Dr. J - the Special

Saw him play for the Squires at the Richmond Coliseum, 74 or so, that era. He was unbelievable. Fatty Taylor, not so much. I also saw the Squires play at the Scope in Norfolk, but can't remember of Dr. J was still on the team at that time. That's a long, long time ago.

 

It's on again tonight... I have the DVR set.

Dr. J was my first favorite basketball player... I can't wait to see this.

 

The old hands looked like fools when David Thompson and George Gervin had zero problems adjusting to the NBA, especially with Gervin leading the league in scoring four out of his first six seasons in the league. Most memorably, 1977-78, when he won the scoring title by an eyelash over Thompson. Thompson scored 73 points in his last game, but Gervin came back later that night with 63. A whopping 3,482 fans were in Cobo Hall to see Thompson's 73-point game.

http://www.nba.com/history/features/moment-1978-scoring-race/index.html

What did those guys in wasn't NBA opposition -- it was cocaine.

 

I've told this story on here before, but it's worth re-visiting for this thread.

Grew up in St Louis, and the Kansas City Kings used to play an exhibition game at the old St Louis Arena once a year. One year, it's the Sixers that come to town--the late 70s version with Dr. J, Darryl Dawkins, Caldwell Jones, World B Free, McGinnis, etc.

In the pre-game warmups, the Sixers essentially put on a dunking exhibition. Instead of the standard, quarter speed lay-up line, they go full throw down throttle, and the place is erupting.

Don't think I've ever seen anything like that-before or since.

One of the things I've found strikingly familar between Dr J and Jordan is how they both were rim rattlers early in their career, basically skying past everyone to the hoop, and then both developed outside shots they didn't have coming into the league as the years went by and they lost a bit of their hops.

 

Don’t think the Sixers got lost in the shuffle at all. Rather, I would say the Sixers/Lakers/Celtics were the holy trinity of the NBA of that era. In the 10 year space from the 76-77 season through 85-86, the Sixers made 4 NBA finals, thrice against the Lakers.
And the Sixers and Celtics were essentially the Affirmed/Alydar of the time in pro basketball. Five times they met in the Eastern Conference finals, with Philly taking three of those series, and three of them going the distance to 7 games.

And a comparison of the records from 79 when Birdman arrived through 86 show just how even and dominant these two teams were:

Sixers Celtics
79 -80 59-23 61-21
80-81 62-20 62-20
81-82 58-24 63-19
82-83 65-17 56-26
83-84 52-30 62-20
84-85 63-19 58-24
85-86 54-28 67-15

 

I mean, I knew the Sixers were good during that time, but they definitely got lost in the shuffle. To me, at least. I remember way more about those Lakers and Celtics teams than I do about the Sixers teams. Not even close.

There's a good chance I would have grown up a Dr. J/Sixers fan had I been born a few years earlier. I really started getting into the NBA at the tail end of his career and I remember very little about his playing days.

 

I saw the 1982-83 team when they played the Warriors. Malone scored in the high 20s, Dr. J was over 30 and they had Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney. That was a damn good team.

 

Man, I freaking loved that game as a kid.

 

I loved it when you broke the backboard and they swept it up and chewed you out...

 

Sonner -- the "Beat LA" cheer originated at the Boston Garden, Celtics fans cheering on the Sixers after it became clear that Boston was going to lose Game 7 of the '82 Eastern Conference finals. Perhaps the greatest crowd moment ever.

The Sixers were absolutely there with the other two.

 

Yes. The Bucks fan in me remembers those teams all too well.

Bucks were in the 50, sometimes 60-win range in that era, but could never break through.