Julius Erving Discusses Today's NBA

When Julius Erving speaks, it's always worth a listen. Dr. J weighs in on the state of the league, who he lists as his greatest players of all-time, and the Hall of Fame with Gary Payton and Charissa Thompson.

[@stefp8087]

I don't know why Doc hasn't been a GM or a front office guy in the league. I think he has a lot of knowledge to give and I think he makes good decisions.

[@1990758]

Maybe because he knows more about the NBA than we do they will hire you one year and fire you the next year

[@constancethomasi4156]

He was working for Orlando in the early 90’s a few years!

[@dr.wisdom7917]

Also he is dressed for Success

[@SPennell]

I wish you could have seen Julius play with the Nets in the ABA. His offensive game was as spectacular as anyone to ever play in the pros.

[@kurtadams3021]

My Favorite NBA player of all time Julius the Dr. Erving. Great player but a Greater Person. Class Act .

[@gnicevids]

very true great person

[@1990758]

Come on now and you mean you don't like LeBron James

[@hobbits24]

Dr J is one of the most legendary figures in sports' history, Gary is simply the coolest dude on the planet and that girl is fuckin hot.

[@brachio1000]

Dr. J in the ABA before he had knee problems was somrthing else. Relatively few saw him play. The same can be said of Connie Hawkins.

[@toddsands6000]

I'm amazed at the size of Dr. J's hands compared to GPs. Those are some massive hands!

[@jimmywilliams6217]

Dr.J is the GOAT

[@Kavothizzlafduxbfd]

You got that right the Greatest player of the ABA

[@ronniepratt8710]

Dr. J, simply the best!

[@99potoy]

The smile of payton when he was praised was like.....

[@ricardojohn3473]

Class Personified.

[@yianpap6093]

Man Dr J has aged well...he's 64 but take away that white hair (or dye it just for fun) and he looks 20 years younger. Great guy.

[@Ms_T_Perfectly_Imperfect]

My only thought throughout this interview was how GOOD Dr Jay looks! I agree with him that the NBA is like an ongoing soap opera; almost died when the woman said D. Howard is the lead!!! Lol

[@shashijain5084]

Beautiful !!!!

[@richardf7601]

dr.j was flying in the air way before jordan ever thought of the NBA ,jordan copied the doctor moves period .

[@raurman4946]

What moves did he copy exactly, dunking? That's it...outside of that they are completely different players playing completely different positions.

[@elijahaywago7274]

...and Jordan said exactly that...why complaining?

[@tomwatson8216]

What does that matter, he's one of MJs heroes

[@jamesclark5343]

im tired of akeem getting no respect he was the most complete player ever and he won titles when he was guarding the best player every night no disrespect but akeem went against the best defense big man and some of the most dominant and made them look like kids, not only that he is a great person off the court we should really think of him when u say top 3 cause u cant say anything bad against him

[@juliuseastwood3936]

james clark Thank you!

[@mudboy8059]

If you love him so much you should learn how to spell his name lol it's *Hakeem, not "akeem"

[@MrGoldenthroat]

In no particular order the greatest all-around players ever were - Wilt, Doc( and I don't mean Rivers), Kareem, Magic, Bird, Hakeem, Arvydas Sabonis in his heyday before all the injuries before he joined the NBA, Moses Malone,Russell, Rick Barry - who many people either forget or don't realize how great he was, Connie Hawkins in his prime before he joined the NBA - during the eight years he was banned from joining the NBA, John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Oscar, West, and Tim Duncan. The greatest 6th man ever and perhaps the greatest hustling defensive player ever has to be the incomparable Bobby Jones! One cannot, in good conscience, leave him off of any team!! I didn't like Jordan and Kobe - so I didn't list them but honestly they belong on this list but I personally do not include them in my top ten! This is just my opinion Please let me know what you think of my list!

[@manny4552]

You forgot the great John havlicek

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

That music in the middle had me looking for other tabs.... There were no other tabs...

[@johnhagan9271]

Charissa Thompson is hot indeed

[@richardf7601]

my list dr.j , kareem , magic , bird ,worthy, jordan , koby , curry , labron.

