YouTube Gold: The Greatness of Julius Erving

Set Number: X26911 NBA Playoffs: Philadelphia 76ers. Julius Erving (6) in action vs Boston Celtics at The Spectrum. Game 3. Philadelphia, PA 5/15/1982When Julius Erving grew up in New York the dunk was outlawed in college basketball. He dunked a ton in pickup ball though and over the years learned how to leverage his extraordinary athleticism into slams that made people lose their minds.

Not in college though. When he was At UMass, where Rick Pitino was a freshman during Erving’s final year, the dunk was still outlawed, something the NCAA may have done to limit Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s dominance while he was at UCLA (it was allowed again in 1976).

When he hit the ABA and could dunk again, Dr. J…