Julius Winfield Erving II, known as Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player, born in 1950, who played for the Virginia Squires and New York Nets in the American Basketball Association from 1971 to 1976 before spending the rest of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association from 1976 to 1987. He won three championships, two ABA titles in 1974 and 1976 and one NBA title in 1983, and is the only player ever voted Most Valuable Player in both the ABA, three times from 1974 to 1976, and the NBA, in 1981. An eleven time NBA All-Star who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993, he ranks ninth on the combined ABA/NBA all time scoring list with 30,026 points and was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
Facts
Career HighlightOnly player voted Most Valuable Player in both the ABA and the NBA 1 Classification
Competition Category FAQs
Why is Julius Erving called Dr. J?
The nickname came from a high school friend named Leon Saunders.
Erving received the nickname from a high school friend named Leon Saunders. Erving explained that he had started calling Saunders the professor and Saunders started calling him the doctor, so the names began as a private joke between friends. He later said that when people in the Rucker Park league in Harlem called him names such as Black Moses and Houdini, he told them that if they wanted to call him anything, they should call him Doctor. Over time the nickname grew into Dr. Julius and finally Dr. J.
Connections
Competed In
Source Wikipedia: Julius Erving
Plays
Source Wikipedia: Julius Erving
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikipedia: Julius ErvingLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articleQuote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname "Dr. J", is an American former professional basketball player.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Julius Erving
First sentence
Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname "Dr. J", is an American former professional basketball player.
Introduction
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.
Wikipedia, article summary lead
J", is an American former professional basketball player.
Plays: Basketball, lead paragraph, plays
Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname "Dr.
Competed In: National Basketball Association, Lead paragraph (competition)
He helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and was the best-known player in the league when it merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975-1976 season.
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