What was Dr J's best season in the NBA?

[PTB Fan]

I'd say it was the 76-77.

What do you think?

Discuss topic.

[chips93]

:confusedshrug:

hes dunks were cool doe

ive only watched a few Dr.J games, i was really impressed, such a smooth graceful athlete

i doubt many posters here would have a great knowledge of Erving's career.

[Rose]

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206306

Shaqattack dropped some great knowledge as usual in this thread.

[JMT]

I watched him closely from back in the ABA days. Every year there was spectacular.

1976-77 he had great individual stats, but that team had a lot of talent and underachieved somewhat. CLassic case of too many scorers and only one ball. They never really gelled, which seems strage to say for a team that made the Finals. But the talent on that squad should have equalled a title.

It's the easy answer, but I thought 1980-81, his MVP year, was his best season. That was the team that lost to Boston in the ECF, but just getting that team that far was an incredible accomplishment.

They had no real quality size. Dawkins was young and simply couldn't stay on the floor because of foul trouble and his emotions. None of their bigs: Dawkins, Caldwell Jones or Earl "The Twirl" Cureton had particularly good years.

Doug Collins only played about 30 games due to injury, McGinnis was long gone. Any other offense they generated came from the backcourt.

Doc averaged around 25/8, cut his turnovers, played every game, shot a career high from the field. He really carried that team, and played what was the best defense of his career to that point. He was never a great or even very good defender, but he worked harder at it than he had in the past.

You could make a solid argument for either of the seasons sandwiched around that one, but for my money it was his best all-round year in the NBA.

[chips93]

I watched him closely from back in the ABA days. Every year there was spectacular.

i thought that the ABA was scarcely televised?

[t-rex]

Julius Erving is probably the most underrated great player in NBA history.


I believe you judge tier one stars based on team results. Not just stats. Therefore to me 1980 is his greatest NBA season

First these were Dr. J's numbers.

PTs 26.9
FG% 52%
RBs 7.4
Ast 4.6


But the numbers aren't the real story. The 1980 76ers did not have a great roster. The key players on this team included Maurice Cheeks, Lionel Hollins, Daryl Dawkins, Doug Collins, and Bobby Jones. This is not a lineup that outside of Erving scares anybody today or in 1980. In fact nobody else on this roster averaged more than 15 pts per game (Dawkins 14.7) for the season.

The only other notable person on this roster is Maurice Cheeks. And he was a young point guard who had not yet come into his own. His numbers that year were 11.4 pts per game to go with 7 assists per night. Not exactly a Hall of Fame season.

Despite this weak roster, Dr. J worked as a one man unit regularly battling Bird's Celtics (as he did throughout the early 1980s) right down to the end of the season finishing, 59-23. Boston finished 61-21. In the Eastern Conference finals the Sixers beat Larry Birds Celtics 4-1 (despite Boston having home court advantage.)

In the NBA Finals that year, Erving went up against a Lakers team that was (60-22) and was stacked. The roster included (prime) Kareem Abdul Jabbar, (prime) Jamaal Wilkes, (prime) Magic Johnson and (prime) Norm Nixon.

To put this mismatch in proper context, after Erving, nobody else on the Sixers roster averged more than 14.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the 1980 Lakers had:

Jabbar 24.8
Wilkes 20.0 (vastly underrated)
Johnson 18.0
Nixon 17.6

The 1980 Lakers were so stacked that Norm Nixon who was only the 4th or 5th option on the Lakers, would have been the second leading scorer on the Sixers!

Despite these long odds, Erving still managed to take the Lakers 6 games before losing in the NBA finals. The ability of Dr. J. to drag this 76ers team deep into the NBA finals is one of the great achievements in NBA history. But it is largely forgotten because he didn't win a title.


The 76er teams of 1980, 81 and 82 never fielded a great roster.

Yet this team met the famed 1980s Boston Celtics 3 straight times in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics had home court advantage all 3 years and featured such all time greats as Parish, Bird, McHale, Archibald etc. And yet, the 76ers beat them in 2 of the 3 7-game series.( And they actually were up 3-1 in the 1981 ECF before losing in 7 games) In 1982, Dr. J. beat Larry Bird at a game 7 at the Boston Garden. It was the only game 7 Larry Bird lost in his entire career!


Finally, in 1983, 76er management decided to give Erving some help. And they brought over Moses Malone. This allowed Erving to compete on a more equal playing field with the likes of Bird (who had Parish and McHale) and Magic ( who had Kareem).

The result?

