NBA news: The GOAT debate will always be a contentious one. Michael Jordan still sits atop most people’s lists, but there are more than a few folks out there who consider LeBron James to be the greatest player to ever pick up a basketball.
The great Julius Erving is not one of those people. As a matter of fact, the Hall of Famer doesn’t even have room for LeBron on his Top 10 list.
NBA News: Julius Erving Has No Room for LeBron James on Top 10 List
In a recent interview, Dr. J was asked to name his Top 10 greatest players of all time. Erving quickly named the top half of his list:
“I have five guys who are untouchable – Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor.,” he said, via Basket News. “That’s my all-time best team. Everybody else has to be on the second team or the third team, and I made this decision when I was 15 years old. I’m sticking with it now all these years later.”
“There is no order. I think West and Robertson would be in the backcourt. Elgin Baylor would be in the frontcourt with Wilt and Bill Russell.”
Erving then went through the second half of his Top 10, which incidentally, had no mention of the Los Angeles Lakers superstar:
“The next group of guys would be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Ervin ‘Magic’ Johnson, probably Karl Malone.”
Erving struggled with the 10th person on his list before finally settling on a surprising choice: Tiny Archibald.
The interviewer then asked why Erving opted not to include Stephen Curry — not LeBron — on his list, and the Philadelphia 76ers icon explained the rationale behind his choices:
“He hasn’t played long enough. He has to finish his career. Everybody I named there, their careers are finished,” the Hall of Famer said.
I guess this explains why LeBron James has been omitted from the list. As they always say, to each his own.
NBA News: Julius Erving Lauds Bucks Legends Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tiny Archibald
As you may have noticed, Erving’s list was dominated by a handful of Lakers icons. He did have room for at least three Milwaukee Bucks legends, though.
Oscar Robertson, who played the last four years of his career in Milwaukee, was part of Erving’s unequivocal Top 5. The man whom LeBron recently surpassed for the all-time scoring title, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, however, had to settle for a Top 10 finish on Erving’s list. Bucks fans remember this man well, having spent the first six years of his decorated career with the Bucks.
Finally, Tiny Archibald, who played one year in Milwaukee before retiring in 1984, barely made it. Perhaps the fact that the five-time All-NBA point guard won the scoring title in 1973 played a key role in Erving’s decision to include him on his list.
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