As great of a player as Dr. J was, I think it’s fair to say he’s still probably underrated. Two things are responsible for that in my opnion: he played part of his career in the ABA, and he was winding down as Jordan was taking off. For whatever reason, Jordan’s era is the one people begin with mostly when dealing with basketball history.
Dr. J is on a media tour, promoting his new book Dr. J The Autobiography, and did an interview with 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C. today. Erving was asked if he felt his accomplishments were overshadowed by Jordan. Then he was asked to give his top 5 all-time (he humbly excluded himselft). Not that he has to pick Mike, because Oscar Robertson stated a few years ago that he didn’t feel Jordan was the best ever, but it becomes news when a historically great player doesn’t. It’s definitely a generational thing, as Erving and Roberston are largely pre-Mike
He response is very telling. I don’t think there’s any doubt he feels overshadowed. He’s probably not human if he doesn’t feel so even slightly.
In an interview with the Junkies on 106.7 The Fan on Friday, Erving, on to promote his new book – Dr. J The Autobiography – revealed who he believes are the greatest ever.
“Not at all,” Dr. J said, when asked if he feels his career was overshadowed by Jordan’s.
“Not at all,” he reiterated. “I don’t think because another guy comes along it erases all that is done by the previous generation of athletes. My all-time team is Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. “
“You don’t have Jordan in there,” host Eric Bickel noted.
“That’s never gonna change for me,” J explained. “Those guys, that’s the five that I put on the floor when I put my team on the floor. So Michael didn’t erase me, I mean Michael just added to the aura and the legacy that I created, and the internationalization of the game was part of Michael’s platform.”
