NBA Greatest Duels: Magic Johnson (23/12/20) vs Julius Erving (''Rock the Baby'' Dunk) (1983)
This one is a regular season classic. 23-year-old Magic Johnson going against the ''fo-fo-fo'' Philadelphia 76ers team with Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones. This game was a rematch of the 1982 NBA finals and preview of 1983 NBA finals. Lakers played without their ''captain'' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Two legends stole a show in this one.
Magic Johnson: 23 points, 12 rebounds, 20 assists, amazing triple-double.
Julius Erving: 28 points, 8 rebounds, ''Rock the Baby'' slam dunk at the end, one of the greatest in-game dunks ever.
Jamal Wilkes scored 36 points for LA on 17/24 FG, rookie James Worthy showing his unreal athleticism, Andrew Toney hitting shots from everywhere, Moses Malone with regular 21/15 game, Bobby Jones with a chasedown block. Great highlights from a great era of NBA basketball. Alongside Boston Celtics, this two teams were NBA elite at that time.
All that mixed with legendary Laker broadcaster Chick Hearn, one of the greatest play-by-play announcers of all time.
Sixers won the game 122:120 in OT.
www.basketball-reference.com/b...
That left-handed shot by Doctor J was awesome.
I remember it like it was yesterday that was one of the greatest dunks in the history of the NBA Julius. The Dr Erving
Today’s players could learn a lot from the Doctors dunk at the end. He didn’t thump his chest...stare down his opponent...run up on the press desk and shout to the crowd...he just ran back down the court. Like a man.
Fuck that staring down opponents is fun and entertaining
@@irlshinigami4390 Because you’re 7 years old
No your just old and probably white
@@keeosama You’re (yes its you’re, not your) probably a stupid young wannabe rapper who won’t make it to 30 years old
12:30 One of the most iconic plays of all time. The whole game isxa thing of beauty-fundamentals plus the show, from both sides. Take advantage of watching the old clips-they show you how it's supposed to be done. No 5-steps with the ball; no showboating on each basket scored; no bench jumping up after every basket; etc. You just come in and do your job.
Hey man you couldn't have said it any better. Well put my man... Well articulated!
What's wrong with teammates jumping up and cheering after every basket?
I was watching this game , 12 years old, and a huge Dr. J fan. When he stole that ball and rocked the cradle and dunked on Cooper was so exhilarating!
Doc Stop Dribbling at the 3Pt Line!!! And Flew thru the Air like a Soaring Eagle!!! The Greatest and Greatest Dunk Ever!!!
i had to wait thru the entire game just to see Dr. J's awesome dunk, & i am glad i did. Kick-ass game. Magic & the Doctor were amazing.
One of the greatest slam dunks in NBA history and no hype afterwards 👏
Man these matchups back then were magical. Nothing compares to this today.
Yea todays NBA just doesn’t have that magical feel to it anymore. If feels so empty now. I don’t know who anyone is, there’s no backstories, there’s no real rivalries. It just feels like a league full of teenagers who don’t care about the game, they just want the check. Shit sucks now
Today’s matchups are waaaaay better😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@oneday5572yeah lebron, Jokoc, Wemby, Luka don’t care about the game at all What a retarded statement
I always laugh when people say Magic Johnson had no offensive game. He's one of the most underrated post players ever, developed into a 23 ppg scorer by the time 1987 rolled around, and even developed a 3-point shot by 1989. Critics argue he couldn't shoot, however Magic ALWAYS had the 15-18 foot shot in his arsenal. AND he can hit free-throws.
Yeah, that was hogwash. Magic is a career 52% field goal shooter. The best of any guard in the Hall of Fame!
Straw man argument. Nobody really said Magic couldn't score after the mid-80s.
Magic did not have to be a big time scorer because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still getting the job done.
Magic was a WAY better LeBron lol He was the best PG in history no question, could play every position.
Magic was always an offensive weapon. His fast breaks created many points, his unreal passes and team play made average players appear great; and his ball handling skills at 6'9', super layups, baby hooks, 20ft shots, post ups, clutches, and hocus pocus moves all made him the face of the NBA in the 80s. It was Magic who made me love basketball.......no other player.
