Julius Erving – Page 9 – Syndication Server

Today in Nets history: Nets win first ABA title

May 10 marks a major anniversary for the Nets franchise.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

After the New York Nets took a 3-0 series lead in the 1974 ABA Finals, the Utah Stars forced a Game 5 on May 10 when they won Game 4 97-89.

Willie Wise tried his best to force a Game 6, leading both teams with 34 points, but Julius Erving and the Nets had other plans.

Dr. J scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, finishing with one of New York’s three double-doubles en route to a 111-100 Game 5 win and an ABA Finals title (full box score).

Larry Kenon led the Nets with 23 points. He also finished with double digits in the rebounding column (11). Billy Paultz had the Nets’ third double-double (21 points and 12 rebounds), and he also had four steals.

Biran Taylor scored 19 points in the win and John Williamson logged 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Today in Nets history: Dr. J, John Williamson regain edge in ’76 ABA Finals

The New York Nets took the lead in the 1976 ABA Finals over the Denver Nuggets on May 6.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

After the Denver Nuggets won Game 2 of the 1976 ABA Finals to even things at 1-1, the series came to New York for Game 3. David Thompson (32 points) and Dan Issel (25 points and 13 rebounds) were good, but the Nets were better.

Four Nets finished with double-digit rebounds: Tim Bassett (12), Kim Hughes (11), Julius Erving (10) and Rich Jones (10). Erving (31 points), Jones (22) and Hughes (14) each finished in double figures in the scoring column, as well, en route to a 117-111 win and 2-1 series lead (full box score).

Most efficient of all the Nets’ scorers in the win was John Williamson. The guard finished with 28 points on 56.5% shooting (13-for-23).

Nets’ old school uniform ranked among NBA’s 10 best all-time by ESPN

Three of the Nets franchise’s jerseys rank among the NBA’s 74 best of all-time according to ESPN. Two of the jerseys are Brooklyn editions.

When the Nets moved to Brooklyn, they completely changed their look, changing their base colors to black and white. The color scheme is much simpler than what the team had in New Jersey, but sometimes that can be a good thing — as is the case in this instance.

As such, the Nets’ main Brooklyn uniform is featured on ESPN’s list of top 74 jerseys in NBA history, yet there is no iteration from either the Kenny Anderson or Jason Kidd eras in New Jersey.

However, the Nets’ black and white is not the team’s highest-ranked uniform on the list. The black and white jersey is No. 69.

Twenty spots ahead at No. 49 are the jerseys which paid respect to Biggie:

Then there’s one Nets more uniform that makes the list.

Cracking the top-10 at No. 9 all-time is the Stars and Stripes uniform the New York Nets wore in the ABA, which the franchise held onto for a short while in New Jersey after joining the NBA.

Credit: Malcolm Emmons – USA TODAY Network.

Today in Nets history: Dr. J scores 45 in Game 1 of 1976 ABA Finals

Julius Erving helped the Nets start the last ABA Finals on the right foot by hitting a game-winning jumper on May 1, 1976.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

Two years and a day after Julius Erving opened up the 1974 ABA Finals with a 47-point performance in the New York Nets’ win over the Utah Stars, Dr. J did something similar against the Denver Nuggets.

The last ABA Finals began on May 1, 1976, with Denver playing host.

The game was a battle down to the wire. The Nets had the final possession at the end of regulation after Nuggets big man Marvin Webster tied the game at 118-118. Following a timeout, Dr. J caught the inbounds pass and drilled a baseline jumper as the clock wound down, giving the Nets a 1-0 series advantage (full box score).

Rich Jones (18 points), John Williamson (17) and Brian Taylor (12) each finished in double figures for the Nets.

Kim Hughes had 10 rebounds for New York, finishing second only to Erving (12).

Putting together the Philadelphia 76ers version of Mount Rushmore

We are putting together the Philadelphia 76ers version of Mount Rushmore.

