Where do you rank Julius Erving in best NBA Finals performers?

[Odinn]

After the merger, he carried the Sixers to the NBA Finals.

He lost the Bill Walton who was exceptional that year.

1980-83, in 4 year span he went to the NBA Finals 3 times and won a title.

1977 Finals - against Blazers (star player; B. Walton)
30/7/5/3/1

1980 Finals - against Lakers (star players; Kareem&Magic)
26/7/5/2/2

1982 Finals - against Lakers (star players; Kareem&Magic)
25/8/3/2/1

1983 Finals - against Lakers (star players; Kareem&Magic)
19/9/5/1/3

Combined;
22 games
25.5 ppg / 7.5 rpg / 4.5 apg / 2.0 spg / 1.7 bpg / 2.8 tpg / 52.6% fg / 76.6% ft / 28.64 eff

He gets crticized for not being a NBA player for his first 5 years in all-time ranking but I think he was one of the best NBA Finals performers.

He averaged 30-7-5 at almost 2000s pace, first. Then pushed that Lakers(which team is significantly better then the Sixers) to 6 games. And finally swept the Lakers with Moses Malone.

[G.O.A.T]

Factor in his ABA Finals numbers and it's even crazier. This is what I have. If anyone else can add anything to these lines please do.

1974 Finals vs. Utah Stars

Game One: 47 points 19-29 FG, Nets win 89-85

Game Two: 32 points, Nets win 118-94

Game Three: 24 points, Nets win 103-100

Game Four: 18 points, Nets lose 97-89

Game Five: 20 points, Nets win 111-100

Series Average: 28.2 ppg

1976 Finals vs. Denver Nuggets

Game One: 45 points 12 rebounds 4 assists, 17-24 FG, 11-12 FT (game winning 15-20 footer at the buzzer) Nets win 120-118

Game Two: 48 points 14 rebounds, Nets lose 127-121

Game Three: 31 points 10 rebounds 4 blocks 5 steals (scored eight points, 2 steals and blocked two shots in final 90 secs), Nets win 117-111

Game Four: 34 points 16 rebounds, Nets win 121-112

Game Five: 37 points 14 rebounds, 13-21 FG, 11-15 FT, Nets lose 118-110

Game Six: 31 points 19 rebounds, Nets win 112-106

Series Averages: 37.7 ppg 14.2 rpg

[PTB Fan]

I have his ABA Finals stats as well. I'm not on my lap top though. I'll post them later.

Btw, i have him at Finals:26.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.6 steals , 52.6% field goal percent with one ABA finals MVP counted. I'll need to calculate the rest too

[Doctor Rivers]

Is he a better Finals performer than Kobe?

[Streetballer]

I always find it funny out the Media always Over Look Dr.J
To Me I Rank him up there with Jordan,Bird,&Magic
The Nba and ABA thing was Like the AFL and the NFL
The Nba had the Money and Power But the I think the ABA had Better Players(Raw Talent) who's the Say if the NBA Champs had went up against the Aba Champs the Aba Wouldn't won??
Just Like how the NFL said the AFL weren't on their Level Then The Jets Proved them Wrong!!
D.J is a top 10 Player!!!!he revolutionize the Game of Basketball!!

http://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/bloguploads/haters-kid-cudi.gif

[Rooster]

1976 ABA Finals was Dr. J best. It was memorable because he and David Thompson was waging a scoring duel througout the series. I did saw Bobby Jones who was a premier defender in his heyday in both leagues and Doctor just tore him up. Dr. J really thrived in the ABA free flowing style.

[D-Wade316]

Is he a better Finals performer than Kobe?
Obviously. Kobe is the opposite of Wade and Jordan when playing in the Finals.

[PTB Fan]

Julius Erving 76 ABA Finals



Game 1: 45 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 17-25 FG, 11-11 FT


Game 2: 48 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 17-26 FG, 12-16 FT


Game 3: 31 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 11-23 FG, 9-11 FT


Game 4:34 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 11-20 FG, 12-15 FT


Game 5:37 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 13-21 FG, 11-15 FT


Game 6:31 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, 10-19 FG, 11-16 FT


226 points (37.6), 85 boards (14.2), 27 assists (4.7), 13 steals (2.6), 11 blocks (2.2)

In 6 games!


and


74 ABA Finals


Game 1: 47 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 19-29 FG, 9-10 FT


Game 2: 32 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 12-21 FG, 8-10 FT


Game 3:24 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 9-22 FG


Game 4:18 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 9-22 FG


Game 5:20 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 9-19 FG, 1-1 FT


Series Averages:141 points (28.2), 57 boards (11.4), 25 assists (5.0), 58/113 FG (51.3)

[Duncan21formvp]

How much do you value ABA when considering Doctor J's career?

[D-Wade316]

How much do you value ABA when considering Doctor J's career?
It holds more value than his NBA career, obviously.

[Odinn]

1976 Finals vs. Denver Nuggets

Game One: 45 points 12 rebounds 4 assists, 17-24 FG, 11-12 FT (game winning 15-20 footer at the buzzer) Nets win 120-118

Game Two: 48 points 14 rebounds, Nets lose 127-121

Game Three: 31 points 10 rebounds 4 blocks 5 steals (scored eight points, 2 steals and blocked two shots in final 90 secs), Nets win 117-111

Game Four: 34 points 16 rebounds, Nets win 121-112

Game Five: 37 points 14 rebounds, 13-21 FG, 11-15 FT, Nets lose 118-110

Game Six: 31 points 19 rebounds, Nets win 112-106

Series Averages: 37.7 ppg 14.2 rpg
:wtf: :wtf:

[G.O.A.T]

How much do you value ABA when considering Doctor J's career?

