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10 basketball nuggets I learned from "Dr. J: The Autobiography"

Here are 10 "windows" on the life of basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving from gleaned from "Dr. J: The Autobiography," written with Karl Taro.

8. ABA affection

KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/AP
LeBron James (l.) and basketball great Julius Erving present an award together during the 11th annual ESPY Awards, July 16, 2003, in Los Angeles.

  • By Ross Atkin Staff writer

Erving became so enamored of the old ABA and the opportunity it provided him and other young players that he says that he didn’t want to see it merge with the NBA  and felt a twinge of sadness when the merger was finally announced on Aug. 5, 1976.

Dr. J made a name for himself with his electrifying, high-flying swoops to the basket, and won the ABA’s first Slam Dunk Contest over David Thompson in 1976, long before the NBA introduced a slam-dunk event in 1984. He even liked the old ABA red, white, and blue striped ball that allowed players to judge the spin of their shots.

In the ABA’s final season, Erving’s New York Nets won the championship against the Denver Nuggets, but the league didn’t attract the crowds the NBA did. And when Dr. J once scored 63 points in a four-overtime thriller against the San Diego Conquistadors, only 3,000 fans witnessed the highest-scoring game in league history.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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