Dr. J Leaves LeBron James Off His Greatest NBA Players Of All Time List
NBA legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving has caused some controversy in the basketball world.
The former Philadelphia 76er great announced some of his favorite players of all time. One glaring omission was that LeBron James didn’t make the list.
On his first team, Erving picked pro basketball icons Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor. His second team featured Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Appearing on the podcast Posted Up With Chris Haynes, Erving gave his explanation for leaving LeBron off his list, Erving replied, “He’s the guy that led the charge of the super teams.” Although most pundits, former NBA players, and fans have LeBron James as one of the best players ever, that metric had nothing to do with Doc’s list.
Recently, Erving gave a hard critique of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s recruiting players to their Brooklyn Nets squad. Erving called the Nets a “superteam,” as they seek to win the 2021 championship.
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“It’s reminiscent of how the Yankees used to do all the time,” Erving told Philadelphia 76ers guard Danny Green on his Inside the Green Room podcast. “The Nets load up, and they call it buying a championship. The Lakers are known for doing it, too. They’re just buying a championship, man. They’re getting all these pieces.“You’ve got a team with six former All-Stars, and three All-NBA guys who have been there and succeeded in the playoffs.”
Amazingly, Erving placed Michael Jordan, who is regarded as the GOAT by a large number of NBA fans, on his second team and the late Kobe Bryant didn’t make the cut at all.