[@mrmeowmers100]

Anyone notice Dr J has a much better hairline than lebron lol

[@andrewfrancis6852]

1 michael jordan 2 hakeem the dream 3 Wilt the stilt 4 Kobe 5 Tim duncan

[@KEEK35181]

I thought it was really fresh and interesting that we have someone who knows the game, like Julius Erving, who just doesn't give the GOAT-title to Michael Jordan straight away. I myself do think that MJ is the best of all time, but I do see where DR.J is coming from. Kareem was just brilliant and that skyhook was the most unstoppable shot in the history of basketball. I do think that the "greatest of all time"-debate is always interesting ( pointless at the end of the day though) and I do think MJ is given that title too easily. There were a lot of greats in the 60s 70s and 80s for who you could make a case for.

[@Amick44]

There are others in the discussion. Just that when all is considered, winning, overall ability in each area, mid sized player among giants, the case is the strongest for Jordan.

[@allstarwook]

Dr. J was MJ before MJ far as that aura on and off the court. Still smooth. Wished he went to the NBA earlier in his playing years. Sorry everybdy doesnt have Jordan number one, but of course he has the talent to be that. To me Kareem is the best. Resume from college to pros is supreme. Jordan two for me. Baylor finals record is awful but he inspired Dr. J

[@alb4271]

What are your thoughts on the state of the NBA today? And NBA legends.

[@brucescott4261]

@allstarwook ...False! Doc wasn't Jordan before Jordan, PERIOD!!!

[@juliolois7794]

His point is exactly that...they were one rebound away from taking it and Duncan and Ginobili are way past their prime and parker had some lingering injuries going into the series...what do you think would have happened if the ginobili from 6 years ago that scored 46 on Lebron's cavs had shown up, or the Duncan that not even Shaq could intimidate nor stop (admitted by Shaq)..There is no Karl malones and no olajuwons anymore, put any of those guys in the Pacers and take hibbert = rings

[@elekstrames2026]

You hear it kareem is the G.O.A.T

[@DoUEvenLiftBro]

90's teams were deep

[@edscottable]

growing up i felt like mj got too much attention also. he deserved what he got though. its just that he was the first to get that kind of exposure and it caused alot of resentment from some other great players.

[@swissdude7653]

Great players, class act guys, but I like the lady the most - by far! She married? :-)

[@juliolois7794]

came up short against MJ, but Malone was big time, nearly unstoppable, a franchise dominant big regardless, Patrick ewing came up short as well but he is better than all the bigs in the league today. Pop kept manu because he won 3 rings with him and there was no indication t-mac would do any better being removed from the NBA game for a while and unfamiliar with the system. The spurs fell in love with danny green however and he truly played bad in games 6 and 7

[@edscottable]

i agree 90s had lots of superstars, but the teams were not deep like in the eigties.

[@stevencatolster47]

For me, with all these recent additions of some of the greatest players giving their own testimony of "who's the greatest top whatever" is proof of how waterd down the NBA competion is now. Pick your top 5, 6, team....The closest we've came to seeing any form of it was the Original Dream Team. Not a NBA All Star game roster; that squad went out and destroyed what the represantives of the rest of the world had to put up against US! I just like all of the guys that played, within their own repsective eras. the game made individuals, but all those individuals played ONE GAME!

[@youngblackking3255]

DR.J right somebody got to take the MVP and best in the world from LEBRON and that guys name who's going to do it is KEVIN DURANT. Other guys who might have a shot at it, CHRIS PAUL, RUSSELL WESBROOK,PAUL GEORGE, A HEALTHY KOBE AND HEALTHY ROSE.

[@donhamtim85]

When was the last time you saw Kobe play good defense lol

[@lorenllbj88]

Tim Donham last season....

[@Godzirra-San]

Tim D Search Kobe vs Lebron 1 vs 1 and you'll see that if Lebron is the best in the league then Kobe can guard anyone.

