Dr. J Brings Above-the-Rim Basketball
Julius Erving's dunks and aerial creativity gave the ABA its signature style and its biggest star.
Julius Erving, known universally as 'Dr. J,' joined the ABA's Virginia Squires in 1971 and quickly became the league's most electrifying player, known for gravity-defying dunks that had rarely been showcased as a primary skill before.
His performance headlined the first Slam Dunk Contest at the 1976 ABA All-Star Game, an event built specifically to spotlight the kind of above-the-rim creativity Erving had made his signature.
When the ABA-NBA merger folded four franchises into the older league later that year, Erving (by then with the New York Nets) brought that same style into the NBA, helping popularize a more athletic, aerial brand of basketball that would influence the sport for decades.
Connected moments
Where this story leads next, in the same era or a related thread.
The ABA-NBA Merger
Four ABA franchises and the three-point shot's future in the NBA both trace back to this 1976 agreement.