Philadelphia 76ers: 15 greatest NBA playoff moments

4. Dr. J gets saucy in 1980 playoffs

To no one’s surprise, Julius Erving gets another spot on the list. Before winning the title in 1983, Erving and the Sixers made multiple appearances, including 1980. It was against the Los Angeles Lakers, one of several memorable meetings between the two historic franchises.

The series ended in six after Magic Johnson, then just a rookie, played all five positions and dropped 42 points in the series-clinching game. It was a brutal loss for the Sixers, especially after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s ankle injury in Game 5. Before the defeat, however, Erving put his athleticism on full display.

In Game 4, Erving drove baseline against the Lakers’ stout defensive front. Rather than taking a pull-up jumper or forcing a contest shot, he got crafty, breaking out one of the most famous lay-ups in NBA history.

Erving took off on the right-hand side of the basket, even stretching his right arm towards the backboard. He then brought the ball back down, instead wrapping it around Mark Landsberger and Kareem before finishing on the left-hand side — all in one fluid leap.

Now touted as one of the greatest players in franchise history, this was arguably Erving’s most memorable move — right there with his ‘rock the cradle’ dunk in 1983, also against the Lakers. The Sixers were competitive for years leading up to their 1983 title run, and Erving was the main reason for that.

We’ve come to take athletic dunkers for granted, but Erving was an O.G. He was one of the first to bring high-flying acrobatics to the mainstream, wowing crowds with both his skill and his flash. Not many players in 2019 could pull off that move, much less those in 1980.