Julius Erving, regarded as one of the all-time greats in the NBA and the guy who popularized the “slam” dunk, discusses his insights from his 16 seasons as a professional player and his thirty years after the game. My first moniker was The Doctor. My high school buddy Leon Saunders called me that after I called him The Professor. Our nicknames came from our time together as UMass students, Saunders and I. But when I got to the pros, there were already a few people in the company who went by the nickname “Doc” or “the Doctor”—the trainer, the doctor, and so on. The trainer told me, “Hey listen, you have to be Dr. J.” one day.
Since my parents are no longer with us, I will introduce myself as Julius in their memory as that is the name they gave me. However, I’m quite fine with being referred to as Dr. J or the Doctor. Straight from the source, that is. My hallmark move has always been the Dunk. It is a powerful play. It can occasionally be a game-changer. Occasionally, something can be a disaster waiting to happen.
“Hey listen, you’ve got to be Dr. J.” the trainer told me. The bloopers are my fave kind of dunks. You witness the man fall onto his back after hitting the front of the rim. Alternatively, the ball bounces to half court when he touches the back of the hoop. I once participated in a mistake. My legs were removed by Bernard King, and the ball struck the back of the rim before taking off. I was lying on my back on the ground. “How could that not be a foul?” I asked myself as I glanced up at the referee.
