Julius Erving.

[SHAQisGOAT]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAvhvpQ7DSw

I wish this video had more of his jump shots. I always liked Dr. J's shooting mechanics, unique. He shot it so high.

Them paws, man... Just not fair, dude's 6'7, long arms, crazy ripped, beast of an overall athlete then just has some enormous hands... Huge advantage out on the basketball court.

[ClipperRevival]

Julius was great in the 1977 Finals, go check it out...
McGinnis sucked and only Doug Collins was "helping" Dr J.
I don't think they had much chances though, Portland was a great T-E-A-M (with prime Walton) while Philly had some great talent/players (better than the Blazers) but were very individualistic with ball-stoppers/hoggers only creating for themselves and even for others but without moving the ball (lots of kickouts), and not much clutch performers at all.

Erving also played really well for the 1980 and 1982 Finals but they were just playing against a better team.

Plus, like I've said, let's not totally disregard his ABA resume, he also won and was a beast there.

Averaged 30.3 in the 77 finals. But still, given his 1/4 finals record, you don't seem to be holding that against him much. Are you forgiving him for facing superior teams? What type of playoff performer was he? Did he have clutch issues and moments of shying away in big moments or he just let it all hang out and went at it?

[SHAQisGOAT]

Averaged 30.3 in the 77 finals. But still, given his 1/4 finals record, you don't seem to be holding that against him much. Are you forgiving him for facing superior teams? What type of playoff performer was he? Did he have clutch issues and moments of shying away in big moments or he just let it all hang out and went at it?

Rather 30.3/6.8/5.0/2.7/1.2 on 54.3/85.7, and not only that but even watching the games, he played extremely well, only player who was really great for the 76ers.

He had plenty of very good post-season runs, came up clutch lots of times, don't think he had any "issues" with it.

He played greatly for the 1977 Finals but most of his teammates didn't come through and the team was too individualistic; he played very well for the 1980 and 1982 Finals but LA was just better; he was also pretty good in the 1983 Finals as the 76ers 2nd best player, while they swept the Lakers...

Ofc that one gotta take into account his Finals record and so on (not like he one most of them) but I don't understand the whole holding it against him or forgiving him, not like I'm saying he's top5/10 all-time or something like that, even...
MVP, once a NBA champion, great peak/prime play, faced big-time competition (players and teams) plenty, good longevity, had some very good Playoffs run, some great Finals, clutch many times, and along with his ABA resume, that's clearly enough for top15 and 3rd GOAT SF, imo.

And, again, in the ABA he was a 3x MVP and 2x champ, playing like a beast... Don't give it "full" credit as the NBA but nobody can completely disregard that, or even close to it, especially "things" like his 1976 Finals.

[ClipperRevival]

Rather 30.3/6.8/5.0/2.7/1.2 on 54.3/85.7, and not only that but even watching the games, he played extremely well, only player who was really great for the 76ers.

He had plenty of very good post-season runs, came up clutch lots of times, don't think he had any "issues" with it.

He played greatly for the 1977 Finals but most of his teammates didn't come through and the team was too individualistic; he played very well for the 1980 and 1982 Finals but LA was just better; he was also pretty good in the 1983 Finals as the 76ers 2nd best player, while they swept the Lakers...

Ofc that one gotta take into account his Finals record and so on (not like he one most of them) but I don't understand the whole holding it against him or forgiving him, not like I'm saying he's top5/10 all-time or something like that, even...
MVP, once a NBA champion, great peak/prime play, faced big-time competition (players and teams) plenty, good longevity, had some very good Playoffs run, some great Finals, clutch many times, and along with his ABA resume, that's clearly enough for top15 and 3rd GOAT SF, imo.

And, again, in the ABA he was a 3x MVP and 2x champ, playing like a beast... Don't give it "full" credit as the NBA but nobody can completely disregard that, or even close to it, especially "things" like his 1976 Finals.

Always appreciate opinions from guys who watched before my time. But more importantly, OBJECTIVE opinions. Like I could care less what Lazerus has to say about Wilt because it's so biased and lacking objectivity.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Always appreciate opinions from guys who watched before my time. But more importantly, OBJECTIVE opinions. Like I could care less what Lazerus has to say about Wilt because it's so biased and lacking objectivity.

[warriorfan]

Top15, 3rd GOAT SF... Considerably lower than that and you're underrating him, tbh.

J had a terrific peak... One of the GOAT athletes, beast on the fastbreak, probably the all-time best finisher at the rim, could hit FT's close to 80%, good post-game, good footwork, good touch from up close, he wasn't showing lots of range but don't act like he couldn't shoot plus he could create his own shot from close to the paint, very good rebounder, one of the greatest off-ball defenders ever, a good passer, clutch...

I think his ABA career shouldn't be held in similar ground as the NBA but it can't definitely be disregarded... For example, dude averaged 37.7/14.2/6.0/3.0/2.2 on 59% FG for the 1976 ABA Finals, against a Nuggets' team that went on to win 50 games in the NBA while being the #1 ranked defense (in 1977).

And when people say he was considerably worse when he went to the NBA, that's just false... He probably wasn't (couldn't be) quite as good due to being in a better, different league but he sacrificed a lot of his game for a Philly's team filled with scorers and ball-stoppers... Fact is that they immediately got to the NBA Finals (in 1977) and go look at what Erving did in the Playoffs, dude was killing it, especially in the Finals.

Plus, he still had some great NBA regular-seasons, mainly in 1980 and 1981.

And yea, he was the #1 superstar before Magic and Bird came around.

Pretty much what he said. By the time Dr J was in the NBA he was a shell of himself physically. If you watch any ABA footage you will see that he was an absolute beast. Dr J's 76's ABA Finals was one of the most dominant displays in basketball history, against a very good Nuggets team.

