Julius Erving names Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as his greatest rival (Image Source: Imagn)
Julius Erving was one of the early stars in the NBA who became an inspiration to many. However, according to Dr. J, there is one player he considers his biggest opponent. On Monday's episode of "Come Talk 2 Me," hosted by former coach Mark Jackson, the former Philadelphia 76ers star talked about his experience in the league.
Erving played during the early days of professional basketball. However, his first stint wasn't with the National Basketball Association. The Hall of Fame forward had his start in the American Basketball Association during his first five years (1971 to 1976). After his fifth year in the league, it merged with the NBA, where he came across Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
According to Erving, the former Milwaukee Bucks big man was his biggest rival.
“Kareem was always the guy standing in my way,” Erving said (Timestamp: 7:13). “I was always in his shadow because of the years in which we played and we overlapped… My ABA years, he was in the NBA. But then my NBA years, he was there every one of my NBA years.
