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Thursday, October 03, 2013

Julius Erving as Viewed by his Contemporaries

When LeBron James recently listed Julius Erving as one of the three greatest basketball players of all-time, some commentators questioned if Erving deserves to be mentioned alongside Michael Jordan and Larry Bird (James' other two top three choices) and ahead of so many other legendary performers. Virtually every outstanding sports figure faces a battle "to the death" (to borrow William Goldman's wonderfully evocative phrase) to preserve his reputation in the eyes of future generations who do not have first hand knowledge of his exploits. It is interesting to examine what a player's contemporaries say about him; although a contemporary observer does not have the contextual benefit of knowing how a player's entire career turned out, a contemporary observer can offer a first hand account of how the player was perceived when the player was at the height of his powers.

Pro Basketball's Super Scorers (published in 1976) by Larry Felser profiles Julius Erving, Rick Barry, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, George McGinnis, Jerry West and Bob McAdoo. Felser noted that the young Erving had already distinguished himself as a great late game performer:

Some players may score more than Erving. A few, but only a few, may be more spectacular. But what makes 6 foot, 7-inch Julius distinctive is his ability to score the big basket when it is needed the most. 

A decade later, Pete Axthelm, in a Newsweek article about Larry Bird, made a similar observation about Erving's propensity to excel in the clutch: "Bird...probably makes as many crucial shots as any recent star except Julius Erving." Today, casual fans may not be old enough to remember and/or savvy enough to know that Erving developed--and deserved--a reputation for making big shots in clutch situations.

Felser described Erving's performance in a March 16, 1974 game when Erving's New York Nets faced the powerful Kentucky Colonels in Kentucky with homecourt advantage in the playoffs potentially on the line as the two squads battled for the Eastern Division title. The Nets had possession of the ball with the score tied and 13 seconds remaining in overtime when Erving received the inbounds pass, drove and lofted a long shot over the outstretched hands of 7-2 shot-blocker Artis Gilmore:

It was a perfect shot, arching high and with just enough power to travel a full 18 feet from the point at which Erving shot it. When it dropped through the net, just one second remained on the scoreboard clock. The Nets had won!

Up in the stands among the spectators, Adolph Rupp, one of the most famous basketball coaches in history when he won championship after championship at the University of Kentucky, watched Erving's game-winning heroics with admiration. 

"I've coached a lot of great players and seen a lot of great ones," said Rupp, "but not all of them wanted to take that last shot, the one which would decide the game. Erving wants to take the shot because he knows he can make it."

Doctor J scored 41 points that night. All but five of them came when the game was at its most hectic stage--in the second half of regulation time and in the overtime period.

The Nets finished 55-29, two games ahead of the Colonels--but if the Colonels had won that encounter, then both teams would have been 54-28 and Kentucky would have won the Eastern Division based on having a better head to head record.

Felser quoted Kevin Loughery, who coached Erving with the Nets for three years, during which time Erving earned three ABA MVPs (one shared with George McGinnis) and led the Nets to two ABA titles:

"I think Julius is the best basketball player I've ever seen," says Loughery. "There is a certain uniqueness to him. He does things on a basketball court that no other player can do. When you watch him every night, you see different things. During the last few weeks of his first season with us, when we had to win every game, he was tremendous. There are very few players in the game of basketball  I would pay to see. He is one of them."

Many longtime observers of pro basketball compare Erving to Elgin Baylor, the great forward for the Los Angeles Lakers who retired several years ago.

"Doctor J is a better all-around player than Baylor ever was," answers Loughery. "He can do everything Baylor could do on offense, and then some. He also plays much better defense."

Felser noted that Kentucky Coach Babe McCarthy agreed with Loughery. After Erving hit another last second shot to beat the Colonels--this time in game three of the 1974 Eastern Division Finals--McCarthy declared, "Unbelievable. More ability than any player I've ever seen. Erving is the best."

A few quotes and anecdotes from the mid-1970s do not conclusively prove anything but they do give an indication about how Erving was perceived as his career unfolded. Erving at his peak was certainly in the greatest player of all-time conversation; that does not mean that he definitively was/is the greatest player of all-time or that other players are not in that conversation, nor does it preclude the possibility that subsequent players exceeded Erving's accomplishments--but the way that Erving was viewed by his contemporaries is worth remembering/considering when the subject of greatest basketball player of all-time is discussed.

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posted by David Friedman @ 2:08 AM

4 comments

4 Comments:

At Saturday, February 15, 2014 12:09:00 PM, Blogger Jules said...

strange… most recently Lebron said that the mount rushmore of Basketball included the heads of Bird, Magic, Michael, and Oscar, and that one would have to be removed for him or at least they'd have to make a fifth spot for his giant head. No mention of Erving…any thoughts?

 
At Saturday, February 15, 2014 3:39:00 PM, Blogger David Friedman said...

Jules:

Erving is securely in my Pantheon (see right hand sidebar of main page for details) but I find it very difficult to rank the players within the Pantheon, because each of those guys could legitimately claim to be the greatest player of all-time--or at least was perceived by informed observers to be a contender for that status when he was at his peak.

I also think that when players are asked such questions without advance notice they do not have a chance to think their answers through clearly or analytically. One thing that is impressive about Erving is that his answer to that question is always the same: his "starting five" are the five greatest players he watched during his formative years, Wilt, Russell, Oscar, West and Baylor.

 
At Tuesday, March 03, 2020 9:28:00 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I think Julius probably will never get mentioned among todays greats(Jordan,Lebron,Bryant,Bird)Mainly because the"hoopla" around the"goat" and best wasn't a true concern in his era. Think about it. As great of a player as George Gervin was he almost never gets mentioned in any discussion of greatness. Like Erving. Gervin also had greatness in the ABA however when the leagues combined both Gervin and Erving where placed on teams with primary scoring options in the line-up. However they both would eventually assume lead roles in Philadelphia and San Antonio. Is Julius Erving one of the best? Is he one of the greatest. My guess is most would say"you're darn tootin"! And all would"hell yes!

 
At Wednesday, March 04, 2020 5:13:00 PM, Blogger David Friedman said...

Bird is not one of "today's greats"; he retired just a few years after Erving retired.

Bird is an interesting case, because circa 1986 the media was heavily promoting the idea that Bird is the greatest player of all-time. I doubt that very many people believe that now. I was puzzled at that time how anyone could rank Bird ahead of Magic--and then Magic won back to back titles plus three of the next four MVPs to pretty much end any notion that Bird should be ranked ahead of him.

People who rank players objectively will rank Erving highly: he was a durable, consistent and versatile performer for winning teams.

The best player at a given time will often be touted as the greatest player of all-time, but after 10 years that hype fades and people are better able to place that player in historical context.

 

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