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80-414: Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist and Grammy Award winner. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson , he is considered by many to be one of the founders and legends of the smooth jazz genre. He wrote some of his material and later became an arranger and producer. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Washington made some of

160-483: A Christian . He has spoken about his faith, saying: "After searching for the meaning of life for over ten years, I found the meaning in Jesus Christ ." Erving is a second cousin of economist Walter E. Williams . Erving was married to Turquoise Erving from 1972 until 2003. Together they had four children. In 2000, their 19-year-old son Cory went missing for weeks, until he was found drowned after driving his vehicle into

240-628: A 3–1 series lead, but lost both Game 5 and Game 6 by 2 points and the deciding Game 7 by 1; and in 1982, the Sixers managed to beat the defending champion Celtics in seven games in the 1982 Eastern Finals but lost the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Despite these defeats, Erving was named the NBA MVP in 1981 and was again voted to the 1982 All-NBA First Team. For the 1982–1983 season ,

320-727: A UK identity was Light of the World, formed by Kenny Wellington, Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick and other musicians. Acid jazz is jazz genre, but its emphasis on groove just like funk, hip hop, and club dance music. Incognito , The Brand New Heavies , Jamiroquai , and the James Taylor Quartet helped the acid jazz movement surge in popularity. UK group US3 signed to Acid Jazz Records , founded by Peterson and Eddie Piller . US3 covered " Cantaloupe Island ", originally recorded by Herbie Hancock . Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by

400-657: A berth in the NBA. The Erving deal left the Nets in ruin; they promptly crashed to a 22–60 record, the worst in the league. Years later, Boe regretted having to trade Erving to join the NBA, saying, "The merger agreement killed the Nets as an NBA franchise." Erving quickly became the leader of his new club and led them to an exciting 50-win season. However, playing with other stars-such as former ABA standout George McGinnis , future NBA All-Star Lloyd Free and aggressive Doug Collins allowed him to focus on playing more team-oriented ball. Despite

480-499: A complex deal that kept him in the ABA. Erving signed an eight-year deal worth a reported $ 350,000 per year. The Squires received $ 750,000, George Carter and the rights to Kermit Washington for Erving and Willie Sojourner . The Nets also sent $ 425,000 to the Hawks to reimburse the team for its legal fees, fines and the bonus paid to Erving. Finally, Atlanta would receive draft compensation should

560-526: A harmonic structure that allows musicians to improvise. Modern jazz funk music was influenced by Herbie Hancock . The Mizell Brothers were producers for many jazz and soul artists. Examples of early jazz funk albums include Miles Davis' On the Corner (1972) and Jimmy Smith's Root Down (1972). The Last Poets , Gil Scott-Heron , Lightnin' Rod , T.S. Monk , Pleasure , Boogaloo Joe Jones , Lenny White , Don Blackman , Monk Higgins , Wilbur Bascomb ,

640-734: A larger audience. By contrast, pop audiences found it "too jazzy" and, therefore, too complex. Some mainstream artists in jazz used specialist producers to commercial success. Larry and Fonce Mizell produced jazz-funk artists such as Johnny "Hammond" Smith , Gary Bartz , Roger Glenn, the Blackbyrds, and Donald Byrd . In the UK's nightclubs of the mid-late 1970s, DJs including Colin Curtis in Manchester , Birmingham 's Graham Warr and Shaun Williams , and Leeds -based Ian Dewhirst and Paul Schofield championed

720-406: A man and role model than simply another well-known athlete. The dignified, full-length portrait is so tall that Erving's head just fits under the peak of the three-story building. The image was first painted on large squares of parachute cloth, which were then adhered to the wall surface with acrylic gel. The cloth's smooth surface allowed Twitchell to craft Erving with uncannily realistic detail, from

800-600: A meeting with ABA general manager Johnny "Red" Kerr and future coach Al Bianchi , he then decided to inform his mother that he will join the ABA in late 1971 while staying in a hotel in Philadelphia talking with a double agent named Steve Arnold. This became a subject of litigation for Erving's NBA rights to play for the Atlanta Hawks in the next year. Although NBA rules at the time did not allow teams to draft players who were fewer than four years removed from high school,

