The Visionary
The future, and what is barely possible, reads round the next corner.
Julius Erving earns The Visionary because he did not adapt to professional basketball so much as reimagine it, fusing Rucker Park expressionism with elite competition and proving that above-the-rim artistry could anchor an entire cultural and commercial movement. His deliberate separation of Julius Erving the man from Dr.
“I never introduced myself as Doctor J — I introduced myself as Julius, Julius Erving. When I stepped within those lines, you're looking at a different guy.”
“Those five years with the ABA and the Rucker League — I think once again, game-changing in terms of how people would see basketball, how they would view basketball.”
“There's no going back after it gets changed. The set shot's gone. Just a lot of stuff passes and the kids get down differently — that's the evolution of the sport.”
Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson & Darius Miles: “Julius "Dr. J" Erving”
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