[@creativepuzzle]

Btw, Kareem stats h2h against 9 top 50 players are better than 8 of them. Only Moses Malone stats wise was better h2h. The players are wilt, Willis reed, Wes unsold, bill Walton, robert Parrish, Hakeem, Ewing, cowens, and Moses Malone. It is easy to put up great numbers against subpar competition. These are top 50 greatest not just hof players. Who did Jordan compete h2h? That is why Jordan never Won much before expansion.

[@7771SB]

I WISH DOC WOULD GROW A FULL BEARD!!!!!

[@elwin38]

I liked the goatee he was rocking in the ABA and his first few years in the NBA!

[@raygermany2862]

Olajuwons yes I agree, Karl Malones no disagree he was known to come up short wen it matters. Mostly the teams in the 90s had 1 great player on teams ft roles players due to expansions. Manu stunk it up with his turnovers it killed the Spurs, And why Popovich didn't take him out the game and put t-mac in instead IDK. The only thing the league is lacking today is the centers position. Granted it gotten soft and refs are quick to call a techs on players showing emotions buzz me & flopping. SMH

[@MJTV-zm2xw]

Dr. J's Hands looks like the same as Michael Jordan's. Both of them have large mitts...

[@2dasimmons]

Oh no, MJ's hands were larger with bigger palms although Dr. J. has nice big hands too. Great mitts both.

[@brucescott4261]

Mark Joy Piramide ...Doc's hands are twelve inches from the wrists. A lot bigger than Air Jordan's.

[@dan16000]

1.Larry Bird 2. Magic Johnson 3. John Stockton 4. Bill Russell 5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

[@2dasimmons]

nonsense. See RideAlongAtlas list. That's correct!

[@2dasimmons]

***** Bird could not have been the smartest since MJ was known to make the best moves and raise the level of play of other basketball players. All (3) were great players, but the TALENT was in Magic and MJ. If you'd asked Larry he'd agree because he is on record saying that "Basketball is a black man's game." He said this because he had first hand experience of the exceptional skill and ability of the black guys playing. TIME magazine even did a cover tory about why/how the black players could slam dunk and why they called the white players earthbound.

[@dan16000]

2dasimmons Your comment is dumb, racist, uneducated and full of bigotry. Most white players can slam dunk, Tom Chambers was the first to invent the word posterize in NBA by dunking completely over a black dude. Most white players don't prefer to dunk so often though because they have other tools. The guys that dunk the most are the guys that have no postgame and no shooting prowess. Regarding Bird, he said a lot of troll things like that throughout his career to throw others of their game, some things he said were meant to outright hurt, some things where meant to tickle their ego; none of that makes them anymore true though. Bird said about at least one dozen player they were "the Best player he had ever seen", some of them were not even close to being HoF. The guy was a master troll.

[@2dasimmons]

Bird made that comment over 20 years ago so evidently times have changed. That TIME magazine article was from late '80s/early '90s. Still when one considers the ICON of basketball, folk come up with (1) name: Michael Jordan. Some folk have even referred to him as a basketball "god." Now they're saying Lebron James will surpass Jordan. I think Larry Bird was just honest. He faced a lot of criticism/backlash for his comment on blacks in basketball.

[@curtingram6605]

***** What matters is your overall body of work & your overall skill set, accomplishments etc... Your organization's initial, primary objective plays a big role also. Nobody has said LeBron will pass MJ. Some simply imply that maybe he 'could' pass him, but he has a long way to go. Bird went to an organization whose primary goal was winning championships. They won 11 rings in a 13yr span. They had just won a championship 3yrs before drafting Bird & 2yrs before that. If Red is your coach or GM, your team is going to win, period. MJ went to an organization that had never won anything. Their initial primary goal was to put asses in those seats & sellout tickets somehow. They didn't no how to build a winning team yet because they had never done it. They got this flashy, high flying, acrobatic player & made him the face & promoted how exiting he was. They knew they weren't gonna be as good as the Celtics or Lakers. Chicago was making $$ the easiest way it knew how, because winning championships ain't easy. The guy they brought in to put on a show, eventually won 2 separate 3peats with to completely different rosters outside of Pip. He made 6 consecutive game winning/tying shots in the finals & has the playoff scoring record as well as the highest finals scoring avg. He's the only player to avg 40ppg or more pts in a finals series. He has 6 finals MVPs, 8 50pt games in the playoffs, which is a record also. He's done too many things that have been completely unmatched. He even had 45pts & 10rbs when he was 40 with a bad knee & 1 surgically repaired 1. His legacy far exceeds anyone u try to compare him to & it ain't even close tbh. He took championships away from so many superstars & a lot their resentment shows in their interviews. They hate him for it.