880-452: A merger of the league result in a common draft. Erving went on to lead the Nets to their first ABA title in 1973–1974, defeating the Utah Stars . Erving established himself as the most important player in the ABA. His spectacular play established the Nets as one of the better teams in the ABA and brought fans and credibility to the league. The end of the 1975–76 ABA season finally brought

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960-513: A pass by Lakers forward James Worthy , Erving picked up the ball and charged down the court's left side, with one defender to beat—the Lakers' top defender Michael Cooper . As he came inside of the 3-point line, he cupped the ball into his wrist and forearm, rocking the ball back and forth before taking off for what Lakers radio broadcaster Chick Hearn best described as a "Rock the Baby" slam dunk : he slung

1040-417: A pond. In 1979, Erving began an affair with sportswriter Samantha Stevenson, resulting in the 1980 birth of Alexandra Stevenson , who would become a professional tennis player. Although Erving's fatherhood of Alexandra Stevenson was known privately to the families involved, it did not become public knowledge until Stevenson reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1999, the first year she qualified to play in

1120-544: A racing fan himself, stated that his foray into NASCAR was an attempt to raise interest in NASCAR among African-Americans. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Converse (prior to their 2001 bankruptcy), Darden Restaurants , Saks Incorporated and The Sports Authority . As of 2009, Erving was the owner of The Celebrity Golf Club International outside of Atlanta, but the club was forced to file for bankruptcy soon after. He

1200-849: A rookie, was selected to the All-ABA Second Team, made the ABA All-Rookie Team, led the ABA in offensive rebounds and finished second to Artis Gilmore for the ABA Rookie of the Year Award. He led the Squires into the Eastern Division Finals, where they lost to the Rick Barry -led New York Nets in seven games. The Nets would eventually go to the finals, losing to the star-studded Indiana Pacers team. Under NBA rules, he became eligible for

1280-817: A smaller role, Erving stayed unselfish. The Sixers won the Atlantic Division and were the top drawing team in the NBA. They defeated the defending champions, the Boston Celtics , to win the Eastern Conference. Erving took them into the NBA Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers of Bill Walton . After the Sixers took a 2–0 lead, however, the Blazers ran off four straight victories after the famous brawl between Maurice Lucas and Darryl Dawkins which ignited

1360-665: A statue outside the Mullins Center on the university's campus. In the year 1970, Erving also played for the United States Olympic Development Team as an aim to qualify for the Olympic team in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany . Erving, wearing the jersey number six, played power forward and was recruited to be the team's top rebounder. He ended up being the top vote-getter for Most Valuable Player or MVP ,

1440-483: A television analyst. In 1997, he joined the front office of the Orlando Magic as Vice President of RDV Sports and Executive Vice President. Erving and former NFL running back Joe Washington fielded a NASCAR Busch Series team from 1998 to 2000, becoming the first ever NASCAR racing team at any level owned completely by minorities. The team had secure sponsorship from Dr Pepper for most of its existence. Erving,

1520-572: A top scorer for Team USA, and successfully competed against adult professional players from Russia, Finland, and other European countries alongside teammates Bob Nash and Paul Westphal . It was around this time Erving started hearing talks among his teammates of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and its novel goal to recruit undergraduates as a plan to compete with the National Basketball Association . After

1600-423: A vicious slam dunk over Walton's outstretched arms. This dunk is considered by many to be one of the strongest dunks ever attempted, considering he ran full court with all five defenders running with him. This move was one of the highlights of his arrival to a more television-exposed NBA. One of his most memorable plays occurred during the 1980 NBA Finals , when he executed a seemingly impossible finger-roll behind

1680-431: A “breakthrough mural,” and Twitchell—a nationally acclaimed California artist—was just the man to paint it. “We knew we had to push the boundaries,” she said. "The goal was to try to integrate superior artwork with a subject that touched the community in a special way." Twitchell was known for his portraits and he lobbied to paint basketball great Julius Erving in a business suit instead of a uniform to portray him more as

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1760-529: Is noted as being influential on go-go music starting in the mid-1970s. (Although he was later photographed with Keilwerth SX90 and SX90R black nickel plated soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones on album covers, he rarely played them live or in the studio.) On December 17, 1999, five days after his 56th birthday, Washington collapsed while waiting in the green room after performing four songs for The Saturday Early Show , at CBS Studios in New York City. He

