Doctor Julius Erving
“Doctor” Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II, more commonly known as Dr. J, revolutionized the game of basketball with his ability to jump and play above the rim. During his career, he won three NBA championships and is the fifth highest scorer in NBA history with just over thirty thousand points. Julius Erving was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and was also named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time team. Over the course of his life, Dr. J loved to play the game of basketball even at a young age (Biography).
Julius Erving will forever be known as “Dr. J.” According to Julius, the name originated form a high school friend even though people tried to call him things like “The Claw” and “Black Moses.” Here is what he has to say:
"When I got to the Rucker League (in New York City), I was already 21, it was my junior year of college, and I was going to play on that stage before my first pro season. And they started calling me all kinds of nicknames because of the antics on the court, and I went over and corrected them and said, 'Look, if you 're going to call me anything, just call me the Doctor, because you know, my best friend in high school had given me the name The Doctor and I 'd given him the name The Professor and we graduated high school together, went to college together and shared those nicknames. ... He said I had a lot of moves -- more moves than Carter has liver pills” (Dr. J). Born on February 22, 1950 in Roosevelt, New York, Julius was one of two boys (Eggert). When he was seven years old, his dad was killed in a car accident. Julius went on to attend Roosevelt High School. Even then, he was a natural at the game. According to Julius, he never thought of himself as anything special. He envisioned the moves that he made at a young age, and he just assumed anyone could do what he could (Eggert). As far as the numbers he put up, he was a very well rounded player in high school but did not receive a great amount of recognition.
Julius Erving will forever be known as “Dr. J.” According to Julius, the name originated form a high school friend even though people tried to call him things like “The Claw” and “Black Moses.” Here is what he has to say:
"When I got to the Rucker League (in New York City), I was already 21, it was my junior year of college, and I was going to play on that stage before my first pro season. And they started calling me all kinds of nicknames because of the antics on the court, and I went over and corrected them and said, 'Look, if you 're going to call me anything, just call me the Doctor, because you know, my best friend in high school had given me the name The Doctor and I 'd given him the name The Professor and we graduated high school together, went to college together and shared those nicknames. ... He said I had a lot of moves -- more moves than Carter has liver pills” (Dr. J). Born on February 22, 1950 in Roosevelt, New York, Julius was one of two boys (Eggert). When he was seven years old, his dad was killed in a car accident. Julius went on to attend Roosevelt High School. Even then, he was a natural at the game. According to Julius, he never thought of himself as anything special. He envisioned the moves that he made at a young age, and he just assumed anyone could do what he could (Eggert). As far as the numbers he put up, he was a very well rounded player in high school but did not receive a great amount of recognition.
Cited: "Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. "Dr. J Reveals How He Got His Nickname, Why He 's Partial to San Antonio Spurs in NBA Finals." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. Eggert, Mike, Aric Karpinski, and "Erving, Julius." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed.. 2014. "Erving, Julius 1950–." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan. 1998. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. "The Legend." The Legend. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014. "NBA.com: Julius Erving Bio." NBA.com: Julius Erving Bio. NBA Media Ventures, LLC, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.