Smartest defensive play Michael Cooper ever made was getting the hell outta the way on that rock the cradle dunk by the Doctor
.. Lmao!!!
Right and Cooper was lethal blocking dunks and layups from behind.
@M Thanks for the non sequitur! As a tribute to your soccer comment, I'd like to add that Cheerios is the number one breakfast cereal in the world! Cheerios are even more popular than Frosted Flakes (they're grrrreat!) and Lucky Charms (they're magically delicious!). Also, by the year 2070 A.D., nobody will care about that either. smh
@M soccer sucks,
Magic Johnson... my all time favorite player.
The best poster dunk of all time!
Classic 80"s basketball. I skipped school back in 8th grade and took the south jersey speedline into philly for the parade with some of my classmates. GREAT MEMORIES!!!!
🙌🙌🙌🙌
Two of my favorite players The Magic Man and the Dr.
At 12:49 you see the crowd rise to their feet because they know something spectacular is about to happen
YES! That's my favorite part, seeing the crowd rise row by row!!
The Golden Years of basketball. I'm a Sixers fan so i never heard Chck Hearn before. You are right he was one of the greatest play-by-play announcers I've ever heard! I never heard anybody do a play-by-play that good.
Look for the late Bill King doing Warriors games on radio. He was incredible, too! He and Hearn were from the same area in Illinois.
@@markgaston4416 This Bill King? kzhead.info/sun/m816qpimZ3aMrHA/bejne.htmlsi=VNEaYy961KEmbnmo
People forget how hot Andrew Tony was this year
Not gonna lie this is more fun to watch than the current nba
Better basketball, I always pull for my Nuggets & love live games but can hardly even sit thru a whole game these days. Go Nuggs, let's get some jewelry up in here
Dr.J is the template..a true artist and visionary.
beautiful rock the baby cradle dunk...damn....not even jordan has that in his game
@Pastor of Muppets ...Not like this one. Doc's hands were extremely larger than Air Jordan. Twelve inches from the wrists.
@Pastor of Muppets Not like that one- ever.
@MANCHESTER UNITED F.C your post is irrelevant. Begone!
Finally sweetie someone who knows the truth and not afraid to tell it ❤
Man the Lakers vs. the Sixers in a packed Spectrum.....that had to be an incredible night. I wish I wasn't 2 years old then I could have seen this or even just been old enough to watch it live on TV.
Chick Hearn has to be the most entertaining broadcaster of all time! "Landsberger has a new haircut, he looks good" 😅😂🤣
9:57 that Cooper pass to worthy!! and the facial!! what a play
“MY #1 FAVORITE DUNK EVER🏀!”
Julius had 35k Points total with his ABA and NBA Career put together
Alot of people don't know that
Check out Dan Issel, about the same for him they both surpass Kareem.,,, Unfortunately part of the NBA ABA merger was the ABA records were wiped clean and not included in NBA stats.
Magic, Jordan, Bird, Erving, Kareem. That's My Five.
You would have to doctor J at small forward and bird at the power forward
@@geestack9002 Not in his prime .
mine too!
Great starting five
Oh I so agree,,That would be outstanding
The thing is Doc was old and past his prime at this time. Every player on the floor admired and was influenced by Doc, including Magic in his prime.
Profound truth💯💯💯🎯
@@kingstonban Yes sir it is!!!
I saw this game, which was televised on January 5th, 1983 on KHJ-TV, Channel 9, in Los Angeles. I was living in Pasadena, California at the time.
glad i watched this. its crazy when people say the players today are better than the guys back then. Most of those guys in this video would be very high players in todays game.
dlawson688 you're kinding right? In what way would Bobby Jones be a high caliber player? He'd be competing with Blake Griffin and Anthony Davis. I couldn't even imagine him going up against 7'3 Porzingod.
dlawson688 Oh God. Be quiet. That is so not true.
athletes are way more advanced physically now bro, humans period
Jeremy Wabakee They just don't get it. How are players from 30 years ago better than now? That shit is crazy talk to me
George Ybarra Today's athletes are better. You're probably under 30 talking about this old shit
As a longtime sixers fan, the drs dunks bring me tears of joy
This is real basketball. Watching this tape reminds me on why if I could ever start my all time nba team, Magic would be my first or second all time pick. Magic could do anything, and everything. Kareem, Magic, Bird, Mchale, and of course Michael.