When the debate of a Mount Rushmore comes up in sports, the debate is a tough one as coming up with the top four players is always a challenge. For a franchise as historic as the Philadelphia 76ers, it is always hard to come up with just four players, but that’s what we are going to attempt here.

There are plenty of players that can have a case made for them, but we are going to break it down to these four players and match them up with their presidential counterpart:

Julius Erving-George Washington

Just like Washington on the real Mount Rushmore, Erving takes the lead on this Sixers version and for good reason. He is the face of the franchise as he is the franchise’s all-time leader in blocks, he’s fourth in points, fourth in assists, third in steals, and he is seventh in rebounds. Sure, Moses Malone won Finals MVP in 1983, but Erving was the clear best player on the team and they don’t go anywhere without the good doctor.

Wilt Chamberlain-Thomas Jefferson

Chamberlain is an important figure in Sixers history, but he isn’t the face of the franchise. That belongs to Julius Erving and that is why he gets the Jefferson treatment here. However, that doesn’t mitigate his impact in Philly. His time in Philadelphia was short–just a little over three seasons–but in those three full seasons, he was named MVP each season. He averaged an insane 27.6 points and 23.9 rebounds in Philadelphia and if blocks would have been recorded during his time, he probably would have averaged something like eight blocks per game or so. The guy was a superhero.

Allen Iverson-Theodore Roosevelt

Iverson played with a heart that was much bigger than his size and that is why he gets this part of Mount Rushmore. He threw the franchise on his bony shoulders plenty of times including carrying them to the 2001 NBA Finals. He is second in franchise history in scoring, second in steals, third in assists, and he has an MVP award to his credit as well. He definitely deserves a spot on the Sixers Mount Rushmore.

Charles Barkley-Abraham Lincoln

Barkley did it all. He is third in franchise history in rebounds, fifth in steals, fifth in points, and seventh in blocks while throwing the late ’80s and early ’90s Sixers on his back after Malone was traded and Erving retired. He gets the back end of this version of Mount Rushmore because the three in front him did more in franchise history, but Barkley is still an important piece of the franchise’s history and deserves to be up here as well. [lawrence-related id=30118,30112,30105]

Ranking the top five small forwards in Nets history

Three Basketball Hall of Famers have played the small forward position for the Nets. But are any of them the best in franchise history?

Kevin Durant has the length of a power forward to go with the skillset of a small forward. By the time his Nets career comes to a close, it wouldn’t be stunning if Brooklyn’s new superstar was considered among the best at either forward position.

But Durant has yet to play one minute in a Brooklyn uniform, so he cannot be in the conversation for either best Nets power or small forward of all time. Though, even without Durant, the Nets have had some impressive forwards through the years.

After looking through all the small forwards to wears a Nets uniform — having already examined Nets point guards and shooting guards, as well — Nets Wire selected the five best in franchise history:

5. Albert King

Nets Stats: 13.6 PPG | 47.1 FG% | 4.6 RPG

King was a consistently solid player for the Nets throughout his seven-year Nets career. New Jersey clinched five consecutive playoff berths with him at the three.

He posted a career-high in points (17) and rebounds (5.8) per game in his second year in the league.

BrooklynNets.com ranks King No. 24 among the 25 best players in franchise history.

Ranking the top five small forwards in Nets history

Ranking the top five shooting guards in Nets history

Pages: 123456

Today in Nets history: Buck Williams helps knock off Dr. J’s Sixers

Julius Erving took on his old team in the first round in the 1984 NBA Playoffs, but it was the New Jersey Nets who took the first game.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

Heading into the 1984 NBA Playoffs, Julius Erving’s Philadelphia 76ers were the No. 3 team in the Eastern Conference and set to face the hall of famer’s old team, the sixth-seeded New Jersey Nets.

Given the Nets were the No. 4 team in the Atlantic Division — also trailing the New York Knicks and the top-seeded Boston Celtics — and the Sixers were the reigning NBA champions, Philly should have had the upper hand. But Buck Williams, Otis Birdsong and Micheal Ray Richardson didn’t care about rankings when the first-round matchup began on April 18, 1984.

Williams had himself a dominant 25-point, 16 rebound performance, finishing 10-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-7 at the free-throw line. He also blocked three shots and had two steals.

Birdsong was right behind Williams in the scoring column, finishing with 24. Richardson scored 18 points, and he also had nine assists, six rebounds and five steals in New Jersey’s 116-101 win (full box score).

For the Sixers, Erving scored 18 and Moses Malone had 20 points to go with his 11 rebounds in the home loss.

Building the Philadelphia 76ers all-time team of franchise history

We are now building the all-time team in Philadelphia 76ers franchise history.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a franchise filled with success and a lot of history that the organization can be proud of. When one is tasked to put together an all-time team in Sixer history–meaning filling all 13 active spots on a roster–it’s a challenge.

To put together such a team, you have to go back and sift through a lot of history. We ranked the top five players at each position in the franchise’s history and we will be using those as a guide to help us with building this team.

With that said, let’s jump into it!

Point guard: Maurice Cheeks

Cheeks is the prototypical point guard. He is the quarterback of a gym offensively and he was terrific defensively as well. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists and steals and he was a 4-time All-Star in Philadelphia. He doesn’t need to score all that much, though he will if he has to, but as long as he’s setting up his teammates, then he will be content.

[lawrence-related id=28613]

Shooting guard: Allen Iverson

Now that the team has its pass-first point guard, it now needs its scoring machine next to him in the backcourt. Iverson was something special despite standing at just 6-feet tall. He led the league in scoring four times in Philadelphia and he is second in franchise history in points behind only Hal Greer. Cheeks and Iverson would be a scary backcourt.

[lawrence-related id=28671]

Small forward: Julius Erving

Was there any other real choice? The good doctor is Sixers basketball. He’s in the top 10 in franchise history in points, steals, assists, blocks, and rebounds and he averaged a cool 22.0 points and 6.7 rebounds with the Sixers. He led Philadelphia to a title in 1983.

[lawrence-related id=28732]

Power forward: Charles Barkley

Sir Charles would have actually been terrific in today’s era. He could truly play in any era as he was physical, he could shoot it a bit, and he was a beast on the glass. In terms of Sixers history, he’s fifth in franchise history in points and he’s third in rebounds.

[lawrence-related id=28799]

Center: Wilt Chamberlain

Chamberlain was incredible during his time with the Sixers. He won an MVP in all three of his full seasons in Philadelphia and he led the franchise to a title in 1967. There was no other legitimate option to choose here in the franchise’s history.

[lawrence-related id=28852]

Bench

Hal Greer

Every good team needs that microwave scorer off the bench and that’s what Greer can do. You don’t start him over Iverson, but to have him come off the bench and focus on what he does best, which is scoring, would be a nice addition to have. He is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer after all.

Moses Malone

This team would be invalid if Malone was not on it. He was the Finals MVP of the 1983 title team and he was the big piece that the team was missing in order to help Erving bring a title to Philadelphia. He was so sized and skilled at the position and he was such a good player in Sixers history.

Andrew Toney

Affectionately nicknamed “The Boston Strangler”, Toney was a nuisance for teams on either end of the floor to deal with. He was terrific on the offensive end as well as being one of the more elite defenders in the league at his position. He was an All-Star twice with the Sixers and was a key piece of the ’83 team.

Billy Cunningham

Cunningham was nicknamed “The Kangaroo Kid” as he was so energetic and he did what he had to in order to help the team win. Cunningham 20.8 points and 10.1 rebounds and he was an All-Star four times with the Sixers. He was also the perfect complement to Chamberlain and Greer on the team’s title-winning team in ’67.

Dolph Schayes

You have to dig deep into the annals of Sixers history to find Schayes’ contributions. He played for the Syracuse Nationals from 1949-1963 before the franchise became the Sixers and he played a final season in Philadelphia. He averaged 18.5 points and 12.1 rebounds while being named an All-Star 12 times. He also led the Nationals to a title in 1955.

Joel Embiid

Why not have one of the more dominant players in the game on the team? Embiid is in the middle of his fourth season in Philadelphia and he’s been named an All-Star three times while averaging 24.1 points and 11.5 rebounds along with 3.1 assists. He has done enough to warrant a spot here.

Ben Simmons

Likewise, Simmons has accomplished much in his short career so far. In three seasons, he has a Rookie of the Year award, two All-Star appearances, and he has garnered 28 triple-doubles which is good for second in franchise history behind only Chamberlain.

Andre Iguodala

To round out the roster, we are throwing in one of the more well-rounded players in the history of the franchise. Iguodala averaged 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while making an All-Star appearance in 2012 for the Sixers.

Coach: Larry Brown

Any good team needs a coach. The choice would have been Cunningham as he was actually the coach of the 1983 title team, but he is a player on this roster so we didn’t want to give him both duties. Brown compiled a 255-205 record in Philadelphia and he won the Coach of the Year award in 2001 when the Sixers reached the Finals. [lawrence-related id=29527,29519,29510]

How much did Michael Jordan outscore fellow NBA legends in their matchups?

Even if not the top scorer in NBA history, Michael Jordan is probably the best scorer we’ve seen on a basketball court. It was not very often that an opponent (or a teammate) put more points on the board than him. Actually, only one player outscored …

[sigallery id=”9xBjZXu4fVN4QX5gzmG3se” title=”” type=”sigallery”]

Even if not the top scorer in NBA history, Michael Jordan is probably the best scorer we’ve seen on a basketball court. It was not very often that an opponent (or a teammate) put more points on the board than him.

Actually, only one player outscored MJ in their matchups during his Chicago years. And then he did it again when His Airness was a member of the Wizards…

[lawrence-related id=1333490]

[lawrence-related id=1322225]

[lawrence-related id=1173470]

[vertical-gallery id=1245721]

Sixers start, bench, cut: Dr. J, Andre Iguodala, Billy Cunningham

We play another round of start, bench, cut in Philadelphia 76ers history.

With no basketball to watch or dissect or analyze right now, we continue with our little game of start one, bench one, cut one in the form of the Philadelphia 76ers. The game is simple and that is to choose from three guys who you want to start, bench or cut and the era they are forced to play in is today’s era.

After looking at point guards and shooting guards from Sixers history, we are now moving on to the small forwards in Sixers history. Sunday’s contestants are Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Andre Iguodala, and Billy Cunningham who are three of the best at the position in the franchise’s history.

So, let’s get into it with our choices.

Start: Julius Erving

This is the easy choice out of the group. Erving could really play in any era with his elite athleticism and jumping ability to where he would not have any issues with the athletes of today’s game. He is a guy who averaged 22.0 points and 6.7 rebounds while throwing the Sixers on his shoulders plenty of times. He was a legitimate superstar in this league and he is, quite frankly, the best player in Sixers history.

Bench: Andre Iguodala

This was a tough decision. Overall, Billy Cunningham is probably a better player and has made more of an impact, but for today’s era, Iguodala is the better choice to keep. He is a Swiss Army knife as he is able to do so many different things out on the basketball court while also being a solid defender and offensive player. He would be a nice piece to have off the bench.

Cut: Billy Cunningham

So, this unfortunately, means we have to cut Cunningham. He was a terrific player in the franchise’s history helping the Sixers win the 1967 title, but today’s athletes would probably run circles around him. It does not mean he is a bad player and his status in franchise history is tainted, but it’s all about preference here. [lawrence-related id=29315,29307,29297]