Bone Daddy played multiple sports well into his 40’s….city league flag football, basketball and volleyball….but his very favorite sport thas always been basketball….for as the original Sportsphile….he believes that the skills that the game of basketball require to be good at the game….can be translated into any other sport that there is….strengh, speed, reflexes, eye to hand, jumping ability, toughness….for he considers the best basketball player as the best athlete in the world…and this tribute pays homage to one of the best to ever play the game…..WHAT AN ATHLETE !!!
Julius Winfield Erving II was commonly known by the nickname Dr. J,….for he is an American retired basketball player who helped popularize a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and playing above the rim….as Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA)….being the best-known player in that league when it merged with the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–76 season….as Doc 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)….while ending his career with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. He is the sixth-highest scorer in ABA/NBA history with 30,026 points (NBA and ABA combined)….who was well known for slam dunking from the free throw line in slam dunk contests….which Imasportsphile has the footage of in our basketball library….for Dr.J was the only player voted Most Valuable Player in both the ABA and the NBA.
Erving was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993….and was also named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time team. In 1994….for The Doctor was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the 40 most important athletes of all time. In 2004.
Many consider him one of the most talented players in the history of the NBA….who is widely acknowledged as one of the game’s best dunkers….and while Connie Hawkins, “Jumping” Johnny Green, Elgin Baylor, Jim Pollard and Gus Johnson performed spectacular dunks before Erving’s time….Julius Erving brought the practice into the mainstream….as hHis signature dunk was the “slam” dunk….which since has been incorporated into the vernacular and basic skill set of the game….kinda in the same manner as the “crossover” dribble…..or the “no look” pass”….cuz before Dr. J, dunking was a practice most commonly used by the big men while standing close to the hoop in order to show their brutal strength which was seen as style over substance….maybe even unsportsmanlike….by many purists of the game.…however, the way Erving utilized the dunk more as a high-percentage shot made at the end of maneuvers generally starting well away from the basket and not necessarily a “show of force”…which helped to make the shot an acceptable strategy….especially in trying to avoid a blocked shot. Although the slam dunk is still widely used as a show of power, a method of intimidation and a way to fire up a team and their fans…. Dr. J demonstrated that there can be great artistry and almost balletic style to slamming the ball into the hoop….especially after somewhere at the otherr end of the court.
This athlete was one of the very best athletes of all time….he was to sport what a 5-tool player is to baseball….he could do it all.
