Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born 22 February 1950 in Roosevelt, New York), popularly known as Dr. J, is a former American basketball player who excelled in the decades of 70 and 80. He made a career first in the ABA and then in the NBA. Erving won three championships, four MVP awards and three scoring titles in both the ABA Virginia Squires and New York Nets, as in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers. It is the fifth leading scorer in professional basketball history with 30,026 points (NBA and ABA combined). Erving was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history and in 1993 was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was one of the pioneers of mate, popularizing the spectacular “Tomahawk.”