The Top Blockbuster Sport Trades

Nets Trade Dr. J to Philly

The Deal: Julius “Dr. J” Erving led the Nets to their first ABA title in 1973-74 and second during the final season of the ABA in ’76. Although the Nets soared with Erving, he never played a game for the franchise in New Jersey. On October 20, 1976, the Nets owner Roy Boe traded Dr. J to the Philadelphia 76ers for $3 million. After completing the deal, Sixers owner F. Eugene Dixon, who also gave Erving a $3 million raise, called Doc “the Babe Ruth of Basketball.”

Impact: Dr. J took the Sixers to the NBA Finals four times and won a championship in 1983. An 11-time NBA All-Star, Erving was the NBA’s MVP in 1981 and one of the most exciting players the game has ever seen. Rod Thorn, the Nets’ former president, lamented to NJ.com that, “Had the Nets been able to retain Julius when they went to Jersey, they would have had a good team off the bat…Undoubtedly, the history of the Nets would have been different.”