Julius Erving produced – wait, invented is the better word because invention, sometimes by design, sometimes out of necessity, was at the heart of some the NBA’s most iconic shots Erving made.

Perhaps you have a favorite.

The soaring baseline dunk on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? The majestic rock-the-baby windmill with Michael Cooper trying to defend? The graceful, gravity-defying reverse layup that was stunning then and the replay still drops jaws today.

Erving is a Basketball Hall of Famer and one of the basketball’s all-time greats who also has one of the all-time great nicknames – Dr. J. He starred in the ABA and then the NBA, earning NBA MVP in 1980-81 and winning an NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983.

We caught up with Erving to discuss his ABA days – it’s the 50th anniversary of the ABA-NBA merger this season – his time with the Philadelphia 76ers and the importance of knowing basketball’s history.

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

NBA.com: With the 50th anniversary of the ABA-NBA merger and the celebration of the classic edition jerseys and courts this season, I wanted to hear from you on why it’s important to recognize the ABA’s contributions.

Julius Erving: If you’re going to really talk about the history of something, they got to go all the way back to the beginning, 1946-1947. And although they’re going to have some pretty grainy footage, you make mentions of the players who really laid the foundation. There are some people who are interested in it, and you don’t have to put it in a dominant role, but you can’t just forget about it like it never happened.”

You’re a connector of generations and since we’re down this path, who was the guy for you? Who did you look up to when you were younger?

My guy was Elgin Baylor.

I remember watching a game on TV on a Saturday afternoon. The Lakers had come in to play the Knicks. The first time I saw him, he just stood out. He grabbed a rebound, he came down court, he went left, he went right, and he sidestepped one defender and ended up going to the basket and shooting a reverse layup. And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was probably 10 or 11 years old. I went outside to the park and tried it. I wasn’t successful at first, but I eventually adopted that to my repertoire and Elgin Baylor became that guy.

When I first met him, we were in Vegas and I actually played golf with him. And I was so enthralled with being in his presence. My golf game was already weak, but it got a lot weaker that day. But that was a memory forever. Who meets their hero like that? And Bill Russell had already extended the hand of friendship to me, and he had become like a mentor as well as a role model. So those two guys, because they played in the same generation, those are the two most significant players from that generation who had an impact on me.

There were so many great players who played in the ABA. In terms of style and talent, what did the ABA have?

You should be asking (NBA and ABA legend) George Gervin that question. He answers it better than anybody, and George and I were teammates with the Virginia Squires for half a season. And when he answers it, he just has this smile on his face and he says, ‘We played for the crowd. We wanted to make sure they got their money’s worth and we were not going to let them down no matter what.’ So, George says it best.

What are your fondest memories from playing in the ABA?

It was my transition from college to the pros and multiple things happened then because I played summer league basketball for the first time as a pro. I played in the Rucker League over in Harlem and I decided I’d do that for five years and then my legs couldn’t take it anymore playing outside. I had to let that go. But during those five years, it’s really funny because my college teammates, they would come and they were like, ‘Who is that guy out there? Because that’s not the same guy I went to college with.’ They were right. It was like a coming out party because we couldn’t dunk in college because of the Lew Alcindor rule. They had taken it out of the game. But once I became a pro, now it was a weapon to use and to continue to try to improve on ways of taking it to the basket and throwing it down.

The competition in the ABA was always great. The four teams that survived the merger (San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets) they’re all worthy and I pull for them today no matter who they’re against. This year when San Antonio was playing New York, even though I’m from New York, I was pulling for San Antonio just because they were an ABA franchise.

You played on some great Sixers teams, won a championship there and some great rivalries that developed through the years. What was it like to win a title for that franchise and that city? What was it like playing there and winning in front of that crowd?

Philly never really got old because there was always something brewing. And the fans were so much a part of the organization. They adopted the organization and said, ‘This is our team.’ I had two different owners during my 11 years, and it’s almost like those guys didn’t own the team. Philly owned the team. They were very possessive about it. And the rotation of players in those years was a mission of trying to find the right combination. To go to the Finals four times in seven years, that’s not an insignificant feat, especially in today’s NBA.

It’s hard to repeat, period, and to go multiple times in a short period of time and to find the right players to fit. And that’s what it was. In ’76, we had a team that went to the Finals and just kind of came apart at the seams when we got to the final series because we won the first two games and then we lost the next four. We went to multiple Finals, but we didn’t get the chip. And then we got Moses (Malone).

And Moses was really the answer because I’ve never played with anybody who had more passion for the game. And whether it was practice or whether it was game, you just look at him. His arms are sweating, his neck is sweating, whatever. And I’m like, ‘Dude, we didn’t even start playing yet and you’re sweating.’ He said, ‘Hey Doc, I’m just getting ready to go to work.’ And it was a wonderful thing picking him up and Maurice Cheek said it best. He said he didn’t think we were going to lose any games. That’s being very optimistic. But he said that in training camp and I knew what he meant.

This year’s Sixers team has exciting potential. What do you like about the makeup of this team, led by LeBron, Joel, Jalen, Tyrese?

I like what I hear them saying right now because everybody’s talking about the sacrifices that have to be made.

The teams always say, ‘Who’s going to take the last shot?’ And some people say, ‘Well, the guy with the ball,’ and some people say, ‘A guy who’s designated.’ There’s a whole lot of different answers. And many times you can find a guy who’s wide open, but that’s what the other team wants. They want him to be open because they want him to take the last shot. And hopefully you don’t come down to a lot of situations where it comes down to the last shot, but there will probably be a handful, maybe six to 10 times that’s going to be a last-shot situation. And you should know pretty much whose hands the ball should be in during that time.

That’s something that they’ll discuss and they’ll work out. And like I said, hopefully there’ll be a lot of wins of 10 points, 15, 20 points or more where it doesn’t even come down to that.

Is there anything else that you wanted to add that you feel is important in telling your story and what you meant to the game?

Nobody does it by yourself. You always have teammates, you always have mentors, you always have things that inspire you. And even sometimes people who don’t even play basketball play a role. Obviously, the doctors, the nurses and people who help to keep you physically fit and people who help to advise you in terms of how to get the most knowledge out of that body and how you can keep on going after it’s over by getting out on the golf course and still having a backup activity.

I would just say that in life, there’s something that I refer to as the complete package, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and keeping everything as close to 10 as possible. If you keep all four of those close to 10, then you’re going to be close to the complete package. And if you are ever the complete package, that’s a great thing to be.

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