Dr. J’s postgame interview after his iconic ‘Rock the Baby’ cradle dunk

Julius “Dr. J” Erving helped the dunk evolve from a play in basketball to performance art. Among his many masterpieces was the “Rock the Baby” cradle dunk that was born on an NBA stage at the Spectrum in Philadelphia on January 5, 1983.

Erving and his 76ers were in the midst of finalizing a 122-120 victory over Magic Johnson and the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. That’s when the good doctor got a hand in the passing lane and made history.

While cradling the basketball and rocking it back-and-forth in his arm as he took flight down the left sideline, Erving set the building on fire with a ferocious finish that lives forever. He’d step off the court victorious with 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting while also adding five assists and five rebounds before meeting Keith Erickson on the Lakers television network to talk about it.

JULIUS ERVING POSTGAME INTERVIEW | 76ERS vs LAKERS JANUARY 5, 1983

“Julius, that last dunk that you had, what goes through your mind when you’re flying to the basket on a play like that?” Los Angeles Lakers TV broadcaster and former basketball star, Keith Erickson, asked Julius “Dr. J” Erving.

“Well, just concentrating on the hole and trying to get to the basket,” Erving replied.

“Sometimes I have the tendency to pick up my dribble out on the floor a little farther than I should, trying to get a higher percentage shot.

“I just gotta hope that I stay up there long enough to reach the hoop and slam it down. And hope that somebody doesn’t run under me so that I have an accident.

“So I think, going airborne, and then wanting to be in control so that after you make your play you can have a safe landing.”

“On that shot, do you think about trying to excite the crowd, and really get them fired up, knowing there are just seconds to go in the game?” Erickson inquired, referencing Dr. J’s cradle dunk.

“No, I’m only thinking about the results,” Dr. J said. “I don’t worry about the effect of any shot that I take.

“One thing that happened to me once I got out of college and got into the pros–when I was in college nobody could slam dunk.

“I had a whole lot of dunks saved up. I think I still have a few of them saved up.”

DUNKS SAVED UP

Erving credits a high school friend named Leon Saunders for being the first person to ever call him “Doctor” according to an Ebony Magazine article in March of 1975. Julius called Leon “The Professor” when they were kids. Leon called Julius “The Doctor.” It was a name that he would live up to throughout his career while breathing new life into the game with his creativity and high-flying finishes.

As the Roosevelt High hoops prodigy first rose to prominence in New York City, the crowds gathered at Rucker Park glossed Julius with the nickname, “Black Moses.” But Erving would insist that if you were going to call him anything other than his real name, call him “The Doctor.” Eventually, that name and his legend would spread from the playgrounds in NYC to the pages of Encyclopedia Britannica.

In 1968, Dr. J took up residency at the University of Massachusetts. During two seasons of college basketball, he averaged 26.2 points and 20.2 rebounds while establishing himself as one of the biggest stars in the country. He would leave school early to pursue a professional career but not be eligible for the NBA Draft until 1972.

Although Erving would become an NBA all-time great, he opened his practice in the ABA with the Virginia Squires. According to longtime sportswriter and author, Terry Pluto, Julius established himself as “the greatest player in ABA history” before entering the National Basketball Association.

As a member of the Nets and Sixers, Dr. J led his teams to the NBA Playoffs in each of his 11 seasons in the league. During the same year that he rocked the baby to sleep with his magical cradle dunk, Erving would also go as far as winning the NBA title.

Those Finals in ’83 featured Julius and Moses Malone leading the 76ers to a four-game sweep of the same Lakers team they beat with Erving’s iconic dunk earlier that year. Philly won a decisive Game 3 by 17 before finishing off L.A. in Game 4 to secure the ring.

But even as the trumpets blared, horns honked, and championship celebration roared down the streets of Philadelphia, the baby would remain in its cradle and continue to sleep while dreaming of the dunks he still had saved up.

Written By Brendan Bowers | @BowersCLE

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