[@Chris-is1rd]

The thing about comparing players from different generations is that the sheer physical size differences of players make the eras different. Does anyone HONESTLY think that if, say Chamberlain or B Rusell played now, he would they have the same numbers they did? Now if you took Jordan or Magic and threw them back in chamberlain and Russell's time, i think they would continue to excel.

[@7brickcity]

i agree w/ the Dr. the nba is a soap opera i wish they would admit theyre as fake as the wwe or choreographed & its a shame tht pro sports think we rather have whts out now than wht it use to be sports suppose to be abt competition & being the best not all the drama, storylines, fockery & followed up w/ these sports program tht come on all day repeating the same topics just reinforcing the bs thts being portrayed as authentic . i hate the fake nba nba2k is the storyline for the current season

[@wellslapmyassandcallmesall8733]

WHERE THE FUCK IS JORDAN ON THE ALL TIME LISTS LOL AND IM A LEBRON FAN

[@raygermany2862]

I disagree considering the wings in the 90's era were weak I don't see nobody in that era slowing him down . And you add on mostly to the fact there was mostly 1 great player on a teams ft roles players, Due to the biggest expansions period in nba history. And If Reggie Miller a player who is no where near as gifted as Lebron James is, Can get his team almost to the NBA finals in 94 & 98 then im sure Lebron would held his own.

[@chrisis138]

Derrick Rose deserved the MVP that year. Kevin Durant gets stiffed but it's a matter of time.

[@eugenerodney5892]

MY List 1. Dr. J. 2. Magic 3. Jabbar 4. Bird 5. Kobe 6. Iverson 7. Walton 8. Russell 9. Jordan 10. _________________ Still debating

[@chigjuanspartacus2822]

+j6z7 I respect your opinion, but Dr. J. 100 ????? WOW! This may be a generation gap. But I respectfully disagree.

[@gnicevids]

your list screwed up

[@juliuseastwood3936]

Eugene Rodney Hakeem!

[@RariShiesty]

Wilt Chamberlain In Today's Game Everybody Would Be Barbecue Chicken As Shaq Likes To Say The Man Could Bench 500lbs Run A 4.4 40 Was A High Jump Champ In College And Was 7,2 He Also Lead The League In Assist 1 Year And They Didn't Record Every Stat Like They Do Know So He Would Be Higher On The List Of Stats! P.S. The Man Was So Dominate He Got Tired Of Being So Dominate He Developed A Mid Range Jumper!

[@laftw93]

he didnt play against guys like jordan, lebron, kobe, duncan and so forth ... the modern athletes are better than what wilt was playing against in his time ..... different eras

[@gnicevids]

+laftw93 people need to use their common sense regardless of who Wilt Chamberlain played against. Wilt played during one of the most racist time in sports and you would think that they would Let him scrore and play the way he does. use your brains people.

[@RariShiesty]

+gnicevids So Tell Me Who Is Going To Guard Wilt In Today's Nba Draymond Green The Leagues Best Center? And Wilt Has A Mid Range Game He Said He Was Tired Of People Saying He Was To Dominate In Paint Plus Ran The Fastest And Jumped The Highest He Was An Athlete Who Did Decathalons!

[@RariShiesty]

+gnicevids That's Saying Jesse Owens Wasn't A Great Runner Just Cause You Way Too Good!

[@klavzerblut]

Payton looks very bitter to me. People are way way way too quick to call Le Bron the greatest ever:) He is the best of his era for now. But let's wait till he retires if he will stay that guy:)

[@ronniepratt8710]

You're trying to see something that's not there. Get out of your head. Payton does not look bitter.

