Peak Giannis vs Peak Dr. J
Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2025 5:20 pm
Who do you have ahead? I used peak, as some have argued peak Dr. J was in the ABA and that's fine for this comparison if that's your view.
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With discounting that significantly weaker league
kcktiny wrote:- from the ages of 23-29 (ages when both played and blocked shots were counted) despite the huge height difference Erving was the better shot blocker.
penbeast0 wrote:Relative to his league, Erving in his later ABA years. With discounting that significantly weaker league, I have Giannis as more valuable.
think I want to point out is that Erving peaking in '75-76 in the ABA and never matching it in the NBA is such a tricky thing to take literally about his ability to play basketball.
It's quite reasonable I'm afraid to conclude that in Erving's NBA years, as good as he still was, he wasn't as valuable as his box score indicated.
kcktiny wrote:think I want to point out is that Erving peaking in '75-76 in the ABA and never matching it in the NBA is such a tricky thing to take literally about his ability to play basketball.
Erving was named MVP in the ABA in 1975-76 when there were 112 different players in the ABA.
He was named MVP in the NBA in 1980-81 when there were 304 different players in the league. Not only that he was 2nd in MVP voting in 1979-80 and 3rd in MVP voting in 1981-82.
What does that tell you about how MVP voters thought about his ability to play basketball?It's quite reasonable I'm afraid to conclude that in Erving's NBA years, as good as he still was, he wasn't as valuable as his box score indicated.
I'm afraid those that voted for the MVP thought otherwise, not to mention that in his first 7 seasons in the NBA he was named to the all-NBA 1st team 5 times (2nd team once). They all thought he was extremely valuable.
You by chance watch him play in the late 70s/early 80s?
You know there are stronger and weaker MVP wins, right?
kcktiny wrote:You by chance watch him play in the late 70s/early 80s?
OhayoKD wrote:kcktiny wrote:You by chance watch him play in the late 70s/early 80s?
You just called him a better shot-blocker than Giannis because of weakside help.
Pipe down.
kcktiny wrote:You know there are stronger and weaker MVP wins, right?
Over 3 consecutive seasons when there were 441 different players in the NBA Erving was voted top 3 in MVP each season.
What does that tell you about what the voters thought of his ability to play basketball in the NBA, regardless of his statistics?
Special_Puppy wrote:Doctor Js average BPM from 1974 to 1976 was +9.2. His average BPM from 1977 to 1979 was +4.3. From 1980 to 1982 it then jumped back up to +7.6. Is there an explanation for this unusual career arc?
Doctor MJ wrote:I think I want to point out is that Erving peaking in '75-76 in the ABA and never matching it in the NBA is such a tricky thing to take literally about his ability to play basketball.
Special_Puppy wrote:Is there a flattering explanation for why Dr J’s BPM dropped 5 points when he joined the NBA?
One thing I'd say is that Erving would be magnificent to watch today
You just called him a better shot-blocker than Giannis because of weakside help.
Giannis and it's not close... and I like Erving quite a bit.
Pipe down.
The question isn't whether Julius was good in the NBA, but how close he was to his ABA level.
Is there a flattering explanation for why Dr J’s BPM dropped 5 points when he joined the NBA?
Doctor Js average BPM from 1974 to 1976 was +9.2... From 1980 to 1982 it then jumped back up to +7.6. Is there an explanation for this unusual career arc?
Yeah, significantly reduced role on a team with poorly constructed roster full of volume scorers.
The last factor of course is that Erving suffered serious injuries in the late 70s that slowly sapped his athleticism, including a first degree ligament strain in 77. He wasn't the same guy by the time the Sixers had a functional team around him.
All that said, this is still easily Giannis.