1840-462: The 1972 NBA draft and the Milwaukee Bucks picked him in the first round (12th overall), a move that would have brought him together with Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar . Prior to the draft, he signed a contract with the Atlanta Hawks worth more than $ 1 million with a $ 250,000 bonus. The signing with the Hawks came after a dispute with the Squires where he demanded a renegotiation of

1920-570: The ABA–NBA merger . The Nets and Nuggets had applied for admission to the NBA before the season, in anticipation of the eventual merger that had first been proposed by the two leagues in 1970 but which was delayed for various reasons, including the Oscar Robertson free agency suit (which was not resolved until 1976). The Erving-led Nets defeated the Denver Nuggets in the ABA's final championship. In

2000-751: The Family Circle Cup tennis tournament to see Stevenson play, marking the first time he had attended one of her matches. In 1988, Erving received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . In 2003, Erving fathered a second child outside of his marriage, Justin Kangas, with a woman named Dorýs Madden. Julius and Turquoise Erving were subsequently divorced and Erving continued his relationship with Madden, with whom he had three more children, Jules Erving and two others including Julieta who

2080-547: The New York Knicks in return for waiving the indemnity, but the Knicks turned it down. This was considered one of the worst decisions in franchise history. The Sixers then decided to offer to buy Erving's contract for $ 3 million—in addition to paying roughly the Nets same amount as their expansion fee—and Boe had little choice but to accept the $ 6 million deal. For all intents and purposes, the Nets traded their franchise player for

2160-457: The 1970s, culminating in the signature piece for everything he would do from then on. Winelight (1980) was the album that defined everything Washington was then about, having signed for Elektra Records, part of the major Warner Music group. The album was smooth, fused with R&B and easy listening feel. Washington's love of basketball, especially the Philadelphia 76ers , led him to dedicate

2240-468: The ABA instituted a “hardship” rule that would allow players to leave college early. Erving took advantage of the rule change and left Massachusetts after his junior year to sign a four-year contract worth $ 500,000 spread over seven years with the Virginia Squires . Erving quickly established himself as a force and gained a reputation for hard and ruthless dunking. He scored 27.3 points per game as

2320-600: The ABA's scant television coverage. He is considered by many as the greatest dunker of all time. In his ABA and NBA careers combined, he scored more than 30,000 points. In 1993, Erving was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and in 1996 he was inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame . When he retired, Erving ranked in the top five in scoring (third), field goals made (third), field goals attempted (fifth) and steals (first). On

2400-535: The Army, Washington freelanced his talents around New York City, eventually landing in Philadelphia in 1967. In 1970 and 1971, he appeared on Leon Spencer 's first two albums on Prestige Records , together with Idris Muhammad and Melvin Sparks . Washington's big break came when alto sax man Hank Crawford was unable to make a recording date with Creed Taylor 's Kudu Records , and Washington took his place, even though he

2480-533: The Blackbyrds, Donald Byrd and Les DeMerle and Michael Henderson released jazz funk albums. Jazz funk musicians used electric instruments, such as the Rhodes Piano or electric guitar, bass guitar , organ, particularly in jazz fusion . Herbie Hancock played ARP Odyssey synthesizer and clavinet on album Head Hunters (1973). Jennifer Lopez popularized "jazz funk dance" in the sketch comedy In Living Color . The controversy may have helped jazz find

Grover Washington Jr. - Misplaced Pages Continue

2560-546: The Blazers' team. Erving enjoyed success off the court, becoming one of the first basketball players to endorse many products and to have a shoe marketed under his name. He also starred in the 1979 basketball comedy film, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh . In the following years, Erving coped with a team that was not yet playing at his level. It took a few years for the Sixers franchise to build around Erving. Eventually, coach Billy Cunningham and top-level players like Maurice Cheeks Andrew Toney and Bobby Jones were added to

2640-615: The Brooklyn Nets (formerly the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets) have retired his No. 32 jersey and the Philadelphia 76ers his No. 6 jersey. He was an excellent all around player who was also an underrated defender. In his ABA days, he would guard the best forward, whether small forward or power forward, for over 40 minutes a game and simultaneously be the best passer, ball handler and clutch scorer every night. Many of Erving's acrobatic highlight feats and clutch moments were unknown because of

2720-474: The Hawks another fine. Erving enjoyed his brief time with Atlanta and he would later duplicate with George Gervin his after-practice playing with Maravich. On October 2, Judge Edward Neaher issued an injunction that prohibited him from playing for any team other than the Squires. The judge then sent the case to arbitration because of an arbitration clause in Erving's contract with Virginia. He agreed to report to

