Julius Erving Quotes & Sayings

I've always tried to tell myself that the work itself is the thing, that win, lose, or draw, the work is really what counts. — Julius Erving

I didn't want to become a reserve player, or a bench player, and it was time to move on and take on another challenge. — 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 had to spend countless hours, above and beyond the basic time, to try and perfect the fundamentals. — Julius Erving

But you know, if you live an affluent lifestyle, there are all types of trappings that are there that you have to be cognizant of, and you've got to try and communicate freely and gain understanding about and then keep moving on, because you know, sometimes lifestyles are chosen for us as opposed to us choosing them. — Julius Erving

When I played, the owners had the power. The prisoners are running the prison now, not the warden. The warden is strong and he has say so but, the balance of power is definitely with the players. — Julius Erving

If you get depressed about being the second-best team in the world, then you've got a problem. — Julius Erving

There's the typical books, Moby Dick and, I guess in my adult life I began to read biographies more than fiction. I started to want to relate to other people's lives, things that had really happened. — Julius Erving

As a kid, I played a lot of one-on-none. — Julius Erving

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. — Julius Erving

If you're not doing what is best for your body, you are the one who lose. — 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

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. — Julius Erving

Goals determine what your going to be — Julius Erving

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. — 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

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

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

I demand more from myself than anybody could ever expect. — 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

The biggest thing that I felt basketball could do for me was help me get a good education. — Julius Erving

The ones who become stars or superstars are the ones who have a head on their shoulders and know how to use it. — Julius Erving

I demand more of myself than anyone else could ever expect. — Julius Erving

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

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

LA Clippers should come to Louisville — 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

To be an innovator, you can't be worried about making mistakes. — 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

The first professional game that I ever played remains, to me, the most exciting moment of my professional career. — 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

They are taking steps, but they are baby steps. — 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

My mom is one of 14 children. She's a great lady. She's a Taurus. Has been a profound influence in my life, still is to this day. Born in meager surroundings in rural South Carolina. — Julius Erving

With the crowds on your side, it's easier to play up to your potential. — Julius Erving

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

One of the commitments that I personally have now is to a diverse approach to buying businesses, and the operation of those businesses. — 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

Goals determine what you are going to be — 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

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

Because of the makeup of the NBA, it cannot afford for the public to turn on them. — Julius Erving

Goals determine what you're going to be. — Julius Erving

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

It's better to stay too long than to leave too soon. — Julius Erving

When handling the ball, I always would look for daylight, wherever there was daylight. — Julius Erving

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

If you've experienced having control, you don't want to be moved to a subordinate position, if you have your druthers. — Julius Erving

I think that my God-given physical attributes, big hands, and big feet, the way that I'm built, proportion-wise, just made basketball the most inviting sport for me to play. — Julius Erving

Every team that I've played on, I've either been the captain or co-captain. — Julius Erving

Attitude is altitude. — Julius Erving

I always try to keep a pretty conservative demeanor on the court. — Julius Erving

I started playing professional basketball in 1971, and I played professionally for five seasons before going to Philadelphia. — 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

I wanted to undertake the challenge of daring to be great. — 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

So much of becoming a good athlete involves bringing other things to the table, other than physical skills. It involves intelligence, it involves many of the things that you learn during the process of being educated. How to analyze, how to assess, how to equate, how to reason. — Julius Erving

And I continued to grow until I was 25 years old. — Julius Erving

When the crowd appreciates you, it encourages you to be a little more daring, I think. — Julius Erving

I live my life trying to never appear to be a small man. — Julius Erving

I keep both eyes on my man. The basket hasn't moved on me yet. — 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

I think I was chosen by basketball, although I never really physically got drafted to any team that I played for. — Julius Erving

You can feel the vibes, feel the people pulling for you. — Julius Erving