The 1983 Philadelphia 76ers stormed to the NBA Championship, losing just 1 game in the playoffs and sweeping Magic Johnson's LA Lakers 4-0 in the NBA finals!

Dr. J is never properly valued as an all time great.

Yes, there are other players who were better defensively or had a greater outside shot. But there may not be another all time great that did more with less with regard to constantly carrying an other wise weak team to the NBA finals year after year (1977, 1980, 1982). And he did so with all time greats Kareem, Magic and Bird in the prime of their careers.

The 1983 76ers are regarding among the greatest NBA teams in the history of the sport.

I grew up in Boston. I am a bit older than most on this board. I am the biggest Celtics fan in the world. And I can tell you that until Dr. J. got old in the mid 1980s, he dominated Bird.


For me, I think 1980 is his best NBA season.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/bzzagent-bzzscapes-prod/dr--j-jams-the-jinx-lrg.png
Dr. J "slam dunks' the Celtics in game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals at the Boston Garden. It was Larry Bird's only game 7 defeat in his storied career.

[ShaqAttack3234]

I was watching a Spurs/Sixers game from March 1980 not long ago and Doc was interviewed at halftime and said that he was having his best NBA season because he had more freedom on that Sixer team than past Sixer teams.

He obviously had his best NBA numbers as t-rex said(27/7/5, 2.2 spg, 1.8 bpg, 52 FG%) and as he also said, led his team to 59 wins and the finals, so those facts combined with Doc's own statement make me suspect 1980 was it. From the games I've seen from that year, his athleticism was also extremely impressive.

Some have posted articles talking about Doc having knee problems his first few NBA seasons, though Abe/Phila posted an article a while back saying that Dr. J had started a new treatment for his knees that had great results that season.

Either way, Dr. J was 29 turning 30 that year, and late 20's are usually when a player is at their best because they still have most of their athleticism and have gotten experience as well as matured physically and mentally and improved their skills.


and played what was the best defense of his career to that point. He was never a great or even very good defender, but he worked harder at it than he had in the past.

Thanks, this type of information in particular is very helpful.

[Gotterdammerung]

JMT, thank u for that post.

I have to ask: why didn't the 83 Sixers repeat? I know the various reasons espoused, from historians like Rosen and Friedman, but wanted to hear your take.

Thanks in advance. :cheers:

[JMT]

i thought that the ABA was scarcely televised?

Went to ABA games and, before that, the ABL. They were cheap, sparsely attended, and featured a more exciting brand of ball than the NBA in those days. It was heaven for a kid who was a hoops junkie.

The ABL wasn't as great, but it had Connie Hawkins. That was enough for me.

[JMT]

JMT, thank u for that post.

I have to ask: why didn't the 83 Sixers repeat? I know the various reasons espoused, from historians like Rosen and Friedman, but wanted to hear your take.

Thanks in advance. :cheers:

Thanks for the good word. I appreciate it.

Many of the Sixers key players simply didn't perform as well in 83-84 as they had the previous season. Malone, Cheeks, Iavaroni, Clemon Johnson all fell off. Some people in Philly thought they were prime candidates for a championship hangover.

The Nets team that beat them in the first round was a pretty solid squad. They won 45 games (a half dozen or so fewer than Philly). It was a 5 game series, which lends itself more to upsets than a 7 gamer. The series was bizarre in that neither team won a home game. Buck Williams dominated the Sixers frontline in that series, absolutely owning the booards, and Dawkins played Malone almost to a standoff.

[PTB Fan]

Julius Erving is probably the most underrated great player in NBA history.


I believe you judge tier one stars based on team results. Not just stats. Therefore to me 1980 is his greatest NBA season

First these were Dr. J's numbers.

PTs 26.9
FG% 52%
RBs 7.4
Ast 4.6


But the numbers aren't the real story. The 1980 76ers did not have a great roster. The key players on this team included Maurice Cheeks, Lionel Hollins, Daryl Dawkins, Doug Collins, and Bobby Jones. This is not a lineup that outside of Erving scares anybody today or in 1980. In fact nobody else on this roster averaged more than 15 pts per game (Dawkins 14.7) for the season.

The only other notable person on this roster is Maurice Cheeks. And he was a young point guard who had not yet come into his own. His numbers that year were 11.4 pts per game to go with 7 assists per night. Not exactly a Hall of Fame season.

Despite this weak roster, Dr. J worked as a one man unit regularly battling Bird's Celtics (as he did throughout the early 1980s) right down to the end of the season finishing, 59-23. Boston finished 61-21. In the Eastern Conference finals the Sixers beat Larry Birds Celtics 4-1 (despite Boston having home court advantage.)