Dr J and Magic superplayers!!!!!!
"Best Dunk Everrrrrrr"!!!!
4:38 what a shot
seems a butterfly....I love Doc J
Nice post move by Magic
You've got Jordan and Dr. J greatest athletes ever in basketball simply incredible
He's got a brand new short style haircut he looks good 2.43
This is real basketball
Man..I wish the NBA was this physical now..
Chick Hearn, the best!
When NBA was something for real men, there was more talent in these 2 teams than in all the NBA today
Stupid comment
That's not a stupid comment he's absolutely right 💯
@@brianburton5946 you are a stupid
You have all-time greats on these two teams, but the game of basketball has evolved and the players today are better than the players whom played the game 40 years ago. EVOLUTION!!!!
@@jameswilliams2085 unfortunately has CONVOLUTED ...
Watched the entire series. Never forget that rock the baby dunk towards the end of a great game. Watching at home with friends drinking Pabst blue ribbon in returnable bottles. The series was swept in 4 but every game was awesome.
At least you got a rebate on the series.
this was a regular season game. worthy was injured during the finals and didn't play.
@@toddb1206 And that’s why Bobby Jones destroyed the Lakers in the Finals. Worthy’s absence.
I know it's just a "highlights" clip, but it reminds me of why I think Dr J was just as great as Larry Bird, and maybe even better. Everyone ALWAYS has Larry Bird in their all-time starting 5, but I'd be inclined to go with "The Doc" myself over him.
larry txeast part of that is Bird and Boston beating down an older J, and people forgetting that Julius started pro ball 8 full years before Bird. When I was a kid, that's the Julius I saw, the one 10 years into things fighting off the young lions. Another part of it is the failures against GREAT teams in the Finals, and then finally breaking thru with Moses Malone leading the way, and winning the MVP. But if you watch enough of these old games, you realize Julius wasn't just 'pretty' and flashy, but a well-rounded player, not unlike Bird, great at rebounding, passing, and a great competitor, but a better defensive player than Bird. People do that age thing with Kareem too, Kareem is not that good, not tough, slow, no stamina...all the while forgetting the monster with the Bucks the same way people forget those two Erving ABA titles...I'd take Bird over J, but it's very close. Bird was just such a better shooter, it's hard to ignore. I have all the respect in the world for Dr J tho. Luv'em
PorkFrog Bird was one of the greatest playmaking forwards of all time too and he was clutch. His defensive skills were also underrated in my opinion. He wasn't a great on-ball defender because he wasn't very quick. But he was a good post defender and good team defender, picking up on switches and things like that. But when the game, or the series is on the line, the chips are down and time is running out, there's no one I'd rather have with the ball than the hick from French Lick.
madcapper6 Bird's only real vunerability defensively was he could be beaten off the dribble, but yeah, he was far from a liability on defense, and his foot speed and leaping ability pre-serious injury was at least average. At 6'9" he got a lot of blocks and is on the all-time list steals-wise. Simply one of if not the most well-rounded players of all-time These myths about 'unathletic-slow ass-rooted to the floor' Larry Bird are easily dispelled if people would just watch the games. I watched the games back then, but hated Boston and preferred he Lakers, who I had watched pre-Magic when the games were tape delayed and everybody wore the same off the shelf shoes. I watch them now, as they are right here on youtube, but you know how it is, repetition becomes fact to people there's a clip of Bird against Jordan in the 63 pt game that is played over and over, and in it, you see Bird isn't really all that slow of foot and forces Micheal to take the harder shot, which MJ cans, of course. 75% of the time, Jordan just blows by a guy in that situation or forces him to foul. Bird was actually considered a good defender in his early years and prime. If he was really as bad as all that, he would get exposed constantly and lit up constantly. When I watch those old games[today I watched a newer one, Game 1 from Shaq's first title] I've never heard an announcer say 'Bird is getting lit up' Bird cannot stay with his man', etc I was mostly defending J, who I never really watched as a semi-knowledable fan[not quite that old] and wanted to say after studying his game, that he was a very great and well-rounded player who did nearly everything well. Great shot blocker and rebounder for a 6'6 or 7 guy Bird is my favorite player, now that I watch him without the hate Jordan>BIrd>Julius>LeBron...LeBron, like Julius, has trouble with the outside shot, it's why I take Bird. LeBron, Bird said, is 'the most like me'...except for that outside shot. But you can't go wrong with any of those guys I put Julius over LeBron sort of arbitrarily...I mean c'mon, it's Dr J...the coolest player of all-time :-)
larry txeast he n Doc were the best.
