While Connie Hawkins, "Jumping" Johnny Green, Elgin Baylor, Jim Pollard, and Gus Johnson performed spectacular dunks before Erving's time, Erving brought the practice into the mainstream. Many consider him one of the most talented players in the history of the NBA he is widely acknowledged as one of the game's best dunkers. In October 2021, Erving was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. In 2004, he was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame. In 1996, Erving was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team. In 1994, Erving was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the 40 most important athletes of all time. In 1993, Erving was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The basketball slang of being posterized was first coined to describe his moves. He was well known for slam dunking from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests and was the only player voted Most Valuable Player in both the ABA and the NBA. He is the eighth-highest scorer in ABA/NBA history with 30,026 points (NBA and ABA combined). During his 16 seasons as a player, none of his teams ever missed the postseason. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player in that league when it merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–76 season.Įrving won three championships, four Most Valuable Player awards, and three scoring titles with the ABA's Virginia Squires and New York Nets (now the NBA's Brooklyn Nets) and the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.
#JULIUS ROCK PROFESSIONAL#
J, is an American former professional basketball player. Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. Third-team All-American – NABC, UPI ( 1971).NBA anniversary team ( 35th, 50th, 75th).