PHOTO: FifteenMinutesWith.com
This content is taken from an article by Rhiannon Walker for Andscape, translated into Italian by Marco Barone for Around the Game.
Bobby Jones waited patiently for “Dr. J”, Julius Erving, created separation from his defender and sprinted to the basket from the right. With 7 minutes and 35 seconds left to play in Game 4 of the 1980 NBA Finals between the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers, Dr. J was preparing to write another page of basketball history. Jones’ pass went over the head of a Lakers guard positioned in the middle of the free throw line before landing in the hands of Erving. On him, Mark Landsberger, positioned in defense but already left behind by Dr. J in his race towards the basket. Beating his opponent with a single dribble on the baseline, Erving took to the air for what looked like a simple leyup or dunk. Then Kareem Abdul-Jabbare came to help, ready to block the shot or make a foul. “I put the ball on the ground passing behind Landsberger.” – Julius Erving told the Los Angeles Times – “The best thing to do in these cases is to go straight to the rim and dunk, but I saw Kareem. I looked for Darryl Dawkins, thinking he was going to the basket since Kareem was marking him, but I couldn’t see him. So I moved the ball out of traffic while looking up in the air, and it opened up an opportunity. Kareem didn’t jump, so I used the board and went in.”.
With Erving stuck behind the basket, no play seemed possible – until Erving decided the only option was to levitate his body and transform into a character from The Matrix. Remaining in the air for what seemed like an eternity, he was able to go around a giant like Abdul-Jabbar and extend his right arm towards the left side of the board enough to close a perfect reverse takedown.
That basket put Philadelphia up 91-84 and was 2 of 10 points Erving scored in the final 7:40. He finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. “It was simply the moment and the fact that it was the Playoffs for the title”said Dr. J: “The thing is, it gave us a good edge and the arena exploded, but I did more complex moves.”. 76ers fans went crazy, realizing that May 11, 1980 would become a day to remember to celebrate one of the most iconic plays in NBA Finals history.
Abdul-Jabbar, the regular-season MVP, was incredulous. All he could do was turn and go on the attack. Dr.J was no stranger to revolutionizing basketball or beating the laws of gravity. So for the future Hall of Famer, it was nothing more than simple business, landing on the floor and sprinting toward the defense. Magic Johnson, then a rookie, commented:
“I was there trying to win a title and my mouth couldn’t help but hang open. She actually did it! I thought, ‘What should we do? Take the ball from us, or ask him to do it again?’. To this day it is the best move I have ever seen on a basketball court, one of the most iconic ever.”
The Sixers won 105-102 that night, bringing the series to 2-2, before surrendering to the Lakers in 6 games.
2024-05-11 13:13:03
#day #Julius #Erving #lighter #air
