Julius "Dr. J" Erving is quietly one of the most important players in NBA history. He's more accomplished and decorated than many of your favorite legends and is an arguable top-20 all-time player. However, Erving is crucial to the league's development for much more than just his on-court excellence.
Erving was the perfect combination of performance on the floor and a playstyle so entertaining that it drove millions of fans to their TV screens again despite a struggling NBA in the 1970s.
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are given the most credit for saving the league post-1980 with their legendary Celtics-Lakers rivalry, but Erving was just as instrumental in capturing the imaginations of young NBA fans with his graceful, innovative offensive game.
Erving is famous for making some of the most creative layups and shots around the rim that we've ever seen, still to this day. His underhand scoop reverse layup in 1980 laid the foundation for everyone to attempt ridiculous finishes, from kids to professional players. The effects of Dr. J.'s on-court creativity are still being felt today.
As one of the all-time great players, it's certainly worth taking a look at his top-ten list. However, it certainly features some jarring snubs, especially among modern superstars. His ranking is in no particular order.
Bill Russell
Bill Russell
As an ABA veteran who played in the alternate league for five seasons before joining the NBA in 1976-77, Erving certainly has an appropriate appreciation for the older generation of players who laid the foundation of the modern game. As mentioned before, Julius himself deserves major credit for uplifting the NBA in the late 1970s and 1980s, so he understands the role that those guys played.
So, it seems fitting that he eagerly chose Bill Russell for his all-time ranking. Russell, who is arguably the official pioneer of NBA basketball, helped popularize the sport for the first time in the 1950s and 60s.
Russell's Celtics dominated that era like no one has ever or will ever again, winning 11 championships in a 13-year span from 1957 to 1969. Bill won five MVPs and was a 12-time All-Star and 11-time All-NBA member. His 22.5 career rebounds per game ranks second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 22.9.
Russell is known as arguably the best defensive player to ever lace them up, even 56 years after his retirement. He's the greatest winner and leader in league history, even serving as a player-coach at times in his career. It is fitting that Erving shows him respect.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Next on Erving's list is another one of the greatest winners ever, Michael Jordan. Jordan, who is widely considered the Greatest of All-Time (though LeBron James is closing in), is the most dominant modern player we've had, at least relative to their era. When "His Airness" figured out the league in the 1990s, no one else sniffed even a crumb of success while he ruled the league.
Jordan's Chicago Bulls had two three-peats in the 1990s (1991-93 and 1996-98), with the two years in between stolen from them because Mike decided to play minor league baseball (MJ did return late in 1995, but the Bulls were beaten by Shaquille O'Neal and Orlando).
Still, pulling off two three-peats in one of the most talented eras of basketball is unfathomable. There have only been three of them in the post-Russell era, with the Shaq/Kobe Bryant Lakers 2000-02 run being the other. With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement's punitive salary cap driving parity, it's unlikely that we'll soon one anytime soon.
Jordan is a six-time champion and Finals MVP, five-time league MVP, and 10-time scoring champion. His 30.1 PPG ranks first all-time, and he's one of the very best two-way players ever.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bucks superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bucks superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Erving is starting off his top-three with a bang, also choosing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Keeping with the theme, Jabbar is the most accomplished total basketball player in the world, from high school through the day he hung up the shoes on his NBA career.
Kareem won three high school titles, three collegiate championships at UCLA, and six NBA Finals. He won six league MVPs, earned 19 All-Stars, 15 All-NBA honors, and was an 11-time All-Defensive member. Jabbar retired with the all-time total points record before LeBron broke it 39 years later in 2023.
Simply put, Jabbar is the most decorated player from start to finish that's ever graced a basketball court. He has a legitimate argument to be the greatest player of all-time, despite being largely forgotten in that debate by now.
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain 3
Next up on the list is a guy who makes it not because of his winning or influence on the game, but rather his eye-popping statistical dominance and modern athleticism. Wilt Chamberlain is a statistical anomaly that we will never see again, holding so many records that it's fruitless to even count them.
