When the New York Nets were one of the four ABL teams to join the NBA for the 1976-77 season, the merger caused the team to part with their biggest star, Julius Erving. Due to having to pay the New York Knicks restitution for “invading” their territory, the Nets sold Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Erving would go on to win an NBA Championship and MVP Award with Philly, and remains as the most popular player ever to don a Sixers jersey. This Robert L. Smith action shot shows the newly minted 76er “Dr. J” about to unleash a scoring attempt.
The photo has been printed to the edge with no white border. The edges show some light wear, and the corners are sharp. The reverse has been stamped with a Robert L. Smith photography stamp and an October 24, 1976 date stamp, which leads us to believe the photo was snapped the night before when on October 23, 1976 the 76ers visited the Buffalo Braves, just Julius' second NBA regular season game. He was likely still getting accustomed to not using a red, white and blue ball!
There are some light surface staining and abrasions on the back but none of this affects the front image.
The photo has been encapsulated and graded a Type 1 by PSA.