PHILADELPHIA — Julius Erving's efforts to help the Philadelphia 76ers succeed have not stopped in the decades since he retired from the NBA. He led the team to its last championship and played a key part in assembling the core that could potentially win the next, pitching in on the recruitment of Paul George.
Erving remains an important ambassador for the 76ers, most recently helping the franchise unveil a new basketball court at Roberto Clemente Park, a project done by the team in partnership with Penn Medicine. He spoke to the crowd about how important efforts to provide communities with high-quality resources are and urged fans to make efforts to get out to Sixers games. The former Philly superstar doesn’t want to see a Wells Fargo Center overrun by opposing fans again.
“I love the 76 right out there in the center of the court so you can't forget who your hometown is, who your hometown team is, who you need to be cheering for,” Erving said in his speech to the crowd. He recalled when New York Knicks fans showed out in droves during the playoffs and urged fans to “scoop up those tickets so they can be out in the parking lot. They can tailgate. We don’t want them in the building. We're [the] Sixers, we’re Sixers fans, right?”
Earlier in the summer, Erving accompanied a contingency of 76ers front-office executives and team ownership on a trip to George's house for a free-agency meeting. He told George about the big moves that helped complete his Sixers team that ultimately went on to win the 1983 championship and how hungry the franchise is to break its title drought. Erving sold George on Philadelphia as his next home.
The role Erving played in the entire plot to land George was small, he admitted. But his connection to the veteran star proved to be the cherry on top.
“Well, I think most of the work was done before I got there. But when I was called in, it was to help put the final stamp of approval on,” Erving said after the court-opening ceremony, “and to meet him and his family, him and his wife and mom and dad and spend a little time in their house and talk a little bit about Philadelphia — my experience in Philadelphia. I think he enjoyed that and I think he's gonna respond very well to it, as well as his family responding very well to it.”
Erving said he thought George was very receptive to his pitch. Indeed, the newest Sixers star talked giddily about hosting the great Dr. J at his house. Now, he'll see him on the sidelines plenty of times, cheering him on as he and his teammates strive to meet Erving's team on the NBA mountaintop.
Julius Erving expects big things from 76ers in 2024-25 season
Erving is itching to see the 76ers win the championship again. He saw big things in the 2022-23 team that it ultimately did not live up to. Once again, he's not putting his expectations for Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and the team lightly.
“I always have high expectations for us,” Erving said. “I think another year under Nick Nurse will bear fruit for the team. I think if we can keep Maxey on the rise, he's gonna be the best point guard in the league. And Joel can continue to be Joel. He doesn't have to be anybody else. We just need to get more regular-season games and more playoff games out of him and he needs to feel well in order to do that. Hopefully, he's doing the things that he's supposed to do — and I think he is.”
Erving said that George is “kind of like an X-factor for this particular team. He's been that everywhere that he's been. He's a quality guy who you know can score to basketball inside [and] outside, has a commitment on the defense end.”
The fit between Embiid, Maxey and George should be really good. On top of each playing a different position, each of them can score and bend defenses with their scoring gravities. Putting two great shooters around Embiid should be a recipe for easy success. The supporting cast around them should feature enough defenders, scorers and athletes to make Philly markedly better than last season.
Erving will certainly be watching Philly intently, hoping that his efforts in recruiting George pay off in a championship. Almost 40 years removed from the time the word “Sixers” ran across his chest, this is still the team he lives and breathes.
The city of Philadelphia may not be where Erving currently lives — the Long Island native currently resides in Atlanta — but it remains a city he can’t get away from for too long. He came to the city when he was smack dab in the middle of his prime after spending his life and the beginning of his playing career in suburban areas.
“My first totally urban experience came in Philadelphia,” he said. “So that became the city that I adopted as my home, my second home to Long Island. And all these years, it's stuck.”
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