[ClipperRevival]

Pretty much what he said. By the time Dr J was in the NBA he was a shell of himself physically. If you watch any ABA footage you will see that he was an absolute beast. Dr J's 76's ABA Finals was one of the most dominant displays in basketball history, against a very good Nuggets team.

Unless he suffered some injury while transferring from the ABA to the NBA, there is really no excuse for losing anything physically because he was only 26 in his first season in the NBA. The only explanantion is the level of comp in the NBA was higher along with the fact that he had more talent around him so he didn't need to shoot as much. The numbers do show that he shot about 3-5 shots less than his ABA days.

[WayOfWade]

Kind of off topic, but his "rock the baby" dunk is probably my favorite play of all time

[sdot_thadon]

Didn't get to watch him live, but all the old folks growing up would tell me "Dr.J was our Jordan."

[aau]

Unless he suffered some injury while transferring from the ABA to the NBA, there is really no excuse for losing anything physically because he was only 26 in his first season in the NBA. The only explanantion is the level of comp in the NBA was higher along with the fact that he had more talent around him so he didn't need to shoot as much. The numbers do show that he shot about 3-5 shots less than his ABA days.

wow

he dominated the nba the same as aba
the team he joined cared more about
themselves than winning as a team

individually , he was the league

see for yourself

check the scroll down the right side

http://20secondtimeout.blogspot.com/...ng-versus.html

[senelcoolidge]

Elgin Baylor > Dr. J > MJ. It all started with Baylor as guys that were very flashy and played spectacularly.

[ClipperRevival]

wow

he dominated the nba the same as aba
the team he joined cared more about
themselves than winning as a team

individually , he was the league

see for yourself

check the scroll down the right side

http://20secondtimeout.blogspot.com/...ng-versus.html

I already conceded that he toned down his game given the superior talent surrounding him in the NBA.

But in the ABA, he averaged 28.7 ppg on 22.3 fga and 22.0 ppg on 17.1 fga in the NBA.

So you can't tell me his numbers didn't drop by a good margin in the NBA. Some of it due to the addiitional help but some of it due to the level of comp being better in the NBA.

[FKAri]

There are players who due to circumstances outside their control didn't get to show performances they were capable of. I think Dr. J falls into tht category. People now remember Dr.J as more of a showman than a player and I think that is a disservice to him as a player.

[Dr.J4ever]

Top15, 3rd GOAT SF... Considerably lower than that and you're underrating him, tbh.

J had a terrific peak... One of the GOAT athletes, beast on the fastbreak, probably the all-time best finisher at the rim, could hit FT's close to 80%, good post-game, good footwork, good touch from up close, he wasn't showing lots of range but don't act like he couldn't shoot plus he could create his own shot from close to the paint, very good rebounder, one of the greatest off-ball defenders ever, a good passer, clutch...

I think his ABA career shouldn't be held in similar ground as the NBA but it can't definitely be disregarded... For example, dude averaged 37.7/14.2/6.0/3.0/2.2 on 59% FG for the 1976 ABA Finals, against a Nuggets' team that went on to win 50 games in the NBA while being the #1 ranked defense (in 1977).

And when people say he was considerably worse when he went to the NBA, that's just false... He probably wasn't (couldn't be) quite as good due to being in a better, different league but he sacrificed a lot of his game for a Philly's team filled with scorers and ball-stoppers... Fact is that they immediately got to the NBA Finals (in 1977) and go look at what Erving did in the Playoffs, dude was killing it, especially in the Finals.

Plus, he still had some great NBA regular-seasons, mainly in 1980 and 1981.

And yea, he was the #1 superstar before Magic and Bird came around.

Top 15 would be the consensus view of Doc's all time ranking.

Sometimes I get frustrated because the revival of the NBA really began when the Lakers and Celtics were rejuvenated by the the rivalry early in the 80s. The NBA and ABA(professional basketball) as a whole were facing poor business prospects during the 70s, and Doc was keeping it afloat. He had his peak years during this era when the NBA and ABA were relegated to the sidelines, and a lot of what he accomplished were cast aside.

Lots of ifs, but if only the ABA was a more viable business, and the NBA followed through on it's original plan to have like a superbowl of basketball at the time, I am confident the ABA teams of the mid 70s could have defeated the NBA in a grand final at that point.

Then how would history now rewrite the record books and Doc's stats? He totally destroyed a Nugget team in 1976 who used the best defensive forward in either league on him, Bobby Jones. The very next year, the Nuggets were one of the best teams in the newly merged NBA, just a game or 2 from the Lakers who had the best record.

Doc produced top 10 goat achievements in the old ABA. The question of how great he truly was can be answered by how strong was the ABA at it's highest point, and many authorities at the time would say that by the time the 2 leagues merged, there was virtual parity between the 2 leagues.

Let's not forget the ABA was superior in inter league games from a point of 1971 up to 1976. Witnesses say the games were rough and pride was involved. Players were thrown out of games. Check the website, "Remember the ABA".

[bizil]

Bron or Bird is the GOAT NBA SF. But in PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL HISTORY, Doc has a great case as the GOAT SF. The ABA was an important enough entity for the NBA to absorb it.

And also use many of their concepts. Let's say hypothetically that the ABA stats were combined with the NBA stats. If that were to happen, Doc would be a top 10 GOAT. And the GOAT SF as we speak. He up over 30,000 points for starters. He took what Baylor did to the next level. And he's one of the RARE GUYS who can be the face of the league.

So for me, Doc is a top 10 GOAT in PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL HISTORY. As great as Bron and Bird are, their resume ISN'T better than Doc's total basketball resume. NBA wise Bron and Bird are superior, but not total basketball history. The ABA was too influential NOT TO INCLUDE IT in the grand scheme of American basketball.