Forty-six years ago today, Julius Erving briefly turned the NBA Finals into a magic show.
On May 11, 1980, in Game 4 between the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers, Erving drove baseline from the right side, slipped past Mark Landsberger, met Kareem Abdul-Jabbar near the rim, then kept flying. Instead of forcing the shot, Dr. J drifted behind the backboard, carried the ball to the other side of the basket, wrapped his right arm around the impossible angle and scooped in one of the most famous layups in basketball history.
The Sixers won the game 105-102 to tie the series 2-2.
It was not just a basket. It was a violation of normal human scheduling. Erving appeared to stay in the air long enough for defenders to react, reconsider, regret, and still arrive late. Kareem, the greatest shot blocker on the floor, did what he was supposed to do. He protected the rim. The problem was that Dr. J temporarily moved the rim.
Magic Johnson, then a rookie trying to win his first championship, later summed it up perfectly: his mouth dropped open, and he wondered whether the Lakers should take the ball out or ask Erving to do it again. He also called it the greatest move he had ever seen in a game.
The Lakers still won the series in six games, with Magic authoring his own legend in Game 6. But that single Erving layup survived the loss, the series, and the decades. It remains one of those rare plays that does not need a scoreboard to matter.
Some highlights age. This one levitates.
