Quotes by Julius Erving

About Julius Erving:

Julius Winfield Erving II is a retired American basketball player who helped popularize a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and playing above the rim. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA) and was the best-known player in that league when it merged with the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–76 season.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

And from the first time I picked up a basketball at age eight - I had a lot of difficulty when I first picked up a basketball, because I was a scrub - there were things that I liked about it.

Julius Erving

Right up until the time I retired at age 37, I felt like there were still things that I could do better.

Julius Erving

In 1981, at age 31, I was voted the best player in basketball, and the most valuable player in the league.

Julius Erving

If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end.

Julius Erving

One of the things in the back of my mind is that, after my sports experience, I never want to be, totally consumed by any one endeavor, other than my family life.

Julius Erving

When I went to Philadelphia I was 26 years old and really sitting on top of the world. Family life, a professional career, plenty of friends and associates, and a good reputation, a wish list that could be the envy of many.

Julius Erving

But you know, we have a very normal family. We've had our ups and downs. You know, we've had our issues, but we've had great cause for celebration.

Julius Erving

You know, just in terms of having to have a life on the road, you know, having the celebrity aspect be a burden for my family, friends and extended family.

Julius Erving

My role models in the business were the older guys on my team when I first got there: Gray Scott, Adrian Smith, Roland Taylor. These were the guys who took me under their wing, and really schooled me in terms of what the business was about.

Julius Erving

When I get a chance to power jump off both legs, I can lean, twist, change directions and decide whether to dunk the ball or pass it to an open man. In other words, I may be committed to the air, but I still have some control over it.

Julius Erving

One of the most predictable things in life is there will be change. You are better off if you can have a say in the change. But you are ignorant or naive if you don't think there will be change, whether you want it to or not.

Julius Erving

I came from a broken home, so my mom was a major influence in my life.

Julius Erving

To be great we need to win games we aren't supposed to win.

Julius Erving

I think I started learning lessons about being a good person long before I ever knew what basketball was. And that starts in the home, it starts with the parental influence.

Julius Erving

Teachers are sort of faced with a thankless task, because no matter how good they are, unless they find a way to personally rationalize the rewards of their effort, nobody else is really going to do it for them en masse.

Julius Erving

That was just my own personal program: I didn't want to get too high over the good moments because I didn't want to be saddened and depressed when things didn't go as I had planned.

Julius Erving

I grabbed 19 rebounds in my first professional game, and somehow found a way to score 20 points. I felt real good about it. I felt that this was the beginning of something good.

Julius Erving

You know, we always tried to rationalize by saying you take the good, you take the upside, you got to deal with the downside, you've to take the downside.

Julius Erving

In a lot of areas of my life, particularly in my teenage years, I began to think about the world, and to think about the universe as being a part of my conscious everyday life.

Julius Erving

I liked the game, I enjoyed the game, and the game fed me enough, and gave me enough rewards to reinforce that this is something that I should spend time doing, and that I could possibly make a priority in my life, versus other sports.

Julius Erving

Author Bio

  • NameJulius Erving
  • DescriptionAmerican basketball player
  • BornFebruary 22, 1950
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionBasketball Player
  • AwardsNBA Most Valuable Player Award