In the NBA Finals that year, Erving went up against a Lakers team that was (60-22) and was stacked. The roster included (prime) Kareem Abdul Jabbar, (prime) Jamaal Wilkes, (prime) Magic Johnson and (prime) Norm Nixon.

To put this mismatch in proper context, after Erving, nobody else on the Sixers roster averged more than 14.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the 1980 Lakers had:

Jabbar 24.8
Wilkes 20.0 (vastly underrated)
Johnson 18.0
Nixon 17.6

The 1980 Lakers were so stacked that Norm Nixon who was only the 4th or 5th option on the Lakers, would have been the second leading scorer on the Sixers!

Despite these long odds, Erving still managed to take the Lakers 6 games before losing in the NBA finals. The ability of Dr. J. to drag this 76ers team deep into the NBA finals is one of the great achievements in NBA history. But it is largely forgotten because he didn't win a title.


The 76er teams of 1980, 81 and 82 never fielded a great roster.

Yet this team met the famed 1980s Boston Celtics 3 straight times in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics had home court advantage all 3 years and featured such all time greats as Parish, Bird, McHale, Archibald etc. And yet, the 76ers beat them in 2 of the 3 7-game series.( And they actually were up 3-1 in the 1981 ECF before losing in 7 games) In 1982, Dr. J. beat Larry Bird at a game 7 at the Boston Garden. It was the only game 7 Larry Bird lost in his entire career!


Finally, in 1983, 76er management decided to give Erving some help. And they brought over Moses Malone. This allowed Erving to compete on a more equal playing field with the likes of Bird (who had Parish and McHale) and Magic ( who had Kareem).

The result?

The 1983 Philadelphia 76ers stormed to the NBA Championship, losing just 1 game in the playoffs and sweeping Magic Johnson's LA Lakers 4-0 in the NBA finals!

Dr. J is never properly valued as an all time great.

Yes, there are other players who were better defensively or had a greater outside shot. But there may not be another all time great that did more with less with regard to constantly carrying an other wise weak team to the NBA finals year after year (1977, 1980, 1982). And he did so with all time greats Kareem, Magic and Bird in the prime of their careers.

The 1983 76ers are regarding among the greatest NBA teams in the history of the sport.

I grew up in Boston. I am a bit older than most on this board. I am the biggest Celtics fan in the world. And I can tell you that until Dr. J. got old in the mid 1980s, he dominated Bird.


For me, I think 1980 is his best NBA season.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/bzzagent-bzzscapes-prod/dr--j-jams-the-jinx-lrg.png
Dr. J "slam dunks' the Celtics in game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals at the Boston Garden. It was Larry Bird's only game 7 defeat in his storied career.

Great post.

[bizil]

Julius Erving is probably the most underrated great player in NBA history.


I believe you judge tier one stars based on team results. Not just stats. Therefore to me 1980 is his greatest NBA season

First these were Dr. J's numbers.

PTs 26.9
FG% 52%
RBs 7.4
Ast 4.6


But the numbers aren't the real story. The 1980 76ers did not have a great roster. The key players on this team included Maurice Cheeks, Lionel Hollins, Daryl Dawkins, Doug Collins, and Bobby Jones. This is not a lineup that outside of Erving scares anybody today or in 1980. In fact nobody else on this roster averaged more than 15 pts per game (Dawkins 14.7) for the season.

The only other notable person on this roster is Maurice Cheeks. And he was a young point guard who had not yet come into his own. His numbers that year were 11.4 pts per game to go with 7 assists per night. Not exactly a Hall of Fame season.

Despite this weak roster, Dr. J worked as a one man unit regularly battling Bird's Celtics (as he did throughout the early 1980s) right down to the end of the season finishing, 59-23. Boston finished 61-21. In the Eastern Conference finals the Sixers beat Larry Birds Celtics 4-1 (despite Boston having home court advantage.)

In the NBA Finals that year, Erving went up against a Lakers team that was (60-22) and was stacked. The roster included (prime) Kareem Abdul Jabbar, (prime) Jamaal Wilkes, (prime) Magic Johnson and (prime) Norm Nixon.

To put this mismatch in proper context, after Erving, nobody else on the Sixers roster averged more than 14.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the 1980 Lakers had:

Jabbar 24.8
Wilkes 20.0 (vastly underrated)
Johnson 18.0
Nixon 17.6

The 1980 Lakers were so stacked that Norm Nixon who was only the 4th or 5th option on the Lakers, would have been the second leading scorer on the Sixers!

