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Though the American Basketball Association (ABA) only lasted for about a decade (1967-1976) before its remaining teams were merged into the NBA, the upstart league had its fair share of great players during its brief existence, such as George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, and Dan Issel, just to name a few. However, perhaps the two greatest players in ABA history were Rick Barry and Julius Erving AKA Dr. J – both not only dominated the ABA during their respective tenures, but were also superstars in the NBA and Hall of Famers who are among the greatest small forwards in basketball history. From Barry’s unique free throw shooting technique to Erving’s air-defying dunks, each player left an indelible mark on basketball history, thus leading to the question:
Who was better – Rick Barry or Julius Erving?
The Beginning
Barry and Erving were each standout college basketball players who took slightly different routes to professional basketball (Barry to the NBA first, Erving to the ABA initially), though both dominated immediately in their respective leagues.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Barry went south to Florida after high school to play his college basketball at the University of Miami; there, his game gradually improved and in his senior year, he averaged 37.4 points per game to lead the nation in scoring and earn All-American honors. As a result, Barry was drafted second overall in the 1965 NBA Draft by the then-San Francisco Warriors (who had just traded away Wilt Chamberlain) and went on to win Rookie of the Year honors and earn both All-Star (first of a dozen straight selections) and First Team All-NBA honors (6x total) in 1965-1966 by averaging 25.7 points (on 43.9% shooting), a career-high 10.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game.
Also a Northeast native, Erving grew up in Nassau County outside of New York City and honed his skills in Harlem’s famed Rucker Park. He later attended the University of Massachusetts, where he starred for two years, averaging 20+ points and 20+ rebounds per game for his career. At the time (1971), the NBA only allowed teams to draft players at least four years out of high school, so Erving instead took advantage of the ABA’s “hardship” rule and signed with the league’s Virginia Squires. As an ABA rookie, he averaged 27.3 points (49.8% shooting), a career-best 15.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game to make the All-Rookie team, the All-Star team (Erving was an All-Star every year of his career), and the All-ABA Second Team. However, in the 1972 NBA Draft, Erving was selected 12th overall in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks, who already had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson; he had also signed a contract with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, thus creating a triangle where the Squires, Bucks, and Hawks all vied for his services. Ultimately, a judge ruled that Erving was obligated to continue playing for the Squires in the ABA.
Career Comparison
Across the ABA and NBA, Barry and Erving were perennial All-Stars and All-NBA selections who also won scoring titles and championships en route to the Hall of Fame.
In just his second season, Barry won the scoring title in 1966-1967 with a career-high 35.6 points per game on 45.1% shooting, along with 9.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, to again earn First Team All-NBA honors. The following year, he signed a lucrative deal with the Oakland Oaks of the ABA, but was forced to sit out the entire season before being allowed to join the team. Upon his return to playing basketball, Barry was limited to only 35 games in 1968-1969 due to a knee injury, but averaged a league-best 34.0 points (51.1% shooting) 9.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game to earn All-Star and All-ABA selections (he would be an All-Star and All-ABA every season he played in the league); additionally, with his famous underhand free throws, he led the league in free throw shooting at 88.8% for the first of 7x across the ABA and NBA. However, with the team soon moving to Washington D.C. and becoming the Caps, Barry was unhappy about playing in the nation’s capital and sat out part of the season. Just a year later, the team once again rebranded as the Virginia Squires and due to his continued antipathy towards the team’s new location and its ongoing financial woes, Barry was traded to the New York Nets for draft picks and cash after the 1969-1970 season, where he would spend two seasons and average around 30 points per game.
After the 1971-1972 season, Barry returned to the NBA to play for the Warriors, who were now known as the Golden State Warriors. Despite persistent knee problems that sapped some of his explosiveness, he remained an effective player, averaging 22.3 points (on 45.2% shooting), 8.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game with a league-best 90.2% free throw rate in his first year back in the NBA to earn a Second Team All-NBA selection. Barry then made three straight All-NBA First Teams starting in 1973-1974, improving to 25.1 points (45.6% shooting), 6.8 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game, including a career-high 64 points in a March 1974 game vs. the Portland Trail Blazers. During this second NBA go-around, his highest scoring season came in 1974-1975: 30.6 points (46.4% shooting), 5.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and a league-high 2.9 steals per game, as well as another free throw shooting crown. This was followed by Barry’s final All-NBA season, as he averaged 21.0 points per game on 43.5% shooting and again led the league in free throw shooting, while chipping in 6.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.
As the 1970s drew to a close, Barry would be an All-Star for the final time in 1977-1978 (23.1 points per game on 45.1% shooting, along with 5.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game). After becoming a free agent, he signed with the Houston Rockets and spent two seasons there – while his scoring dipped to below 15 points per game, Barry remained the NBA’s best free throw shooter, including a career-best 94.7% in 1978-1979, and also averaged a career-high 6.3 assists per game that year. Retiring after the 1979-1980 season at age 35, Barry is the only player to ever lead the NCAA, ABA, and NBA in scoring.
Similarly, in his second season with the Squires, Erving won a scoring title with a career-high 31.9 points per game (on 49.6% shooting), along with 12.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, also earning the first of four straight First Team All-ABA selections. However, due to the team’s financial woes, he was traded to the aforementioned Nets (Barry had rejoined the NBA by then) for players and cash, and proceeded to dominate as the league’s best player, winning a pair of scoring titles and three consecutive MVP awards:
- 1973-1974: a league-high 27.4 points (51.2% shooting), 10.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game
- 1974-1975: 27.9 points (50.6% shooting), 10.9 rebounds, and a career-high 5.5 assists per game
- 1975-1976: a league-best 29.3 points (50.7% shooting), 11.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game
With the merger of the ABA and NBA in 1976, the Nets were one of four ABA teams to join the NBA; due to salary demands, though, Erving held out and his contract was eventually bought by the Philadelphia 76ers.
On a talented 76ers team that included the likes of future Hall of Famer George McGinnis and All-Stars Doug Collins and World B. Free, Erving sacrificed some of his individual statistics for team success – in his first NBA season in 1976-1977, he averaged 21.6 points per game on 49.9% shooting and added 8.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game for Second Team All-NBA honors. He followed up the next year with his first All-NBA First Team nod: 20.6 points (50.2% shooting), 6.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Between 1976-1977 and 1983-1984, Erving was All-NBA every season (5x First Team, 2x Second Team) except for 1978-1979 and though his numbers were not as gaudy as they had been in the ABA, he nevertheless still averaged 20+ points, 6+ rebounds, 3+ assists, 2+ blocks, and around 1.5 steals per game while shooting around 50% from the field. Notably, he had his highest scoring NBA season in 1979-1980 (26.9 points on 51.9% shooting, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game) and won MVP the following season with 24.6 points (52.1% shooting), 8.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game in 1980-1981.
Entering his 30s, Erving remained a standout player, averaging 22.4 points (on 51.2% shooting), 6.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in 1983-1984 to earn his last All-NBA selection; the year after that, he averaged 20+ points per game for the final time in his career (actually, an even 20.0 points per game). In 1986, he announced his intention to retire at season’s end and proceeded to finish the 1986-1987 season with a career-low 16.8 points per game (47.1% shooting), plus 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, before hanging up his sneakers at age 36; across the ABA and NBA, Erving ranks eighth all-time in career points scored behind Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Chamberlain.
On the whole, Erving played 16 seasons of professional basketball (ABA and NBA) to Barry’s 14 years, resulting in over 200 additional games. Statistically, Barry had a higher career scoring average (24.8 vs. 24.2 points per game), including a better free throw mark, and more assists per game (4.9 to 4.2), whereas Erving was the superior rebounder (8.5 vs. 6.7 rebounds per game), a more efficient shooter, and generally more proficient on the defensive side, i.e. more blocks and steals averaged. As mentioned, Erving was an All-Star every year of his career (16x) vs. 12x for Barry and also had an additional All-NBA nod (7x vs. 6x), one more All-ABA selection (5x vs. 4x), and an MVP award to his name. Thus, considering these numbers and achievements, Erving is also viewed more favorably from an advanced metrics perspective, with both a higher Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and more career Win-Shares vs. Barry. In their 28 regular season head-to-head matchups across the ABA and NBA, Erving also came out on top 19-9, outscoring his counterpart in the process (26.6 to 24.7 points per game). As trailblazers for the ABA and superstars in the NBA, both Barry and Erving were quickly inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame upon retirement – Barry in 1987, followed by Erving in 1993.
Regular Season Statistics
| Rick Barry | Player | Julius Erving |
| 14 (1965-1967, 1968-1980) | Seasons | 16 (1971-1987) |
| 1,020 | Games Played | 1,243 |
| 24.8 | Points | 24.2 |
| 6.7 | Rebounds | 8.5 |
| 4.9 | Assists | 4.2 |
| 45.6% | Field Goal % | 50.6% |
| 89.3% | Free Throw % | 77.7% |
| 21.0 | PER | 23.6 |
| 128.9 | Win Shares | 181.1 |
| 12x | All-Star Games | 16x |
| 6x | All-NBA | 7x |
| – | MVP | 4x |
| 1x | NBA Titles | 1x |
| 1x | NBA Finals MVP | – |
| 4x All-ABA, Rookie of the Year | Other Awards | 5x All-ABA, 1x All-Defensive, 2x ABA Title |
| 1987 | Hall of Fame Induction | 1993 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
Whether it be the ABA or the NBA, Barry and Erving consistently guided their teams to the playoffs and led the postseason in scoring on numerous occasions; however, it would take each player numerous tries to finally capture that elusive NBA championship.
