Julius Erving Quotes

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

"If you do things with a certain type of result and cause a certain type of reaction or effect, then you increase your market value. It's very much a competition for the entertainment dollar, and that's never been more clearly evident than in today's NBA game."

"Being a typical Pisces, I might have experienced mood shifts, but I don't remember any depression, or needing to do anything, or to have someone bring me out of being depressed."

"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."

"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."

"I am very proud to be featured, especially when you consider the outstanding champions who have had this honor. It is great company to be in."

"I pulled the plug on it at a time that I thought was right for me to exit."

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

"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."

"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."

"And I continued to grow until I was 25 years old."

"I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity."

"I had to spend countless hours, above and beyond the basic time, to try and perfect the fundamentals."

"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."

"When handling the ball, I always would look for daylight, wherever there was daylight."

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical."