single mother in a housing project just east of Queens and recalls having a rather relaxed upbringing, but was determined not to abuse the freedom bestowed upon him at such a young age.
“I was raised pretty much by one parent and she let me do what I wanted. I
consciously tried to be aware of what was happening around me. If I was
wrong, I was willing to take the consequences.”
Instead of joining a gang or the growing crime scene that ravaged the
New York area at the time, Erving focused his attention on school and
basketball- excelling at both.
During his time at Roosevelt High School, Erving was beginning to
plant seeds of basketball stardom. Still growing into himself at 6’4 (he’d
eventually sprout to 6’7), Erving was a scoring sensation at Roosevelt High
and, more notably, the Rucker Park league in Harlem, the esteemed proving
grounds for NBA stars- both past and present.
It was during this time that he was donned by his famous moniker “Dr.J” by his friend and high school teammate, as Erving tells it.
“I have a buddy—his name is Leon Saunders—and he lives in Atlanta, and I
started calling him "the professor", and he started calling me "the doctor".
So it was just between us...we were buddies, we had our nicknames and we
would roll with the nicknames. ...And that's where it came from.”
"Later on, in the Rucker Park league in Harlem,” Erving continues, “when
people started calling me 'Black Moses' and 'Houdini', I told them if they
wanted to call me anything, call me 'Doctor.'”
A surgical, precise player that made little to no mistakes on the court,
Dr.J was the perfect title for Erving and one that would stick with him for the
rest of his life.
After a successful high school tour, the ‘Doctor’ continued his practice
at the University of Massachusettes in 1968. There, he averaged 26.3 points
and 20.3 rebounds(!) across two collegiate seasons, shattering all kinds of
school records along the way.
As his numbers suggest, Erving was more than ready to make the leap
up to the pros and after two seasons at UMass, he did just that. The
high-flying New York native signed his first pro contract with the Virginia
Squires, a small-market ABA team.
Erving quickly proved he was worth the investment, averaging 27
points, 15 rebounds, and 4 assists across 84 contests in his rookie season.
He also proved to be quite the ironman, averaging over 40 minutes per
game, a figure that has me winded just thinking about it.
The gravity-defying wing would go on to be even more dominant in his
sophomore campaign- his last with the Virginia Squires- leading the ABA in
scoring on the back of a 32 PPG season.
Dr.J was no stranger to the spotlight or even superstardom but after
an emphatic second-year in the ABA, he knew he was blossoming into
something truly special.
“I didn't think it was possible that I might be the most talented player in the world, Erving admitted in a sit-down with the Sacramento Bee. “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.”
Low on cash and quickly descending into debt, the Squires
traded Erving to the New York Nets prior to the 1973-74 season, where he
would begin his historic, highly-successful second act in New York. Returning
to his home state that oversaw his initial rise to fame, Dr.J wasted little time
further cementing his legend in New York.
Erving won MVP in all three of his seasons with the Nets-
producing staggering per game averages of 28.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.2
assists, 2.1 blocks, and 2.3 steals during that span- and captured two ABA
championships along the way. The athletic marvel also won the first-ever
pro Dunk Contest in 1976- fending off Artis Gilmore, Larry Kenon, George
Gervin and David Thompson for the title.
Under the bright spotlight of New York, Dr.J finally began to get the recognition he deserved and was starting to become a household name. People all across the country marveled at his athletic prowess and the extreme creativity that went into his highlight-reel dunks. A star in his own right for years, Erving was finally being acknowledged as such and soon blossomed into the biggest icon in the sport. ABA Commissioner Dave DeBusschere put it another way.
"There are athletes who are known as 'the franchise,' " he said. "Well,
Julius isn't the franchise. He's the league."
His best ABA season came in 1976, the final year of the league’s
existence. At just 25-years old, Erving led the Nets to their second
Finals appearance in three years on the back of a 29.3 PPG season.
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. He truly was a jack of all trades with the ball in his hands.
Or, as Erving liked to put it, a utility man on the court.
"I'm just the utility man," he quipped in a 1976 Sports Illustrated interview. "I do a little of everything. All right—sometimes I do a lot of everything." Amazingly enough, this was arguably only the second-coolest thing he accomplished that season, as the SI feature also tells the tale of Dr.J casually inserting his name amongst the elite.
Prior to Game 2 of the 1976 ABA Finals against Denver, the story goes, ABA publicist Jim Bukata said someone wrote that high school star Darrell Griffith and David Thompson were the only two humans who could execute a midair 360-degree turn and slam dunk. The Doctor considered the question, checked the distance between himself and the basket, straightened his knee braces, took three steps, flew into the air, spun 360 degrees, dunked and turned to Bukata. "Make that three," he said.
Baller. After accomplishing all there was to do in the ABA, however, Erving was hungry for more competition and had his sights set on the NBA.
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Continued on the page below.
"Even if we win this championship,” the Doctor said prior to the 1976 Finals matchup, “we really haven't proved anything except that we're champions of the ABA. We'd be the No. 1 contender waiting for a shot at the title. The NBA. That would be a great series. It would put basketball right where it's supposed to be. I'd love to play against Dave Cowens or Rick Barry, and, as players, I know they'd love to play us. But unfortunately, that's out of our hands. Personally, I don't see how a merger could do anything but strengthen basketball."
Per usual, Erving was right. As decorated and accomplished as
he was in the ABA, he had still yet to face the biggest challenge the
sport had to offer in the NBA. He loved playing in front of his home
state. He loved being the perennial MVP. And he loved watching the
crowd go wild after he would flush home a ferocious dunk, but he was
chomping at the bit for a chance to play amongst the elite in the NBA.
Thankfully, for both him and the sport, he got his wish when the
Sixers came calling in 1976.
As was the case for most franchises in the financially-failing ABA
league, the Nets could hardly afford Erving’s services following the
1976 season and wound up trading him to Philadelphia to help aid
their transition into the NBA.
In the City of Brotherly, Dr.J saw his superstardom reach heights
previously thought unimaginable and blazed his trail as one of the
most successful, talented, and iconic Philly athletes in history.
After having his professional accomplishments in the ABA go
virtually unnoticed- largely due to the fact ABA games were hardly
ever televised- Dr.J was on full display in the big-market of
Philadelphia in the NBA.
Not only would his high-flying abilities now be nationally
televised across the country, but he would also be recognized as the
first-ever player to have their own signature shoe after signing a deal
with Converse prior to his inaugural season in Philly.
I mean, seriously, does it get any cooler than Dr.J in the 70s?
Erving, of course, was more than just an afro and a pair of sneakers
and did exactly what he set out to do once he got to the NBA- dominate.
Alongside all-stars World B. Free, Doug Collins, and George McGinnis, Erving averaged 21.6 PPG as an NBA rookie. His athletic prowess was like something out of a movie and he dazzled the basketball world every time he took the floor. Dr.J was simply sensational, and, accompanied by a loaded Sixers roster, helped lead the team to a 50-win season and the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Talk about an early return on investment.
That season, the Erving-led Sixers stunned the defending champion
Boston Celtics in an exhilarating 7 game semi-finals series. They followed
that up with a strong 4-2 series win over the Houston Rockets in the Eastern
Conference Finals- punching their ticket to their first Finals appearance in 10
years. Unfortunately, the surging Sixers eventually fell short of the goal after
losing a six-game Finals series to the Portland Trailblazers. The loss,
however, did not diminish the hope that was surging through the city and it
was apparent that Dr.J would take Philly to new heights.
And elevate them he did.
Dr.J would go on to be an 11x All-Star (every season he was in the
NBA!), 5x All-NBA First Team, the 1981 NBA MVP, and most importantly an
NBA Champion. His lone NBA championship came in 1983 when the Sixers
swept a loaded Los Angeles Lakers roster featuring Magic Johnson and
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to win the NBA Finals. The victory was especially
sweet after the Lakers defeated the Sixers at that stage the previous year.
A championship ring wasn’t the only hardware Erving earned in 1983, either. Dr.J also was bestowed the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award- an award given to a player, coach, or staff member that exemplifies outstanding service and dedication to the community- once again proving that Erving was just as much an icon off the court as he was on it.
A true champion in every sense of the word, Dr.J exuded greatness and is undoubtedly one of the greatest Philadelphia athletes ever- making him the perfect candidate to jumpstart our Black History Month Spotlight series here at Philly Sports Network.
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
