Just not any outside of central Los Angeles. Įrving: ‘It’s More of a Franchise Situation with the Lakers’īut the Sixers legend also explained that Bryant’s jersey does belong in at least some rafters. Julius Erving loves Kobe Bryant and even played with the Mamba's father … but he tells TMZ Sports the NBA shouldn't retire the Lakers legend's numbers league-wide like it did with Bill Russell earlier this summer. He stands at the league’s apex of career rebounds per game, playoff rebounds per game, and career defensive win shares. In numerous categories, Russell dominated his era. “Bill was a very special individual and what he did for basketball, no one else could ever do again,” Dr. Rather, his strong stance comes from the fact that Russell’s legacy is simply unmatched. I wouldn’t even try to compare Kobe Bryant to Russell.”Įrving, who played against Russell (and coincidentally, Bryant’s father), explained that his feelings involve no disrespect for the Laker legend. Bill was 86 years old, so address it like that to an 86-year-old - multiple champions, multiple coaching champions, multiple on-and-off the court champion, or whatever - there’s no comparison. “We’re fresh into that but let’s see how that works out. “I don’t think he should be compared with the Russell situation,” Erving explained to TMZ at Los Angeles International Airport. J: ‘I Wouldn’t Even Try to Compare Kobe Bryant to Russell’Įrving was candid about the buzz surrounding a potential Kobe Bryant jersey retirement.
Yes, Lakers fans wanted Kobe Bryant, who died in a plane accident in 2020, to have his number retired in the rafters.Īnd recently, Sixers legend Julius Erving weighed in on the debate.ĭr. 6 as a posthumous honor makes perfect sense.īut in almost no time, the Celtics’ principal rival demanded the same treatment for one of their native sons.
So the league setting aside Russell’s No. When he took over as a player-coach in 1966, he became the league’s first Black head coach in NBA history. Even more impressive, the legend was a 12-time All-Star, earning the honor every season of his career except his rookie campaign. Russell, who competed against the Philadelphia 76ers throughout his storied Celtics career, was an 11-time champion and five-time MVP. Shortly after his death on July 31, Bill Russell was honored by the NBA, which announced a permanent, league-wide retirement of the No. He was selected for the ABA's all-time team and the NBA's 35-year and 50-year anniversary teams.Former Philadelphia 76ers Julius Erving, Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Bryant's Lower Merion High School basketball coach Gregg Downer share a moment. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1983.Įrving's jersey was retired by the Brooklyn Nets (No. Additionally, he was twice the NBA All-Star Game MVP (1977, 1983), a five-time All-NBA First Team selection (1978, 1980–1983) and two-time All-NBA Second Team pick (1977, 1984), and All-ABA First Team on four occasions (1973–1976). Universally lauded, Erving's personal trophy case includes two ABA Playoffs MVPs (1974, 1976), the 1981 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, three ABA Most Valuable Player awards (1974–1976), 11 NBA All-Star (1977–1987) appearances and being a five-time ABA All-Star (1972–1976). 506 field goal percentage, and per-game averages of 24.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals per game and 1.7 blocks. J played 16 totals season between the ABA (1971-76) and NBA (1977-87) with career totals including 1,243 games played, a.
#JULIUS ERVING SIXERS JERSEY PRO#
Incredibly, only once in his 52 career games did he fail to record a double-double.Įrving turned pro following his junior year, but not before leading UMass to back-to-back Yankee Conference titles and its first two appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).Īlong with George "Trigger" Burke, Marcus Camby, all-time scoring leader Lou Roe and former head coach John Calipari, Erving remains one of only five Minutemen to have a jersey retired in his honor.Įrving set UMass records in scoring (1,370 points) and rebounding (1,049), in just two seasons.įollowing his collegiate playing days, Erving went on to be one of the greatest players in ABA and NBA history, led the then New York Nets to ABA titles in 19, and the Philadelphia 76ers to the 1983 NBA championship.ĭr. J," played basketball for two seasons under legendary head coach and fellow UMass Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Jack Leaman from 1969-71.ĭuring his two seasons, Erving averaged an astounding 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds per contest. Unquestionably the greatest known athlete in UMass history, Julius Erving, known simply to the world as "Dr.
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