![]() ![]() J was the ABA,” how does that make you feel?ĮRVING: As much as it may be flattering for someone to say that, I think it belittles the totality of the situation. SLAM: Since we’re on the ABA, when people say, “Dr. So to put a lot of weight on my story just for the sake of doing it…I’ll just say that I think the quality of the story can only be enhanced by us waiting. I’ve never been one to seek attention or publicity unless it was necessary. I want it to be looked upon as a competitive rival to the NBA that because of the talent in the league and the competitive capability, forced an absorption of the last four franchises and made the NBA better. Gervin, Gilmore, Billy Knight, George McGinnis, the coaches, the owners–I’d like to see them all get play, because it’s been 21 years since the last ABA game and I never want the league to be looked upon as a CBA. Is that the type of person you are?ĮRVING: My story is going to be here, and yes, I believe that all of the people you mentioned deserve attention, especially in terms of the ABA significance. “OK, Scoop, did you get Gervin? Did you get the Big O? Did you get Artis? What about DT?” It was like you wanted to make sure everybody got theirs before you got yours. SLAM: Yeah, that’s true, because everytime we saw each other you made sure that we were taking care of everybody else. I mean, just to do a story to get it out… You were going to be around, I was going to be around. Me and you were consistent the whole time we knew what was up. Because I’m still alive to tell this story, I realize that Julius Erving is in front of me now to remind me that life begins once the ball stops bouncing. In my mind, there was never anything else. To some of us, basketball was the only outlet. J was never about basketball it was about being a man. The hands that changed the game of basketball forever were directly in front of me, speaking volumes about what I always wanted to know as a child. They were telling me about a career that embodied what black life tends to be all about: expression. These same hands that over 16 years produced 30,000 points, unbelievable moves, legendary dunks, and carried the weight of two leagues (one to beyond-cult status, the other into prosperity), were stressing the importance of balance. I’m watching his hands move as he makes a point to me in this life lesson that some of you will see as only an interview. And to this day, some of us have never experienced those feelings again. He made every kid who watched him play feel something. J mode, was able to transcend what the game was all about. All because he could do things with a basketball that nobody else could do. He became our hero, our role model, to some of us, our father. He’s heard it from thousands of other kids who, like me, spent our formative years wanting to be him. I never told Julius Erving this story, didn’t need to. Ballin’ on a milk crate nailed to the light post in the alley behind the crib. Red, white and blue basketball, knee braces, No. “Would you stop bouncin’ that damn ball!” I can still hear my mother screaming at me for waking her up. Basketball served only as a catalyst, a center, a nucleus for what many of us did during our childhoods when the rainbow was never enough. For years, the man has been a part of me, part of why I do what I do, part of why I am what I am. Enjoy.-Ed.Īs the words leave his mouth, a deeper understanding of life, not just basketball, overcomes me. No further introduction is needed for this classic interview, featured in SLAM 17, April 1997.
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