Chamberlain holds the record for single-season PPG (50.4) and RPG (27.2), points in a game (100), and all-time rebounds per game (22.9). Those are just four of his endless marks, but he also has four MVPs, 13 All-Stars, 10 All-NBAs, and won two championships.
Although Chamberlain was dominated in his head-to-head matchups by Russell from a winning standpoint, he was a much more talented performer than Bill was. Russell's Celtics were simply too talented, as they're still one of the greatest teams of all-time.
Wilt's combination of jarring statistical output and graceful athletic tools at seven feet tall makes him extremely impressive, even today.
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson
Erving continues to show deference to his era of players and prior, giving props to the guys who laid the groundwork for the league we know today. He chose Oscar Robertson as his fifth all-time player, another 1960s legend.
Robertson was the older version of Russell Westbrook, a do-it-all point guard who provided value to his team in every area of the game despite being just six-foot-five. However, unlike Westbrook, Robertson was a pure winning player whose flaws didn't minimize his positive contributions.
The Big O averaged a triple-double for the 1961-62 campaign, becoming the only one to do it until Westbrook did in 2016-17. Robertson's statistical dominance is sneaky, as he put up at least 28 points and nine assists a night for eight consecutive seasons to begin his career.
He also won the 1971 championship as a Milwaukee Buck alongside Abdul-Jabbar.
Jerry West
Jerry West Los Angeles Lakers
Next up is the NBA logo, Jerry West. Another one of the pioneers of the sport in 1960s and 70s, West was the original great point guard. He averaged 27.0 points per game (seventh all-time) and 6.7 assists in his 14-year career, and was a 14-time All-Star and 12-time All-NBA member.
However, West had perhaps the most tragic career of all-time: he was 1-8 in the NBA Finals, lost four Game 7s, and never won a league MVP despite finishing in the top five nine different times. Jerry was yet another victim of the Boston Celtics dominance in that decade, but his influence on the game should never be forgotten.
Elgin Baylor
Elgin Baylor, Lakers
The last pre-Erving player on his ranking is the great Elgin Baylor, who is yet another superstar forgotten to NBA history because he was overshadowed by the dominance of Bill Russell's Celtics. (Everyone thinks of MJ for shutting off the league's water, but Russell really did even more).
Baylor, whose 27.4 PPG ranks fifth all-time, is one of the best scorers of all-time. He averaged 24 PPG or more in 11 of his 14 campaigns, racking up 11 All-Stars and 10 All-NBA honors. He was before his time as a perimeter scorer who could get buckets off the dribble from any range on the floor, despite the lack of a three-point line.
Although Baylor never won a championship, he was one of the defining players of the early era of NBA basketball. Former stars who witnessed it live constantly vouch for his greatness.
Tiny Archibald
Tiny Archibald
For his next selection, Erving gave easily the most surprising. Instead of choosing Tiny Archibald, who was a star player for a brief time in the 1970s, it would've made more sense to go with any number of players. Moses Malone, the 1983 Finals MVP next to Erving on the 76ers title team, would've been an expected choice.
Clearly, Dr. J doesn't want to choose current players or even those that played in the 2000s or 2010s, which sparked controversy in the NBA community.
Nonetheless, Tiny Archibald deserves credit for a phenomenal career. He averaged 25.2 points in his first six seasons, even winning the 1973 scoring title with a mind-blowing 34 points per game. Archibald was a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey with a Lakers themed background
With his following choice, Erving went with a contemporary superstar, Magic Johnson. Johnson, who helped save the league in the early 80s alongside Erving and Larry Bird, is one of the few players who have an outside argument at the GOAT debate.
It is curious that Erving omitted Bird, the other half of the legendary Lakers/Celtics rivalry, but perhaps there is lasting animosity for his Eastern Conference foe.
Nonetheless, Johnson was a five-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, and three-time league MVP. He was the architect of the Showtime Lakers, who played a style of ball so enjoyable it helped revive the league. Magic's 11.2 assists per game average is the best of all-time.
From his run-and-game style to infectious smile, Johnson was one of the best influences on the game we've ever had.