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NBA Draft 2014: Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving to represent Philadelphia 76ers at draft lottery

By Trisity Miller

Apr 14, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers former player Julius Erving speaks with the media before game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1982-83 championship team. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers former player Julius Erving speaks with the media before game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1982-83 championship team. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pulling out their best stops, the Philadelphia 76ers have announced that NBA Hall of Famer Julius Irving aka Dr. J will represent the club at the NBA Draft Lottery.

Outside of Allen Iverson, Dr. J remains the second most popular Philadelphia 76ers player. In a ten-year span, Irving averaged 22 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Sixers. During that span, Irving appeared in ten straight NBA All-Star games (won MVP in 77 and 83) won the league MVP award for the 1980-81 season and appeared on countless All-NBA teams. Irving, along with Moses Malone, would lead the 76ers to their last NBA championship in 1983 when they swept the Los Angeles Lakers.

After a successful draft that landed the 76ers Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams, the 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year, the franchise has a lot to build on going forward. Thanks to a trade that sent Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2013 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers have could have two lottery picks (top-5 restriction), the first a 19.9% chance to become the number one overall pick, and the other a 1.1% chance. This gives the club who tanked for this purpose a chance to nab a talent such as Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, or Joel Embiid while nabbing a mid-lottery pick talent like Aaron Gordon or Nik Stauskus is the ping pong balls fall heavily in their favor.

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held tomorrow prior to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.