Respect in the NBA is earned, not given, and Philadelphia 76ers legend Julius Erving is among the most respected players in league history. Rightly known as a pioneer and a significant figure in essentially saving the league during his career, Dr. J’s talent was so highly regarded that serial trash-talkers like Larry Bird opted not to poke the bear during competition with the Sixers forward.
In his autobiography, Bird looks back on his professional basketball journey. He discusses how he developed a rivalry with Erving and admits to refraining from trash-talking Dr.J at the peak of his powers.
“My personal rivalry with Julius Erving was growing. It’s still the most exciting confrontation I’ve ever had at the forward spot. In my first couple of years, Dr. J was at his peak, and I was just starting to come on. It was a battle every single time. The most important I had to do while guarding Dr.J was to get help. When he started going along that baseline, you knew what was on his mind. He wanted to dunk. Once he got a step on you, there was nothing you could do. Any daylight at all, and Dr.J would jam it through,” wrote Bird.
“Some people said, ‘You should just give him the outside shot.” Well, when the good doctor was on the left side, he had a very good bank shot, and I was scared to death of that, so that wasn’t necessarily the answer either. Julius Erving also was a much better defensive player than most people gave him credit for. We never spoke on the court. It was said I yelled things at him one night, but that was M.L. talking trash from the bench, not me. Believe me; I never said a word to Dr. J on the court,” he added.