2800-400: The Knicks' NBA territory. Coming on the heels of the fees the Nets had to pay for joining the NBA, owner Roy Boe reneged on a promise to raise Erving's salary. Erving refused to play under these conditions and held out in training camp. After several teams such as the Milwaukee Bucks , Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers lobbied to obtain him, the Nets offered Erving's contract to

2880-408: The NBA where such a feat was accomplished. The Nets, Nuggets , Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs joined the NBA for the 1976–1977 season . With Erving and Nate Archibald (acquired in a trade with Kansas City ), the Nets were poised to pick up right where they left off. However, the New York Knicks upset the Nets' plans when they demanded that the Nets pay them $ 4.8 million for "invading"

2960-553: The NBA's Brooklyn Nets) and the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers . During his 16 seasons as a player, none of his teams ever missed the postseason. He is the eighth-highest scorer in ABA/NBA history with 30,026 points (NBA and ABA combined). He was well known for slam dunking from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests and was the only player voted Most Valuable Player in both the ABA and the NBA. The basketball slang of being posterized

3040-566: The NCAA adopted a rule that prohibited dunking . Thus, Erving's dunking was only seen and known to teammates at practice. Fifteen years later, Erving fulfilled a promise he had made to his mother by earning a bachelor's degree in creative leadership and administration from the school through the University Without Walls program. Erving also holds an honorary doctorate from UMass. In September 2021, Massachusetts honored Erving by unveiling

3120-586: The Olney section of the city is named after Washington. Grover Washington Jr. Middle School caters to fifth- to eighth-grade students interested in the creative and performing arts. There is a mural dedicated to Grover Washington, Jr. in Buffalo, where he grew up and attended school. In 1992, Washington was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk Of Fame. On April 24, 2023, Washington

3200-508: The R&;B singles chart (#54, pop). All these albums included guitarist Eric Gale as a near-permanent member in Washington's arsenal. His follow-up on Kudu in 1975, Feels So Good also made No. 1 on Billboard's R&B album chart and No. 10 on the pop album chart. Both albums were major parts of the jazz-funk movement of the mid-1970s. A string of acclaimed records brought Washington through

3280-483: The Sixers obtained the missing element to combat their weakness at their center position, Moses Malone . Armed with one of the most formidable and unstoppable center-forward combinations of all time, the Sixers dominated the whole season, prompting Malone to make the famous playoff prediction of "fo-fo-fo (four-four-four)" in anticipation of the 76ers sweeping the three rounds of the playoffs en route to an NBA title. In fact,

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3360-467: The Sixers went four-five-four, losing one game to the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference finals, then sweeping the Lakers to win the NBA title. Erving maintained his all-star caliber of play into his twilight years, averaging 22.4, 20.0, 18.1 and 16.8 points per game in his final seasons. In 1986, he announced that he would retire after the season. That final season saw opposing teams pay tribute to Erving in

3440-406: The Squires while his appeal of the injunction made its way through the court. Back in the ABA, his game flourished and he achieved a career-best 31.9 points per game in the 1972–1973 season. The following year, the cash-strapped Squires sold his contract to the New York Nets. The Squires, like most ABA teams, were on rather shaky financial ground. The cash-strapped team sent Erving to the Nets in

3520-439: The backboard. He drove past Lakers forward Mark Landsberger on the right baseline and went in for a layup . Then 7′2″ center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar crossed his way, blocking the route to the basket and forcing him outwards. In mid-air, it was apparent that Erving would land behind the backboard. But somehow he managed to reach over and score on a right-handed layup despite the fact that his whole body, including his left shoulder,

3600-474: The ball around behind his head and dunked over a ducking Cooper. This dunk is generally regarded as one of the greatest dunks of all time. Erving earned his bachelor's degree in 1986 through the University Without Walls at the University of Massachusetts Amherst . After his basketball career ended, he became a businessman, obtaining ownership of a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Philadelphia and doing work as

