“I was like, ‘I like that guy'” – Julius Erving names the NBA superstar he idolized the most
Ever since Julius Erving can remember, he always wanted to be like Elgin Baylor. According to Dr. J, he watched a lot of great players on TV as a kid, but nobody impressed him like Elg.
“My guy growing up was Elgin Baylor. I’m watching TV, I’m probably eight, nine, ten years old,” Erving said on Baylor’s NBA 75 Stories feature. “His game was seemingly a little unorthodox. He was strong, agile, hostile, mobile. I was like, ‘I like that guy.'”
Almost every basketball fan knows how great Erving was during his playing years. As much as Dr. J acknowledged his legacy as one of the greatest scorers the game has ever had, he is certain Baylor was still on another level.
For The Doctor, Elg seemed as if he didn’t have any holes in his game. In fact, to this day, Julius is still in awe of how Baylor managed to deliver on the court regardless of the situation.
Erving had a lot of basketball inspirations growing up. Apart from Baylor, the likes of Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell also impacted Dr. J when he was young. But like any other legendary athlete, Erving also had his first-ever basketball mentor.
Elg may have been the guy Erving ever wanted to be like as a player, but according to Dr. J, he would always attribute his overall development as an athlete to his Salvation Army basketball coach, Don Ryan.
“Don was probably the first person who had a truly great influence on my sports career,” Erving once opened up. “The Salvation Army motto was ‘Carry the books and the ball.’ Don was the guy who taught me about accountability: there were no road games if you behaved like a bad apple. He was like a big brother to me and, maybe at that time, a father figure.”
In conclusion, it’s quite evident that Erving was the type of player who always expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the people who inspired his game. In fact, Dr. J has been consistent in including Baylor in his all-time lists, and he has never been bothered by what other people say.
