julius erving and lebron

[swagga]

Can one of the older posters that seen julius in action compare these players?
I think we all know Julius could dunk better than lebron and that lebron is the better shooter. I'm most interested in playmaking, off-ball and defense.

[3ball]

flpiiii might have Dr. J's on-off numbers, which could give an indication of his defense.

as for his dunking, flpiii might have those numbers too... Dr. J and Lebron's dunking styles have similarities, so it would be interesting to compare volume between the two players.

[fpliii]

flpiiii might have Dr. J's on-off numbers, which could give an indication of his defense.

as for his dunking, flpiii might have those numbers too... Dr. J and Lebron's dunking styles have similarities, so it would be interesting to compare volume between the two players.

I ordered the 77-78 through 87-88 guides. They should be arriving this week, so we should have on/off and dunking numbers for his entire NBA career very soon.

[3ball]

I ordered the 77-78 through 87-88 guides. They should be arriving this week, so we should have on/off and dunking numbers for his entire NBA career very soon.

wow.. that's amazing... very cool

[fpliii]

wow.. that's amazing... very cool

Yeah. That'll also finish up Barkley's dunk totals.

Too bad we can't get the dunk totals for Hakeem's and MJ's first three years. Both were probably extremely high.

[SHAQisGOAT]

They have plenty of similarities, yeah. Both are athletic freaks, both terrific at attacking the basket, both beasts on the fastbreak, both great at playing the passing lanes, both great all-around SF's...
I'd say Doc had more finesse and moves with those enormous paws (although still with lots of power and explosiveness).

LeBron's a better overall shooter with more range (some people act like Erving had just no jumper though, lmfao) but Doc had a better post-game and soft-touch from up close, better without the ball too.
They're two of the GOAT finishers at the rim, I'd probably call Erving the GOAT at that but it's arguable. J was a better slasher, James is better at bulldozing his way in.
Overall, I'd say LeBron is the better scorer.

Julius was a nice passer and all but LeBron's simply better at that (top2 passing SF ever) and better at taking care of the ball.

As far as defense, Julius was better off-ball (in fact he's one of the best off-ball defenders ever, factoring steals/blocks, and he doesn't get enough credit for it) but LeBron's a better on-ball defender and even overall team defender... defensively, taking everything into account, LBJ's above.

Rebounding? Call it a wash, really, however the Doctor was clearly a better offensive rebounder and that counts plenty.

When you talk about peaks, I'd take LeBron but it's not far and both had two of the GOAT peaks at the SF position.

[swagga]

thanks for the answers

I only got to see the very old doc when I was really young.

[kennethgriffin]

i've seen allot of doc videos and games

only similarities are

- body type

- athleticism

- lack of mid range shooting

- bad shooting form

- choked in the finals

- both of their fans think theyre the greatest players of all time and that jordan is overrated

- both are top 11-14 players all time


other than that theyre 2 opposites

[bizil]

They have plenty of similarities, yeah. Both are athletic freaks, both terrific at attacking the basket, both beasts on the fastbreak, both great at playing the passing lanes, both great all-around SF's...
I'd say Doc had more finesse and moves with those enormous paws (although still with lots of power and explosiveness).

LeBron's a better overall shooter with more range (some people act like Erving had just no jumper though, lmfao) but Doc had a better post-game and soft-touch from up close, better without the ball too.
They're two of the GOAT finishers at the rim, I'd probably call Erving the GOAT at that but it's arguable. J was a better slasher, James is better at bulldozing his way in.
Overall, I'd say LeBron is the better scorer.

Julius was a nice passer and all but LeBron's simply better at that (top2 passing SF ever) and better at taking care of the ball.

As far as defense, Julius was better off-ball (in fact he's one of the best off-ball defenders ever, factoring steals/blocks, and he doesn't get enough credit for it) but LeBron's a better on-ball defender and even overall team defender... defensively, taking everything into account, LBJ's above.

Rebounding? Call it a wash, really, however the Doctor was clearly a better offensive rebounder and that counts plenty.

When you talk about peaks, I'd take LeBron but it's not far and both had two of the GOAT peaks at the SF position.

I agree with all u said! Peak wise, I think Bron, Bird, and Doc are the top three to ever do it. And I feel GOAT wise in the NBA, Bird or Bron is the GOAT SF. But in terms of PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL HISTORY, I think Dr. J is the GOAT! Doc's total basketball resume in the ABA and NBA as well as his influence is second to none in my book. Doc was also a great player for a long time who maintained his freak athletic ability for the longest time.