[@raygermany2862]

I love hearing Gary Payton comments but the competition is not measuring up? How can he say that when the spurs was one rebound away from winning the chips!!! That Spurs team is better than any teams the Bulls beaten in the 90s. Who on Seattle is stopping Tim Duncan? Shawn Kemp? Please he was kinda like the Blake Griffin of the 90s. And got EXPOSE in that Denver series wen Mutombo took away his ability to go inside. That one of the best part about Duncan game he is a great rim protector.

[@dilbobaggins5219]

Dayuummm that chick tho!

[@timk3223]

The CORRECT List of Top 10 Basketball Players Ever (no order): Michael Jordan Magic Johnson Larry Bird Wilt Chamberlain Bill Russell Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Hakeem Olajuwon Shaquille O'Neal Tim Duncan Kobe Bryant The following few players should be considered but are honorable mentions: Oscar Robertson Elgin Baylor LeBron James Jerry West

[@MrSteven2945]

they cannt go off rings because .... between the two of them they only have two rings

[@Amick44]

Really only Erving's, in that Payton got his as a reserve at end of his career.

[@MrSteven2945]

glad you added further clarification on the subject matter , and its still news ... gary was and still is a hater

[@DoUEvenLiftBro]

aww, a mad Lakers fan. how cute

[@hypnocil10]

what is this girls name

[@2dasimmons]

Charissa Thompson, I'm pretty sure. She and Erin Andrews have been ranked the hottest females sportscasters. If only they had better figures. Oh well..

[@enyjuan]

dwight howard...who? lol

[@fenderrlee]

Ryan de Jesus ... Because your name has Jesus in it ... I love u About BBall ... I forgive u

[@warrenkarmun138]

🤔My opinion,I do not care if Lebron surpasses Jabbar for all time scorer,Jabbar will still be #1 in my book,because Lebron at times will walk of the court before the final buzzer when a sub .500 team win by single or double digits,when Lebron decides not to play defense because they are getting beat,at times I believe some of his teammates thinks that he is the coach/player which can and will have too much drama which leads to no cohesiveness in the team and a losing season and the blame game starts.😖

[@youngblackking3255]

NO never mind KOBE was the best before LEBRON his time is up already but KEVIN DURANT can most definitely take it from LEBRON and it is his time to.

[@buffytummy]

8:13 who? LMAO

[@goonthreegtr]

Definitely not Kobe with a career fg% of 44%

[@eddiedeleon2425]

Sam Cassel Mam

[@raygermany2862]

Bird was done in 88!! Post Hiv Magic Jonhson retired after the 91 finals. So those two does not count...

[@jobocop]

Am I the only one who noticed the beautiful blonde?

[@2dasimmons]

She's cute BUT she has a crush on Michael Jordan. She had said in another video that she was a MJ fan and would always choose him as BEST whatever. Wow.

[@soccerbr0rocks]

KAREEM

[@kgk0911]

Who did he dominate? Bird? Magic? Kareem? Name the people he dominated? The bad boy piston? who did he dominate in their prime? Ewing, Barkley, Malone, and miller couldn't even win the chip win he retired for two year so what do that say about them. 90 basketball had the least amount of great and I mean elite player who can lead their team to a championship of any era.

[@fenderrlee]

Dwight who?

[@brucescott4261]

You know? I wish the basketball fans would stop making these idiosyncratic statements about Julius Winfield Erving II being Michael Jeffrey Jordan before there was the latter. Jordan wasn't playing basketball when Doc was attending Roosevelt High School, or the University of Massachusetts. Nor was Jordan playing basketball when Doc entered the ABA. Jordan barely made his high school team because of his height.

[@NickPR87]

Doc and Glove are right, the league is nowhere near as competitive as it was 20-25 years ago! It has gone too soft and favorable of scorers and therefore been deprived of legitimate big men.

[@legendaryTMNICO]

Social justice is adding more problems to today’s game and some of today’s players don’t have any class by making social justice the center of attention.