larry txeast I say Doc had the better career n I loved Bird and was a better defender than Bird. They were equals n bird generally had the better team except for this year
I was at this game. What a night!
Hey, the "Rock the Baby" dunk wasn't just an in game dunk. It was a 4th quarter in a tight game, in game, dunk!
When NBA was something for real men .......
Greatest era in NBA history.
Loved Chick Hearn! Miss his simulcast games. Always knew how to tell the story.
That dunk!
awesome. and that dunk by Dr J. he will always be my favourite player.
Remember this game 82 83 season.
Bee Danger I watched it
this is real basketball
David Gomez What is "real basketball"?
Remember: 20 assists really translates into 40 points. So Magic basically provided the Lakers with 63 points (because he had 23 points).
Everyone knows of Jordan’s final game as a Bull in the 98 finals when he scored 45 of the team’s 87 points with Pippen dealing with back pains as one of the greatest carry jobs in NBA history. Including his 1 assist he accounted for 54% of his team’s points in that game 6 against Utah who were an average Defensive team that year. However in Magics last finals game before he was forced to retire due to HIV. He had a 20 assist triple double with both his top 2 scoring options in James Worthy and Byron Scott completely out due to injury. In that game 5 Magic accounted for 56% of his team’s 101 points against an Elite Bulls Defense with Prime Jordan and Pippen on the Perimeter. He was still at his peak! And performance like this where Magics points and assists accounted for more than Half of his teams offense were a lot more common place for him than they were MJ or any other great Offensive player. There were several games in Magics career where he managed to account for 50%+ of his team’s points while not even scoring double digit points himself. In his loss against the Suns the year prior in the 2nd round of the 90 playoffs he accounted for 52% of his teams points that series averaging 30PPG 12APG 6RPG on 50% FG and 90% FT shooting. With him scoring 43 points back to back and accounting for 62% of his team’s points in the final 2 games. When Magic wanted to score he could score. It’s just that it was never his role to score to the point where it was usually a bad sign when he needed to. In terms of just points and assists nobody accounted for more of his team’s offense than Magic did in NBA history.
@@bananaman5668 And it was not just the results of his efforts that were so incredible, but he did it with such showmanship. Meaning, he was just so gosh-darn fun to watch. His insane no-look passes you can find on KZhead I could watch for hours. You sit there and are like, "How on earth did he just do that?!" Magic is easily ONE OF the greatest to have ever played the game.