3680-635: The ball into the hoop, particularly after a launch several feet from that target. Erving was born February 22, 1950, in East Meadow , on Long Island , and raised from the age of 13 in Roosevelt, New York . Prior to that, he lived in nearby Hempstead . He attended Roosevelt High School and played for its basketball team. He received the nickname "Doctor" or "Dr. J" from a high school friend named Leon Saunders. He explains: "I started calling [Saunders] 'the professor' and he started calling me 'the doctor'. So it

3760-498: The combined NBA/ABA scoring list, Erving ranked third with 30,026 points. As of 2022 , Erving ranks eighth on the list, behind only LeBron James , Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , Karl Malone , Kobe Bryant , Michael Jordan , Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain . In this memorable contest, Erving faced George "The Iceman" Gervin , All-Star and former teammate Larry "Special K" Kenon , MVP Artis "The A-Train" Gilmore and David "The Skywalker" Thompson . Erving started by dunking two balls in

3840-507: The crease in his tan suit trousers to the gold bracelet on his right hand. Local residents, who maintain a small park in front of the mural, claim that the real Dr. J had tears in his eyes when he saw the completed portrait for the first time. Dr. J is also the only Philadelphia mural so respected that it appears in homage in another mural, the student-painted panorama of urban life on the Spring Garden Street Bridge. "The mural

3920-423: The feat in the 1976 ABA All-Star Game Slam Dunk Contest. This event transpired during game 6 of the 1977 NBA Finals . After Portland scored a basket, Erving immediately ran the length of the court with the entire Blazers team defending him. He performed a crossover to blow by multiple defenders, seemingly gliding to the hoop with ease. With UCLA defensive legend Bill Walton waiting in the post, Erving threw down

4000-494: The game; however, the way Erving utilized the dunk more as a high-percentage shot made at the end of maneuvers generally starting well away from the basket and not necessarily a show of force helped to make the shot an acceptable tactic, especially in trying to avoid a blocked shot. Although the slam dunk is still widely used as a show of power, a method of intimidation and a way to fire up a team and spectators, Erving demonstrated that there can be great artistry and grace in slamming

4080-449: The genre's most memorable hits, including "Mister Magic", "Reed Seed", "Black Frost", "Winelight", "Inner City Blues", "Let it Flow (For 'Dr. J')", and "The Best is Yet to Come". In addition, he performed very frequently with other artists, including Bill Withers on " Just the Two of Us ", Patti LaBelle on " The Best Is Yet to Come ", and Phyllis Hyman on "A Sacred Kind of Love". Washington

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4160-579: The genre, along with Chris Hill and Bob Jones in the South. London-based jazz funk pioneers drew a new audience to jazz: notably pirate radio stations Invicta 92.4 and JFM. In the late 1980s, rare groove crate diggers–DJs in England who were interested in looking back into the past and re-discovering old tunes– Norman Jay and Gilles Peterson achieved prominence. While the majority of jazz-funk bands are American, British jazz-funk artists and bands emerged in

4240-423: The hoop. Then, he performed a move that brought the slam dunk contest to the national consciousness. He ran to the opposite end of the court and back and dunked the basketball from the free throw line. Although dunking from the foul line had been done by other players ( Jim Pollard and Wilt Chamberlain in the 1950s, for example), Erving introduced the dunk from the foul line to a wider audience, when he demonstrated

4320-426: The last game he would play in their arenas, including in cities such as Boston and Los Angeles, his perennial rivals in the playoffs. Erving retired in 1987 at the age of 37. Johnny Kerr told ABA historian Terry Pluto : "A young Julius Erving was like Thomas Edison, he was always inventing something new every night." He is also one of the few players in modern basketball to have his number retired by two franchises:

4400-526: The late 1970s and early 1980s. They were encouraged by club DJs such as Chris Hill and Robbie Vincent , who was then on BBC Radio London , and Greg Edwards , who had a show on London's first commercial radio station, Capital Radio . They launched a jazz festival in 1980, where the jazz-funk band Light of the World performed. Jazz-funk was also played on Europe's first soul station, Radio Invicta , and pirate radio stations such as Solar Radio , Horizon, and Kiss FM . The first of these bands to establish

4480-539: The mix and the franchise was very successful. The Sixers were still eliminated twice in the Eastern Conference Finals. In 1979, Larry Bird entered the league, reviving the Boston Celtics and the storied Celtics–76ers rivalry ; these two teams faced each other in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The Bird vs. Erving matchup became arguably the top personal rivalry in

