With the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrining its 2013 class this weekend, Fox Sports Live had one of the new class' members, Gary Payton, on with Julius Erving to talk basketball.
Nothing against Payton, who was a nine-time All-Star in his NBA career, but it's Erving's words that hold a little more merit, simply because Dr. J. is higher in the Hall of Fame pecking order.
And in this case, we'll give Dr. J. the business for a slight inconsistency in naming his top five NBA players of all time. While calling Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as "the best who ever played in the NBA," Abdul-Jabbar is not in his top five.
Huh?
Yes, it does sound a little confusing, but Dr. J. revealed that the difference just comes down to personal preference.
"Kareem's not even in my five because I decided on my five when I was about 15 years old -- and that was Wilt (Chamberlain), Bill (Russell), (Elgin) Baylor, (Jerry) West and Oscar Robertson," Erving said. "That's my five. That's my FIVE."
Hard to argue against Dr. J's list, because all of them were a joy to watch. But no one in the NBA's history filled it up better than Kareem, and history will also remember him for six MVP trophies, 19 All-Star Game appearances, and of course, the sky hook.
So yeah, maybe Dr. J's top five deserves to be a top six, no matter what he says.