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What fans are watching now, Julius Erving says, is the legacy of a league that no longer exists. “When you watch basketball now, you are watching the old ABA game,” Erving said during a recent press call. “You’re watching the up-tempo play, the three-point shot, six fouls, three referees — so many things that were adapted by the NBA.”
When the leagues merged in 1976, only four ABA teams survived — but many of its ideas did. “They were forced into a merger,” Erving said. “And the end results are what you basically see in today’s game.” Erving wasn’t just a witness to that evolution — he was central to it. His game, built on above-the-rim creativity and improvisation, became one of the clearest expressions of what the ABA represented.
During the call, Erving spoke just as fluidly about where basketball is going as where it has been, pointing to the next generation as evidence that innovation hasn’t stopped — it’s simply evolved. Players like Victor Wembanyama, with a skill set that stretches traditional definitions of position and size, represent another shift in what the sport can look like. “He’s the future,” Erving said. “And the future is now… we’re going to see things we’ve never seen before.”
Now, the “Doctor” has added another controversial take to his long list – he’s picking LeBron over Kobe Bryant. And what’s controversial there isn’t who he picked but why he chose him. “I think LeBron is one of one,” said Erving when asked by “The Schmo”. “Kobe’s another sort of imitation of Michael Jordan. You know, there have been plenty of imitations of Michael, Kobe, me and other people. LeBron’s like one of one. So I’m going to give him this pick.”
Julius Erving: The NBA fought the ABA, and you could see that story and what that was all about. They tried to take them under. But I think the ABA and its founders were trying to do a lot of what the American League did with the National League in football. Then there was a merger of the two, and it’s been very successful. The history has been preserved in terms of what was going on in the American League. So, we want the history to be preserved. There are a lot of records, particularly a lot of things that I did individually as an ABA player, that didn’t carry over into the NBA, at least from a statistical standpoint. So, there are still some bridges to cross. I think that’ll get done, and it’s only right.
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Julius Erving: I don’t think anybody’s done a better job than LeBron James, for one thing, as a current athlete. There are a lot of people who follow his example, with the foundation, the family businesses, and the educational opportunities that he’s provided for youth. Michael Jordan was great in terms of the magnanimity of what he’s been able to do and build, to a three-to-five-billion-dollar empire. There are probably a half-dozen others who are special, with what Tiger Woods was able to do in his years. The success he had on and off the golf course translated into big money. So, I kind of have occupied a certain type of space, and I’ve always thought that popularity is important, but I think respect is more important than popularity. So I’ve always gone the route of: I want people to respect me. And I think when I walk through a door these days, I get a lot of respect. So I might not have as much money as some of the other guys— Interviewer: But they respect you. Julius Erving: But I got the respect.
Stephen Jackson: After the merger, you land in Philly with the 76ers, is a crazy story. They say the Knicks could have had you, but they decided to take $3 million in cash. Is that true? Julius Erving: They took the money from the Nets because the Nets were invading on their territory after the merger had happened. Nets were in their territory. So the NBA created a territorial invasion clause or whatever and Nets had to pay them. So the Nets had to get something for me. So they got $6 million from the Sixers and then my contract was $6 million. Jackson: So no Knicks. Would you like to be there? Would you love to be there? Erving: Knicks would have been great. I could have stayed in the same house. I had a house over in Nassau County and started my family. So that that would have been ideal. Knicks would have been a different story. Milwaukee would have been a different story. Playing with Kareem and Oscar. The Hawks would have been different. I never signed with the Knicks or the Milwaukee Bucks, but I did sign with the Hawks. I signed with the Squires, signed with the Nets, I signed with the Sixers. So, I had four different contracts during my career.
Julius Erving: When we got the opportunity to get Moses because he was disgruntled, it just changed everything. And I think I think from day one and Maurice Cheeks said it best. He said from day one in practice he said I knew we were going to win the championship, just the first practice cuz this man when he showed up for practice he was already sweating, cuz some guys take a long time to get warmed up and all that kind of stuff. Moses was drenched. I didn't even want to get near him and we used to laugh about that. Yeah, he came and and he established himself and the city fell in love with him because of his work ethic, not his talent, and the talent was like hidden behind his work ethic because he get on that baseline, he could hit the jump shot, he made his free throws close to 80 percent, hits you on the fly, outlet passes and go song or whatever. So, he did all and everything and he was he was all and everything to us cuz we had all the pieces.
This decision was a welcome step toward honoring the AAFC and the important legacy it bequeathed to pro football. At the same time, the NFL’s recent decision underscores the need for the NBA to take the same action regarding ABA statistics. Like the AAFC, a number of Hall of Famers got their start in the ABA, including Julius Erving, Dan Issel and Moses Malone. Just as the AAFC contributed to the development of pro football, the ABA greatly influenced pro basketball, helping popularize the dunk and 3-point shot, twin staples of the modern game.
Adam Aaronson: Dr. J rings the bell tonight.
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SiriusXM NBA Radio: Did @Hoophall Julius Erving foresee how big the three-point shot would become in the NBA? He tells @BGeltzNBA the way NBA players take long shots now is an innovation.
Did @Hoophall Julius Erving foresee how big the three-point shot would become in the NBA?
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) February 13, 2026
He tells @BGeltzNBA the way NBA players take long shots now is an innovation. pic.twitter.com/4Fi0Tjd5Ux
Julius Erving won his second All-Star MVP, leading the East to a 132-123 win. His excellence is still fresh in his peers’ minds. But Gaye’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is often what they think of when asked about 1983. The players on the court didn’t know he’d be performing, and they definitely didn’t know it would be a modernized version of the song. “That became probably one of the most recognized national anthems — never heard it sung like that before,” George Gervin remembered. “They announced ‘Marvin Gaye’ and we were like ‘Aww yeah.’ He’s a creative master, and the way he sung it, ain’t nobody else could sing it like he did.”
Still, in 1983, no one was as good as Erving. “Magic, he had a great game even though we lost. Kareem played well. Isaiah Thomas played well, and of course, Dr. J was Dr. J,” Thompson said. “Doc was still good for a game like that. He could still get up and could show that he was the best player on the floor. He could do some things that other people couldn’t do with his big hands, the way he could move the ball around.” One play, in particular, stood out to him. “He had one dunk on my friend, Artis Gilmore,” Thompson said.
Jason Beede: Basketball legend Julius Erving aka Dr. J is in attendance for tonight's game at Kia Center.