4560-443: The nickname Dr. J , is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player in that league when it merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–1976 season. Erving won three championships, four Most Valuable Player awards and three scoring titles with the ABA's Virginia Squires and New York Nets (now

4640-455: The only three point shot in that NBA Finals series, which was the first time the three point line was introduced in the league. Erving was again among the league's best players in the 1980–1981 and 1981–1982 seasons, although more disappointment came as the Sixers stumbled twice in the playoffs: in 1981, the Celtics eliminated them in seven games in the 1981 Eastern Finals after Philadelphia had

4720-406: The postseason, Erving averaged 34.7 points and was named Most Valuable Player of the playoffs. That season, he finished in the top 10 in the ABA in points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, steals per game, blocks per game, free throw percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted, three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made. This is the only season in the ABA or

4800-424: The practice into the mainstream. His signature was the slam dunk, since incorporated into the vernacular and basic skill set of the game in the same manner as the crossover dribble and the no look pass. Before Erving, dunking was a practice most commonly used by the big men, usually standing close to the hoop, to show their brutal strength which was seen as style over substance, even unsportsmanlike, by many purists of

4880-501: The second track, "Let It Flow", to Julius Erving (Dr. J). The highlight of the album was his collaboration with soul artist Bill Withers , "Just the Two of Us", a hit on radio during the spring and summer of 1981, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 . The album went platinum in 1981, and also won Grammy Awards in 1982 for Best R&B Song ("Just The Two of Us"), and Best Jazz Fusion Performance ("Winelight"). "Winelight"

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4960-401: The sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper in 1995. He appeared as The Minister in the 2012 remake of Steel Magnolias for Lifetime television. He also made a cameo appearance as himself in " Lice ", the tenth episode of the ninth season of the comedy series The Office (2013). Erving appeared as himself in the 2022 movie Hustle starring Adam Sandler and Juancho Hernangómez . Erving is

5040-494: The sport (along with Bird vs. Magic Johnson ), inspiring the early Electronic Arts video game One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird . In 1980, the 76ers prevailed over the Celtics to advance to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers . There, Erving executed the legendary "Baseline Move", a behind-the-board reverse layup. However, the Lakers won the series 4–2 with superb play from, among others, Magic Johnson. Erving also made

5120-409: The terms. He discovered that his agent at the time, Steve Arnold, was employed by the Squires and convinced him to sign a below-market contract. This created a dispute between three teams in two leagues. The Bucks asserted their rights to Erving via the draft, while the Squires went to court to force him to honor his contract. He joined Pete Maravich at the Hawks' training camp, as they prepared for

5200-418: The tournament. Erving had provided financial support for Stevenson over the years, but had not otherwise been part of her life. The public disclosure of their relationship did not initially lead to contact between father and daughter; however, Stevenson contacted Erving in 2008 and they finally initiated a further relationship. Erving met Stevenson for the first time on October 31, 2008. In 2009, Erving attended

5280-521: The upcoming season. He played two exhibition games with the Hawks until NBA Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy ruled that the Bucks owned Erving's rights via the draft. Kennedy fined the Hawks $ 25,000 per game in violation of his ruling. Atlanta appealed Kennedy's decision to the league owners, who also supported the Bucks’ position. While waiting for the owners’ decision, Erving played in one more preseason game, earning

5360-557: Was a backup. This led to his first solo album, Inner City Blues . He was talented and displayed heart and soul with soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Refreshing for his time, he made headway into the jazz mainstream. While his first three albums established him as a force in jazz and soul music, it was his fourth album in 1974, Mister Magic , that proved a major commercial success. The album climbed to number 1 on Billboard's R&B album chart and number 10 on Billboard's Top 40 album chart. The title track reached No. 16 on

5440-503: Was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, respectively. Many consider him one of the most talented players in the history of the NBA; he is widely acknowledged as one of the game's best dunkers. While Connie Hawkins , "Jumping" Johnny Green , Elgin Baylor , Jim Pollard and Gus Johnson performed spectacular dunks before Erving's time, Erving brought

5520-507: Was already behind the hoop. This move, along with his free-throw line dunk, has become one of the signature events of his career. It was called by Sports Illustrated , "The, No Way, even for Dr. J, Flying Reverse Lay-up". Dr. J called it "just another move". Another of Erving's most memorable plays came in the final moments of a regular-season game against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1983. After Sixers point guard Maurice Cheeks deflected