@@Jim_L IMO he’s the Greatest. He helped save the NBA, Revolutionized the actual game of basketball as much as anyone in history with what he did for position-less players, and shaped the entire decade of the 80s into a fast paced fast-break era. It was his facilitation and play style that made Showtime possible and he was the engine/catalyst for what was probably the greatest stretch of winning in NBA history winning 75% of his games (60+ win pace) and making the finals 9/11 seasons he was healthy. And this was all during what was probably the greatest era in terms of star power the league has ever seen while it was still a physical game. If he never got HIV there’s no doubt he could’ve stolen 1 or 2 rings from MJ and would’ve had yet another great rivalry with another NBA legend in the eastern Conference (Dr J, Bird, Isiah, and MJ) that resume of Rivals getting a ring over would be unmatched if it isn’t already. And if he played long enough after that he may have even been able to play the Kareem role to Shaq and Kobe by the late 90s. There was just so much more winning he could’ve done it’s insane to think about. Sure MJ may have 3peated twice. But it wasn’t as if Magics Lakers weren’t ever good enough to 3peat. He got injured in 81 in between 80 and 82 where he won his first 2 finals MVPs. And after back to back in 87-88 he tore his hamstring in the 89 finals which resulted in his team getting swept by the Pistons. “Tragic Johnson” is pretty much the only blemish on his resume but it gets way overblown when it comes to All Time Superstar choke jobs. As those were only for individual moments at the end of games 2 and 4 of a 7 game series against a great Boston team that was favored to win beforehand where he still put up his usual great numbers. If guys like Lebron can still be solidly in the GOAT convo after 2011 and guys like Curry can still be in the PG GOAT convo after 2016 then by all means 1984 shouldn’t be holding Magic back at all. Further more the true reason why I think Magic was the true GOAT was because of what he represented as a player and how his style of play pairs up against the other greats. He may not have been the greatest player individually in terms of his skill set. But as a team player nobody comes close. Nobody made his team and his teammates better than Magic and when you’re choosing a player for a team sport like basketball that’s the best type of player you can ask for. Bird was a Basketball Genius who can do everything and fit anywhere with physicality and clutcness that can rival anyone. Lebron is a physical specimen that has the ability to take over and carry his entire team. Jordan and Kobe were guys that were so unstoppable and so much the best 2 way players that their sheer individual impact elevated their teams. However all of their play styles just like all the other greats have the same inherent weaknesses. Which is that If you’re somehow able to slow them down or if they themselves falter in anyway then the stability of their team crumbles. Meanwhile you can slow down or even stop Magic all you want but because his game is much more directly integrated with the entirety of his team. The only true way to beat Magic is to slow down his entire team or for his team to falter on their own first. Unlike other greats who elevate their team thru their sheer individual prowess. Magic doesn’t technically “elevate” his team with his individual play but instead he simply maximizes each and every one of his teammates potential thru his sheer playmaking. When it comes to the essence of what a Play-er is making Plays is what it’s all about. Magic might not be a great defender. But his unique and one of a kind impact on his offense as a whole makes up for it. Even the best Defensive teams could never truly beat Showtime thru Defense. Teams would always have to try and beat them at their own game and out score them because of the way they played offense and sucked everyone else into their own fast pace. Which is why it never actually mattered if Magic was a great defender because positionally not only is Defense historically far less important for 1s than it is for 2s, 3s, and especially 4s and 5s but the Showtime Lakers were never actually winning in general because of their Defenses. It was their transcendently great Offenses that really drove them. And it had been like that since the very beginning of Magics career. Imagine stepping in for a consensus top 5 player ever at a completely different position who was literally MVP that year averaging 33PPG+ 13RPG+ that series in a critical game 6 of the finals and then going on to have one of the greatest finals performances of all time as a 20 year old rookie? I’m not sure if ANY other player EVER could’ve actually done something like that in those same circumstances. The fact that he’s been left out in the GOAT convo so much is both a testament to how underrated he’s become and just how little he cared about grabbing all the credit for himself. Because he could’ve easily averaged 30 if he wanted to but just preferred to spread the wealth. When it comes to getting to the basket in the open court there isn’t anyone who was more unstoppable than Magic. If you watch any of his games he could’ve made practically all of those buckets when driving in close and yet his teammates still don’t even nearly always make every shot off the passes he makes like the highlights might imply. Despite his great stats his impact is something that goes far beyond what the stat sheet implies and I can confidently say that despite only playing 12 years there is probably nobody in NBA history has ever created more open looks for his teammates even in totality than Magic. 🐐
@@bananaman5668 If this were a courtroom, and you were a lawyer, you just made one heck of a good case on behalf of your client. 😃👍
Unbelievable Dunk By Dr J
The greatest dunk/move/player of all times.💖🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥☺️
merci merci merci de partager ces vidéos car malgré je suis née en 1983 j'aime revoir les matchs des Pionniers ( mon avis ) En gros yessss merci
You are not the only one. We here in LA were so blessed to have Chick Hearn as our play by play commentator for so long. He certainly was one of the finest of all time.
The commentator is Chick Hearn...he of the line from Fletch, "Fletch is 6-6...6-10 with the afro...."
The greatest dunk ever!!!
12:27!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LMAO @ The Commentator 'and Malone was going up and down like a Yo-Yo'.
There was never a duel between Dr.J and Magic, they never guarded each other.