[@NotaPizzaGRL]

@@legendaryTMNICO Imagine being mad about Black people not liking injustice and expressing it then being a fan of Dr. J. A man known for speaking out against racism.

[@morpDprime]

lol wut

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

Dwight Howard who?

[@edisonsun21c]

this blonde.... wuuuu

[@tibay4577]

dwight who hahhhahahaha

[@RG-ct6qz]

Players care about RINGS. That’s it.

[@AFRODE516]

D Rose? HAHAHAHAHAHA

[@lhrsbrful]

The are no true centers in the league...7 footers playing the wing? No one playing today is being challenged in the lane like they were in the 80's and 90's. Different game but not better...

[@ronaldinho_le_gaucho]

WHO??? AHAHA omg

[@creativepuzzle]

Kareem is the greatest. I look up head to head vs top 50 greatest player ever and Kareem play against 9 of them. He embarrassed many and even out score Hakeem at age 38-42 h2h. Wilt played Kareem at 31 and people says wilt was too old. Kareem out scored patrick Ewing and Hakeem at 37-42 age. Outs core wilt 31 to 16 h2h, embarrassed bill Walton 1st meeting by scoring 50 vs 7. Jordan is 1-8 in playoff without pipped I believe. Kobe has already missed more shots than Kareem with 6000 less points. Jordan, Kobe are spectacular players but can't carry a team as much as big centers. Kareem college freshman team beat the #1 team in country by 15. Look at team with Kareem in his prime and their record without him. Without Jordan, bulls still win 55 games. Can't compare heavy competition that Kareem went thru vs help, Brian Russell, etc.

[@hatersgtfo5092]

Kareem couldnt win without a dominate Point guard so stop hatin on jordan

[@brucescott4261]

creativepuzzle ...Kareem Abdul-Jabbar didn't play as a freshman in UCLA, because freshmen weren't allowed to participate in the NCAA tournaments. Freshmen began playing in 1968.

[@devinclay3442]

hahahah gary payton is tripping man. mj not in top 5?!! bruuuuuuuuuhhh

[@vanishing_girl]

he's still bitter over the 1996 finals

[@devinclay3442]

Vseslav Botkin yeah i think so too

[@carlsmith9256]

+Vseslav Botkin lol how come when someone doesn't say MJ is the best player or doesn't acknowledge MJ being top 2 or top 3 categories you guys always say they are bitter over a loss....

[@devinclay3442]

Carl Smith because MJ is the freakin GOAT, come on man even a 5 year old know that mj is at least top 3 all time

[@carlsmith9256]

devin clay It's just an opinion. Dr J doesn't even have MJ in his top 3..

[@caesarkang455]

Dat hot blodie who is she?

[@bobtony6036]

didn't even mention jordan, lol they mad cause bad

[@brucescott4261]

When Doc began watching the NBA, Michael Jeffrey Jordan wasn't playing basketball. He is sixty-eight years old, now.

[@TheLionaaa]

Lebron is not even in this conversation...too many guys on this list and I don't see how Jordan can be surpassed. Nobody has ever dominated any sport the way he dominated basketball and that's a fact.

[@str8ght1]

this two are hating on jordan

[@sebastianvince248]

Kobe was the best in NBA nine years ago . Fact

[@TheRealPunisher]

Dr j aint even in my top 10 wtf.

[@shanekasper6692]

you clearly know nothing about the Magic,Bird and Michael era.....

[@JeriDro]

that chick really doesnt know when to talk

[@johnbaer1528]

Welp, turned it off as soon as the started pimping LeBron....

[@vanphapdang]

It's funny how old guys don't give a shit about MJ. MJ is not that much of a definite GOAT like people assume. That title will be soon given to LeBron.

[@baselinejordan1744]

Van Phap Dang as doc has said he already decided his top 5 when he was like 14 and payton is salty af lmao

[@edisonsun21c]

julius has a problem with MJ so does gp

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

Carmello didn't age well. He was always overrated. Never made a team better. Chris Paul however....