Nets legend Julius \
Nets legend Julius "Dr. J" Erving ranked top-10 NBA player by Shaq
Shaq ranks former Nets forward Julius "Dr. J" Erving as the 10th-best player in NBA history. Erving led the Nets, then known as the New York Nets in the ABA, to two championships and won 3 league MVPs during his three seasons for the franchise. https://t.co/VV5D5gq9dC — Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) June 4, 2025
The Brooklyn Nets have had plenty of great players take the floor for the franchise ever since it was established in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans. One of the players who played for the team prior to his NBA debut, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, did so much for the organization that another former NBA great gave him his just due.
"Hi, I'm Shaquille O'Neal, and this is my top-ten greatest (NBA) players of all time. Number ten, i have myself (before video cuts for another take). I would take myself off and put the great Julius Erving," O'Neal said while being interviewed by Netflix. It seems that O'Neal giving his top-10 NBA players of all-time list was somewhat of a promotion for his new show "Power Moves" that premiered on June 4.
With that being said, it's interesting that O'Neal would take himself off the list and put Erving at No. 10 given that Erving is one of the players associated with the rise of the NBA. What makes the discussion around Erving interesting is that he did not play for the Nets in the NBA and he spent just three seasons playing for the franchise in the ABA, then known as the New York Nets.
Erving led the Nets to the franchise's first ABA championship during the 1973-74 season in which he won his first of three consecutive ABA MVP awards after averaging 27.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. During his time with the Nets, Erving averaged 28.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.3 steals, and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.8% from the field and 34.3% from three-point land.
The career achievements for Erving mark his impact on the team in just a short amount of time as he is seventh in franchise history in points scored (7,104) and ninth in rebounding (2,738). While Erving did not suit up for the Nets once the organization moved to the NBA, he is still getting his respect for what he did in the ABA and for the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA.
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