Doc! Best finisher on break ever
Man Shout out to the broadcaster that dude is good
What great players, magic, Wilkes and worthy and Macadoo and Kareem?! Moses, bobby Jones, toney, cheeks and the underrated Dr J. No question dr is on the same level as bird and magic and Jordan. I saw dr j in the aba. And the nba.
Doctor WAS the ABA!
Doctor and later David Skywalker Thompson in ABA.
Just think about this. Wilkes, Magic and Jabbar combined to go 6-0 in NCAA Finals. Worthy makes them 7-1 in NCAA Finals. Wilkes won a ROY and a title in Golden State. Dr. J won 2 ABA titles. McAdoo won 3 scoring titles, Jabbar won one and Doc led the ABA in scoring. Malone, Jabbar and McAdoo all were rebounding champs Doc was a ABA and NBA MVP. Moses and Magic were multiple MVPs. McAdoo was a MVP. Jabbar was a ROY winner. Doc, ABA, Moses, Magic and Jabbar were all multiple Finals MVPs. Worthy, Magic and Jabbar were all Final Four MOPs. Jabbar, Magic and Worthy were all Final Four MOP and NBA Finals MVP. That's the type of talent Philly and LA had in that era.
Love Chick Hearn.
He baptized his ass with that dunk lmao
He baptized a LOT of people with his dunks! The fact is, networks act like this is the only dunk Doc ever mesmerized people with. Where is the footage of Doc’s one step glide dunk from 18 feet he performed in a game? Billy Paultz was SO amazed that he walked back to the identical spot of the dunk AFTER the game, stood and shook his head. But, somehow, this dunk and the dunk over Bill Walton in the 76 Finals are the only ones they harp on. I guess Doc only dunked on the West Coast teams…
This full game please? I remember an upload of this same game in full was on you tube. Jamaal Wilkes was incredible in this regular season game from 83.
Magic said, when Coop went up to defend against the greatest dunk ever ... he said out loud... Good luck Coop, only God can save you now!!! 😂😂😂😂😅💖
big rivals in early 80s
Watched this game on TV.
Epic
RIP Big Mo
Julius Irving one of the greatest NBA players in NBA history
9:56 Great pass by Cooper! Why haven't the Lakers retired his number?🏀🤔
Holy crap that commentator is godlike O.O
These teams would dismantle the "Big 1" in Miami.
I would like to see Chris bosh vs Magic and dr. J with their side kicks vs just bosh in a handicap game
That was January 5, 1983. I posted news paper clippings all over my room after they won that championship. My house burned down on January 12, one week later. I was 13.
Fo-Five-Fo
Remember it like yesterday...
Julius game and body style would vive theze players of toda fits. Just remembering how fast and effortlessly he gets up and down the cour and once he goes up and seemingly glides to hoop, cant do nothing bujt foul him , hang time is unbelievable
The Rock the Baby dunk is still one of the best in game dunks I've ever seen
Magic in is Prime the best Point guard ever
‘Waaaaay & rock the baby to sleep & slaaaaam dunk!’
Back when it was really good😉
yeah, if anything you can see what an absolutely ferocious rebounder he was
да, было же время!Джонс и Ирвинг легенды!
legendary match no matter who won ... it should be taught in college as great athletisism
❤
Look at all the Hall of Famers on the court at the same time, and this is without Kareem (who was injured at the time).
I watched this series to completion. I think the Lakers were more dangerous without Kareem here because their team speed was accentuated. I was 15 and hanging in suspense on every point. Great memories even though the Sixers lost. I watch these with fondness and some of that original excitement. I don't watch today's game.
wow Chick Hearn broadcaster coined the in game Dr . J dunk rock the baby......Nice Call
I was a sizer/laker fan living in Philly I was torn....
Worthy before he broke his leg could really sky to the basket
I miss them days with the great chick hern calling the game when the real stars of the game came out to play like the great Doctor J damn take me back for real.
Pause @ 1:03. A guy's head is captured directly in the square on the backboard. I catch little things like this... lol 😂
4:45 great shot!
1:17 what a beautiful shot
Rock The House Baby!
Dr J like a kite on the air , he contours his body in a unique way . Lol ... magic looks like a running robot .