Despite these long odds, Erving still managed to take the Lakers 6 games before losing in the NBA finals. The ability of Dr. J. to drag this 76ers team deep into the NBA finals is one of the great achievements in NBA history. But it is largely forgotten because he didn't win a title.


The 76er teams of 1980, 81 and 82 never fielded a great roster.

Yet this team met the famed 1980s Boston Celtics 3 straight times in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics had home court advantage all 3 years and featured such all time greats as Parish, Bird, McHale, Archibald etc. And yet, the 76ers beat them in 2 of the 3 7-game series.( And they actually were up 3-1 in the 1981 ECF before losing in 7 games) In 1982, Dr. J. beat Larry Bird at a game 7 at the Boston Garden. It was the only game 7 Larry Bird lost in his entire career!


Finally, in 1983, 76er management decided to give Erving some help. And they brought over Moses Malone. This allowed Erving to compete on a more equal playing field with the likes of Bird (who had Parish and McHale) and Magic ( who had Kareem).

The result?

The 1983 Philadelphia 76ers stormed to the NBA Championship, losing just 1 game in the playoffs and sweeping Magic Johnson's LA Lakers 4-0 in the NBA finals!

Dr. J is never properly valued as an all time great.

Yes, there are other players who were better defensively or had a greater outside shot. But there may not be another all time great that did more with less with regard to constantly carrying an other wise weak team to the NBA finals year after year (1977, 1980, 1982). And he did so with all time greats Kareem, Magic and Bird in the prime of their careers.

The 1983 76ers are regarding among the greatest NBA teams in the history of the sport.

I grew up in Boston. I am a bit older than most on this board. I am the biggest Celtics fan in the world. And I can tell you that until Dr. J. got old in the mid 1980s, he dominated Bird.


For me, I think 1980 is his best NBA season.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/bzzagent-bzzscapes-prod/dr--j-jams-the-jinx-lrg.png
Dr. J "slam dunks' the Celtics in game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals at the Boston Garden. It was Larry Bird's only game 7 defeat in his storied career.


Well said! I tend to think that Doc gets somewhat underrated as time goes on as well. He's still the 2nd GOAT SF ever. Everybody says that Bron and Bird are on a collision course for number one. However, passing Doc is going to be a major test too. Doc was THE FACE of the L just like Bron is today. I actually see many elements of Doc's game in Bron's game.

And when u throw in Doc's ABA career, he's closer to the number one GOAT SF spot than many think. And Doc may not have had a great outside shot, but he developed a pretty good midrange jumper. But the key is Doc was an alpha dog scoring machine PERIOD! The guys like Baylor, Doc, Nique, and Lebron are those freak athlete scoring machine slashers at the SF. They collpase defenses and can go over the top of defenses. In the open court they are devastating and puts teams back on their heels. Great is great and an icon is an icon. Guys become this in different ways. Doc was the biggest superstar in the L for a long time AND was the pioneer to mass marketing and globalization of the NBA. They saw the light with Doc, Bird and Magic really got the ball rolling, and MJ took it to the max. Those four are the Mount Rushmore for the modern NBA in my book.

[Whoah10115]

Well said! I tend to think that Doc gets somewhat underrated as time goes on as well. He's still the 2nd GOAT SF ever. Everybody says that Bron and Bird are on a collision course for number one. However, passing Doc is going to be a major test too. Doc was THE FACE of the L just like Bron is today. I actually see many elements of Doc's game in Bron's game.

And when u throw in Doc's ABA career, he's closer to the number one GOAT SF spot than many think. And Doc may not have had a great outside shot, but he developed a pretty good midrange jumper. But the key is Doc was an alpha dog scoring machine PERIOD! The guys like Baylor, Doc, Nique, and Lebron are those freak athlete scoring machine slashers at the SF. They collpase defenses and can go over the top of defenses. In the open court they are devastating and puts teams back on their heels. Great is great and an icon is an icon. Guys become this in different ways. Doc was the biggest superstar in the L for a long time AND was the pioneer to mass marketing and globalization of the NBA. They saw the light with Doc, Bird and Magic really got the ball rolling, and MJ took it to the max. Those four are the Mount Rushmore for the modern NBA in my book.




Do you have Lebron ahead of Pippen already?

[bizil]

Do you have Lebron ahead of Pippen already?


