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Julius Erving

The Greatest Game In Basketball History



It became increasingly more evident that the two competing leagues would merge by the 1975-76 season, but not before Erving played what is commonly considered one of the greatest games in basketball history. The ABA's final championship series between the New York Nets and the Denver Nuggets would come down to a final game in which the Nets would trail by twenty points but come back due in large part to the individual performance of Erving. Erving averaged 37.7 points in that championship series which would serve as his farewell to the ABA and his introduction to the newly expanded NBA. He won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the season and ranked first in scoring, fifth in rebounding, seventh in assists, third in steals and seventh in blocked shots. In short, Erving did it all, even becoming the first player to win a league wide slam dunk contest that year.



Offered a contract with the Nets, Erving turned it down and held out for a better offer before landing in Philadelphia with the 76ers. The 76ers were a talented team full of self-serving egos and little regard for team play. In his first year there, Philadelphia would go to the finals and lose to the Portland Trailblazers after winning the first two games of the series. It was after two disappointing seasons that the 76ers' management decided to unload their highly priced stars and build the team around Erving.

Chronology

1950 Born February 22 in Roosevelt, New York
1967 Named All-Conference at Roosevelt High
1968 Enrolled at University of Massachusetts
1970 Scores career high 37 points twice in one season
1970 Named All-America and All-Yankee Conference
1971 Decides to turn professional
1971 Joins the Virginia Squires
1971 Leads ABA in playoff scoring with a 33 point average per game
1972 Marries wife Turqouise
1973 Moves to the New York Nets of the ABA
1974 Named the ABA's MVP
1974 Wins first ABA championship with the Nets
1975 Scores career high 63 points in a game for the Nets
1976 Named ABA's MVP again
1976 Wins second ABA championship with the Nets
1976 Joins Philadelphia 76ers
1977 Named All-star Game MVP
1978 Named to the All-NBA First Team
1980 Named to NBA's 35th Anniversary All-time Team
1981 Named NBA MVP
1983 Awarded Walter J. Kennedy Citizenship Award
1983 Wins NBA championship with 76ers
1984 Scores 34 points in All-star Game
1987 Retires from basketball
1993 Enshrined in Basketball Hall of Fame
1996 Named to NBA's 50th Anniversary All-time Team

Awards and Accomplishments

1974, 1976 ABA Most Valuable Player
1974, 1976 ABA championship
1975 ABA co-Most Valuable Player
1977, 1983 Named All-Star Game Most Valuable Player
1981 NBA Most Valuable Player
1983 Wins NBA championship with the 76ers
1983 Named to NBA 35th Anniversary Team
1983 Walter J. Kennedy Citizenship Award
1983 Jackie Robinson Award from Ebony Magazine
1985 American Express Man of the Year
1993 Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
1996 Named to NBA 50th Anniversary Team

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsBasketballJulius Erving Biography - In The Beginning, The Aba, The Greatest Game In Basketball History, Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments