Julius Erving calls on NBA stars to step up, save dying tradition
The NBA Slam Dunk Contest used to mean something. It featured the league’s best players going head-to-head in front of roaring crowds during All-Star Weekend. Julius Erving was right in the middle of that era.
He won the first ABA Slam Dunk Contest in 1976 with his free-throw line dunk that people still talk about today. He came back for the NBA contests in 1984 and 1985 when he was already a veteran with serious mileage. MORE: Anthony Edwards injury update puts Timberwolves in tough spot before Game 5 Erving finished his career with 30,026 points and MVP awards in both the ABA and NBA.
When he showed up for All-Star Weekend, it felt like a gift to the fans, not some calculated branding move. NBA great Julius Erving during the Slam Dunk Contest during the 2022 NBA All-Star Night. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Now the contest is filled with G-League guys and specialists most fans don’t recognize.
It’s gotten so watered down that regular season dunks during random Tuesday night games look better than what goes down on dunk night. Erving spoke with TMZ Sports recently and made it clear he wants today’s stars to step up and save what’s left of the tradition. “You can’t make it mandatory.
It’s something that they gotta volunteer to do,” Erving said. “It’d be nice if some of the stars would step up. Have a conscience in terms of the history of the Slam Dunk Contest.