“Actually That Was Dr. J”: Nick Van Exel Reveals Julius Erving And Not Michael Jordan Inspired His One-Handed Basketball Palm Fake

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan may have inspired many players to copy his moves, but his famous one-hand palm fake was something Nick Van Exel took from Julius Erving instead.

Jordan’s signature moves include an array of different combos, fakes, and shot styles including his signature fadeaway which Kobe Bryant later mastered too.

He was also very popular for his one-handed palm fake that used to completely rattle opposing defenders. It was a move MJ could pull off due to the size of his hands.

However, when Nick Van Exel adopted this move, he said he wasn’t inspired by Michael Jordan, but Julius Erving instead.

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Nick Van Exel Reveals Julius Erving Inspired His Ball Fakes Not Michael Jordan

Dr. J or Julius Erving was one of the craftiest players in the basketball world during his time in the league. His iconic baseline scoop in the 1980 Finals lives on as one of the greatest moves in NBA history:

Just like Michael Jordan, Erving also had his own set of ball fakes which he would routinely use to shake his defenders. Erving dominated the league before Jordan did, and in some weird way, former Lakers and Nuggets guard Nick Van Exel revealed that he based his own ball fakes around Erving and not Jordan.

On the ‘Knuckleheads’ podcast with Q and D, Exel spoke up about this:

He begins to talk about about how he adapted the move at around the 39:21 minute mark of the video. Exel may have never been the same caliber of player as Jordan or Erving were, but he certainly goes down in NBA history as one of the best role players.

His best year came later during his career with the Denver Nuggets in the first half of the 2001-02 season when he averaged a solid 21.4 points per game.

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Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
Basketball Julius Erving Michael Jordan NBA nick van exel

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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