5600-479: Was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In the post- Winelight era, Washington is credited for giving rise to a new batch of talent that would make its mark in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is known for bringing Kenny G to the forefront, as well as artists such as Kirk Whalum , Walter Beasley , Steve Cole , Pamela Williams , Najee , Boney James and George Howard . His song "Mister Magic"

5680-649: Was an accomplished Gospel Music organist who mastered the Hammond B3 organ. He was part of a vocal ensemble, The Teen Kings, which included Lonnie Smith . Washington left Buffalo and played with a Midwest group called the Four Clefs and then the Mark III Trio from Mansfield, Ohio. Shortly thereafter, he was drafted into the U.S. Army , where he met drummer Billy Cobham . A music mainstay in New York City, Cobham introduced Washington to many New York musicians. After leaving

5760-616: Was attended by former teammates, coaches, family and current players of the UMass men's and women's basketball teams. The Dr. J mural is located on the corner of Green Street and Ridge Avenue near Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, PA. From Mural Arts Philadelphia: "Feeling restless and desperate to improve the quality and variety of the murals, Jane [Golden] made a decision in 1990 that would forever change Mural Arts Philadelphia. She raised money from private foundation to bring her old friend and mentor Kent Twitchell to Philadelphia. She wanted

5840-674: Was born in Buffalo, New York , on December 12, 1943. His mother was a church chorister , and his father was a collector of old jazz gramophone records and a saxophonist as well, so music was everywhere in the home. He grew up listening to the great jazzmen and big band leaders like Benny Goodman , Fletcher Henderson , and others like them. At the age of 8, Grover Sr. gave Jr. a saxophone. He practiced and would sneak into clubs to see famous Buffalo blues musicians. His younger brother, drummer Daryl Washington, would follow in his footsteps. He also had another younger brother named Michael Washington, who

5920-531: Was born in 2005. They married in 2008 and moved from St. George, Utah to Buckhead, Atlanta in Georgia in 2009 while managing their Atlanta golf and country club. On September 10, 2021, Erving attended an unveiling ceremony at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for statues honoring himself and fellow UMass alumni and Basketball Hall of Fame members John Calipari , Marcus Camby and Jack Leaman . The ceremony

6000-452: Was first called "Dr. J" by his friend and future teammate on the Nets and Squires, Willie Sojourner . Erving enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1968. In two varsity college basketball seasons, he averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, becoming one of only six players to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game in NCAA Men's Basketball . In 1968,

6080-610: Was first coined to describe his moves. In 1980, Erving was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team . In 1993, Erving was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame . In 1994, Erving was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the 40 most important athletes of all time. In 2004, he was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame. In both 1996 and 2021, Erving

6160-720: Was inducted into the newly established, Atlantic City Walk Of Fame presented by, The National R&B Music Society Inc. Washington's daughter Shana Washington, was in attendance to accept the honor. Jazz and R&B artist Jean Carn inducted Washington. James Brown , The Delfonics and Little Anthony & The Imperials were also inducted in the inaugural class. With Eddie Henderson With Boogaloo Joe Jones With Johnny "Hammond" Smith With Leon Spencer With others Jazz-funk Jazz-funk exhibits several distinctive characteristics. A first characteristic of jazz funk has simple structure based around one or two riffs, and second characteristic of jazz funk has

6240-517: Was just between us...we were buddies, we had our nicknames and we would roll with the nicknames. ... And that's where it came from." Erving recalled that "later on, in the Rucker Park league in Harlem, when people started calling me 'Black Moses' and 'Houdini', I told them if they wanted to call me anything, call me 'Doctor'". Over time, the nickname evolved into "Dr. Julius" and finally "Dr. J." Erving

6320-590: Was ranked by ESPN as one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. In 1991 he performed the narration in a performance of Copland's Lincoln Portrait with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Riccardo Muti in a concert to honor the 62nd birthday of the late Martin Luther King Jr. The concert was broadcast and is available on YouTube . Erving made a cameo appearance in the 1993 movie Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington and in

6400-546: Was taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital , where he was pronounced dead at about 7:30 pm. His doctors determined that he had suffered a massive heart attack . He is interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania . A large mural of Washington, part of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program , is just south of the intersection of Broad and Diamond streets. A Philadelphia middle school in

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