Without question, Julius Erving is the best Sixer of all-time.
When you hear people talk about the GOAT (seemingly, every hour on sports radio), the conversation always goes back to Michael Jordan. But, don't you know who MJ was imitating? Julius Erving was MJ before MJ. And as LeBron James once said, there is no MJ without Dr. J and there is no LBJ without either.
Erving is often overlooked because he played five seasons in the ABA (where he won two titles with New York) before merging with the NBA. But even after that, Dr. J went on to play all 11 NBA seasons with the Sixers (where he was an All-Star each season), an NBA MVP in 1981 and brought a championship to the City of Brotherly Love in 1983 after a four-game sweep of Magic Johnson's Showtime Lakers.
What Dr. J was able to do on the court for his 6-foot-6 size changed the entire mold of your typical small forward position. From passing and ball-handling to rebounding and shot blocking, there was not much that Dr. J couldn't do on the court.
So next time that GOAT debate starts, don't forget you've got a Sixer who should be in that conversation.
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