The great Dr. J, aka Julius Erving, is about as old school as you’ll find when it comes to his beliefs as pertain to all-time NBA greats.
In a recent interview with NBA media personality Joy D’Angela, the former ABA/NBA legend gave his top ten players of all-time list, and the likes of Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan and LeBron James were all surprisingly left off of Erving’s list.
While, not seeing Curry or Duncan’s name on the list is a shock for sure, not seeing LBJ on the list is even more astonishing. The three players have a combined 13 NBA championships, and all have won multiple NBA rings, something the Dr. didn’t do, despite his legendary career.
Of course, Erving’s list caught some blowback, and one of the first people to comment on it was none other than ESPNs Stephen A. Smith, who gave his opinion on Monday’s episode of First Take. Smith, questioned Erving, the 1983 NBA champion’s omission of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Erving’s List Consists Of All Former Players
The theme of Erving’s list was 100 percent former players, the three-time ABA and one-time NBA MVP seems to only believe former legends of the game deserve to be included in the top 10, and that’s something Smith doesn’t agree with.
“Julius Erving didn’t choose any active players…. He’s entitled to his own opinion, I just think he’s wrong,” Smith said on First Take. “You cannot have an all-time top 10 list without LeBron James. I’ve got LeBron James as a top-two player all time, what do you mean he’s not on the list?”
“You talk about Steph not being on the list. Steph has been in the league for over a decade, he’s got four championships. LeBron James has been in the league for 20 years. He played more years than most of the players Dr. J had on the list, so certainly experience is not an issue here.”
Smith has a point as it pertains to James not being on the list, and it may stem from his belief that he helped lead buddy-ball era.
Erving Hasn’t Changed Tune On James Over The Years
If Erving is anything, he’s consistent, on numerous occasions since 2021 he’s left James off of his list. In fact, in 2021 during an appearance on the “Posted Up” Podcast with Chris Haynes, Erving gave his reasoning for the omission.
“He was a guy who led the charge in terms of ‘super teams’ being put together,” Erving said.
“He can pick his own team, I ain’t going to pick his team,” Erving said, laughing.
Erving feels the same way about Kevin Durant, who he said team hops too much, creating super teams as well.
