Background

The name of Julius’ father is Julius Erving Senior and the name of his mother is Callie Mar Erving. He also has two siblings and the name of his brother is Marvin Erving and the name of Julius’s sister is Alexis Erving. Most of his childhood was spent in New York and he started playing basketball at a very young age.

Julius completed his schooling from Roosevelt High School and he was also known was Doctor J. After completing his education, Julius enrolled in the University of Massachusetts in 1968. He started playing for his college basketball team and he also received an honorary doctorate from the same university in the later years of his life.

He described to Men’s Journal how life was growing up as a youth in the tough parts of Long Island, New York, “We had to go into survival mode, and in that environment my mom, my stepfather, and the rest of my family really stuck together. I remember losing people from age five right on through to a couple of weeks ago. So I’ve always had to deal with the ultimate test, the test of living. I’m well acquainted with it, and I feel like those were the things that prepared me for anything that comes down the pike.”

Pro Basketball Career

Julius started playing with the Virginia Squires after completing his graduation and he later signed a contract with them. Julius decided to sign an agreement with the Atlanta Hawks after he found out some facts about the team and became interested. In 1972, Julius started playing for New York Nets and he performed really well with the team. His stats were commendable and he won several awards for his performance and accomplishments.

Julius also played with Philadelphia 76ers and he was paid 3 million for the contract under the team. Julius also endorsed many products during his career. Later in 1987, Julius left his fans in tears after making the announcement of his retirement. His popularity was on top when he made the announcement and his absence was widely felt in all of sports, not just basketball. He was known to be one of the best players in NBA.

Men’s Journal asked him what his secret was when he would drive to the basketball hoop to get a score for his team, “I’d put my head down and keep my eyes up, and when I found the daylight, I’d try to improvise and make something happen. When you try to explain it to somebody, it gets really complicated. I did a little coaching and I found I couldn’t explain why I did certain things. It’s a gift, man, so I just take it as a gift and keep on coming, you know?”