Doc's three best seasons came in years when the ABA's best teams were as good or better than the NBA's. Doc was sold to the 76ers before the merger, but the Nuggets won 50 games and the Spurs 44 in their first NBA season and that was with the NBA teams all getting stronger by dividing the remaining ABA players among themselves. In the NBA finals in 1977 4 of the 10 starters were former ABA guys. In fact 4 of the 10 all-NBA players, 4 of 10 all-NBA picks and 11 of 26 all-stars all had ABA roots in 1977.

[WillyJakk]

I had to rep Odinn & Streetballer.

Odinn for making the thread schooling peeps about Dr. J and Streetballer for telling it like I truly believe it is and that's the ABA had superior talent, the NBA just had the name and more history behind it at the time, that's all.

Dr. J's skills transcend time and he'd be great nowadays.

On topic:
It'd be hard to find anyone not named:

Jordan, Shaq, Hakeem, Bird, and Tim Duncan that played better than him in the Finals CONSIDERING how many times he reached the Finals.

[PTB Fan]

:wtf: :wtf:

What's the problem?

[PTB Fan]

How much do you value ABA when considering Doctor J's career?

A lot. Although he had good teams, still, he was the #1 option on those teams and he led them to two titles while performing pretty well. His 76 is one of the most notable considering he went up against Bobby Jones (at worst top 15 in defender ever).

[guy]

He's pretty much considered right outside the top 10 behind Jordan, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Shaq, Duncan, Hakeem, and Kobe. My question is if the ABA was considered equal to the NBA (which for whatever reason it doesn't seem like it is), where would he rank? We would be talking about someone with 3 titles, 7 Finals appearances, 4 MVPs, 9 All-NBA or ABA first teams, 3 scoring titles, the 5th all-time leading scorer, and probably one of the most influential players in history. I don't know. You can argue he should be ahead of a couple of those players in the top 10.

[jlauber]

He's pretty much considered right outside the top 10 behind Jordan, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Shaq, Duncan, Hakeem, and Kobe. My question is if the ABA was considered equal to the NBA (which for whatever reason it doesn't seem like it is), where would he rank? We would be talking about someone with 3 titles, 7 Finals appearances, 4 MVPs, 9 All-NBA or ABA first teams, 3 scoring titles, the 5th all-time leading scorer, and probably one of the most influential players in history. I don't know. You can argue he should be ahead of a couple of those players in the top 10.

The only real area where the ABA lagged behind the NBA (besides overall depth) was at the center position. Gilmore was the only real dominant big man (although Beaty and Daniels were very good players.) Players like Barry and Cunningham played equally as well in the ABA as they did in the NBA, so a younger, more spectacular Dr. J would probably have put up similar numbers in the NBA.

[Baller1986]

It sucks that he wasted his prime in the ABA. Those are amazing finals stats. Dr. J is a better Finals performer than LeBron and Kobe.

[bagelred]

It sucks that he wasted his prime in the ABA.

He was only 26 years old when he joined the NBA. Plenty of prime left. Actually, that is a players prime...late 20's.

[Dr.J4ever]

Julius Erving 76 ABA Finals



Game 1: 45 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 17-25 FG, 11-11 FT


Game 2: 48 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 17-26 FG, 12-16 FT


Game 3: 31 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 11-23 FG, 9-11 FT


Game 4:34 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 11-20 FG, 12-15 FT


Game 5:37 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 13-21 FG, 11-15 FT


Game 6:31 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, 10-19 FG, 11-16 FT


226 points (37.6), 85 boards (14.2), 27 assists (4.7), 13 steals (2.6), 11 blocks (2.2)

In 6 games!


and


74 ABA Finals


Game 1: 47 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 19-29 FG, 9-10 FT


Game 2: 32 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 12-21 FG, 8-10 FT


Game 3:24 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 9-22 FG


Game 4:18 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 9-22 FG


Game 5:20 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 9-19 FG, 1-1 FT


Series Averages:141 points (28.2), 57 boards (11.4), 25 assists (5.0), 58/113 FG (51.3)

Doc's numbers in the 1976 ABA Finals vs. Denver was frightening. 37.6PPG vs. the best defensive forward in either league at the time in Bobby Jones. Denver went on to win it's division in the very next year in the NEW STRONGER NBA. Denver was one of the best teams in the 1st season of the merged NBA.

Why NEW AND STRONGER? Well, the ABA absorbed the best players from the ABA, and many were incorporated in their lineups. Maurice Lucas reinforced the Portland team that won the NBA Title in 1977. Plus, the NBA forced ABA teams to NOT be able to draft any college players in the 1976 draft. Talk about stacking the decks for the existing NBA teams.

The Nets were forced to pay a fine to the Knicks for territorial rights which forced Doc to be moved to the Sixers. From then on, we were never destined to see a Nets team defend it's title in the newly merged league. The season's previous NBA champ, Boston, lost to Doc and the Sixers in the 1977 playoffs.

The more I read and research the ABA's history, the more I am convinced that ABA stats=NBA stats, and should be counted as one with no asterisk in NBA annals. Pro basketball before 1976 was divided into 2 leagues, and both had the best stars in the game, and both leagues had different styles. The NBA was the better league in certain aspects, while the ABA was the better league in others. To me, this is beyond dispute.

Was Doc's 1976 Finals the best in NBA/ABA Finals history by any one player? It's certainly one of the best, and Doc is clearly underrated in historical terms.