Julius ‘Dr. J.’ Erving lists top five NBA players, includes 3 Lakers

Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J.” Erving listed his picks as the top five NBA players of all time on Fox Sports Live on Tuesday, and he included three former Lakers.

“I decided on my five when I was about 15 years old -- that was Wilt [Chamberlain], Bill [Russell], [Elgin] Baylor, [Jerry] West and Oscar Robertson,” Erving said. “That’s my five.”

Oddly, Erving didn’t include Lakers’ center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but in the same breath called him the “best who ever played in the NBA.”

Erving was joined in the interview by Gary Payton, who will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend, and Charissa Thompson.

Payton’s top five included Russell, Chamberlain, Erving, Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.

Thompson asked Erving about Dwight Howard’s exodus from the Lakers to the Houston Rockets.

“Who?” he joked in response.

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.