On a GOAT list, I don't think quite yet. But Bron is so unique that it could be a Shaq or MJ type situation. MJ and Shaq shot up the charts damn quick in their careers. I remember people saying MJ was the 2nd GOAT SG behind only Jerry West before the 80's were even over. And peak value wise, I think MJ was the best SG ever very early on. As a player or peak value wise Bron is clearly better than Pip. But even GOAT SF wise, Bron's accomplishments, numbers, and face of the L status have him as a top 10 GOAT SF already. I think other than Bird, Doc, and Hondo I think many would have Bron rated over the other legends at the SF GOAT wise. I do think longevity being great counts for something and Bron still has another 10-13 years of his career left.

[EllEffEll]

But the numbers aren't the real story. The 1980 76ers did not have a great roster. The key players on this team included Maurice Cheeks, Lionel Hollins, Daryl Dawkins, Doug Collins, and Bobby Jones. This is not a lineup that outside of Erving scares anybody today or in 1980. In fact nobody else on this roster averaged more than 15 pts per game (Dawkins 14.7) for the season.

The only other notable person on this roster is Maurice Cheeks. And he was a young point guard who had not yet come into his own. His numbers that year were 11.4 pts per game to go with 7 assists per night. Not exactly a Hall of Fame season.

Despite this weak roster, Dr. J worked as a one man unit regularly battling Bird's Celtics (as he did throughout the early 1980s) right down to the end of the season finishing, 59-23. Boston finished 61-21. In the Eastern Conference finals the Sixers beat Larry Birds Celtics 4-1 (despite Boston having home court advantage.)

In the NBA Finals that year, Erving went up against a Lakers team that was (60-22) and was stacked. The roster included (prime) Kareem Abdul Jabbar, (prime) Jamaal Wilkes, (prime) Magic Johnson and (prime) Norm Nixon.

To put this mismatch in proper context, after Erving, nobody else on the Sixers roster averged more than 14.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the 1980 Lakers had:

Jabbar 24.8
Wilkes 20.0 (vastly underrated)
Johnson 18.0
Nixon 17.6

The 1980 Lakers were so stacked that Norm Nixon who was only the 4th or 5th option on the Lakers, would have been the second leading scorer on the Sixers!

Despite these long odds, Erving still managed to take the Lakers 6 games before losing in the NBA finals. The ability of Dr. J. to drag this 76ers team deep into the NBA finals is one of the great achievements in NBA history. But it is largely forgotten because he didn't win a title.


The 76er teams of 1980, 81 and 82 never fielded a great roster.

For me, I think 1980 is his best NBA season.

:rockon: You speak the truth. I attended two of the Finals games in 1980 and two more in 1982 (Lakers vs. 76ers). It seemed that the great majority of the 76er's offensive game plan in the 1980 Finals was to clear four guys to one side of the floor, and then get Dr. J the ball on the other side and let him do what he could. I shudder to think what he and Moses could have done had the 76ers acquired him (Moses) a few years before the 82-83 season.

Dawkins may not have been consistent, but I will never forget a putback dunk he threw down that took the collective breath out of the Forum for several seconds before anyone made a peep. Chocolate Thunder indeed :eek:

The 82-83 76ers were going to win the title no matter what, I have little doubt about that, but it would have been nice to have the Lakers (Worthy: broken leg) at full strength to at least put up a tiny bit of a struggle. That 82-83 76ers team reminded me of the 2008 Celtics the way they dominated pretty much everyone.

[Whoah10115]

On a GOAT list, I don't think quite yet. But Bron is so unique that it could be a Shaq or MJ type situation. MJ and Shaq shot up the charts damn quick in their careers. I remember people saying MJ was the 2nd GOAT SG behind only Jerry West before the 80's were even over. And peak value wise, I think MJ was the best SG ever very early on. As a player or peak value wise Bron is clearly better than Pip. But even GOAT SF wise, Bron's accomplishments, numbers, and face of the L status have him as a top 10 GOAT SF already. I think other than Bird, Doc, and Hondo I think many would have Bron rated over the other legends at the SF GOAT wise. I do think longevity being great counts for something and Bron still has another 10-13 years of his career left.




As good as Lebron is, I wouldn't yet have him over Paul Pierce. I trust Pierce as much as anyone to win games for me and I think he's still in his prime and has been a little too long. Even tho he's spent nearly half of his career as a SG.



I don't know if I could make a list, in order. But I would have Bird, Hondo, Erving, Baylor, Pippen, Wilkins, Pierce, Lebron...I forget who else I have up for it. Grant Hill never got out of the 1st round, when he was in his pirme. He might still make it tho. I don't know much about Arizin, but he's definitely up for it. I wouldn't list English, much less Dantley. I'm obviously forgetting someone.