Barry appeared a total of 10x in the playoffs during his 14-year professional career (3x in the ABA, 7x in the NBA). During his rookie season, he led the playoffs with 34.7 points per game and guided the Warriors to the NBA Finals vs. Chamberlain and the 76ers; there, the Warriors would fall in six games despite Barry averaging 40.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, including 55 points in a Game 3 win. Then, as one of the ABA’s brightest stars, he averaged at least 30+ points per game in each of his postseason appearances, twice leading the playoffs in scoring (40.1 points per game in 1969-1970 for the Caps and 33.7 points per game in 1970-1971 for the Nets). Finally, in 1974-1975, Barry reached the peak to win an NBA title – in a sweep of the Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld-led Washington Bullets, Barry was named Finals MVP by averaging 29.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in the victory.
Incredibly, Erving made the playoffs in each of his 16 professional seasons, 5x in the ABA and 11x in the NBA. In five ABA playoff appearances, he led the postseason in scoring 4x, including a personal best of 34.7 points per game in 1975-1976, and won two titles in three years with the Nets (one of which was a seven-game victory against Barry and the Squires). After making the jump to the NBA, Erving waged a number of fierce Eastern Conference battles with Larry Bird and the Celtics, culminating in four NBA Finals and one title:
- 1976-1977: lost in six games to Bill Walton and the Trail Blazers; averaged 30.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game
- 1979-1980: lost in six games to the Kareem and Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers; averaged 25.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game, and had one of his signature moments with his famous baseline scoop move
- 1981-1982: again lost in six games to the Lakers; averaged 25.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game
- 1982-1983: after adding center Moses Malone, Philadelphia finally broke through and swept the Lakers; Erving took a more complementary role to Finals MVP Malone and averaged 19.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game
Playoff Statistics
| Rick Barry | Player | Julius Erving |
| 105 | Games Played | 189 |
| 27.3 | Points | 24.2 |
| 6.4 | Rebounds | 8.5 |
| 4.3 | Assists | 4.4 |
| 44.8% | Field Goal % | 49.6% |
| 87.0% | Free Throw % | 78.4% |
| 21.8 | PER | 22.1 |
| 13.2 | Win Shares | 26.9 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; whether it be Barry’s stint with the Rockets or Erving’s last couple of years with the 76ers, both legends were clearly slowing down by the end of their careers. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Rick Barry | Player | Julius Erving |
| 1965-1967, 1968-1975, 1977-1978 | Decade of Dominance | 1971-1976, 1979-1984 |
| 708 | Games Played | 797 |
| 28.1 | Points | 26.4 |
| 7.7 | Rebounds | 9.7 |
| 4.5 | Assists | 4.5 |
| 46.0% | Field Goal % | 51.2% |
| 88.7% | Free Throw % | 77.4% |
| 22.5 | PER | 25.5 |
| 103.3 | Win Shares | 135.5 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
Generally speaking, the same career trends apply for each player’s decade of dominance – Barry was a little bit better of a scorer, but Erving has the edge in most other facets of the game, and this is reflected in a higher PER and Win-Shares total over the respective timeframes.
My Thoughts
In the history of professional basketball, Rick Barry and Julius Erving are perhaps two of the game’s most memorable and unique stars, one best-known for his decidedly unsexy underhand free throw technique and the other for his dazzling high-flying ways. In this particular matchup, I think Erving is the clear winner – while he may be slightly underrated historically (partially due to spending a chunk of his prime in the ABA), Dr. J was a tour de force on both ends of the court and not just the best player in ABA history, but arguably the second-best basketball player, period, of the 1970s (behind only Abdul-Jabbar). At the same time, though, this is no knock whatsoever on Barry, who I likewise think is one of the more underrated superstars of yesteryear – even though most fans today associate him with his unorthodox charity stripe form, Barry was an explosive scorer in his prime, as evidenced by his trifecta of leading the NCAA, NBA, and ABA in scoring at various times; compared to Erving, though he may have been a slightly better scorer, however, Barry is just a notch below in terms of all-around greatness.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Julius Erving
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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