Remembering Julius Erving's reverse lay-up: The greatest shot ever in NBA history?

There have been many great moments in the 72-year history of the NBA. Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in Hershey, Pennsylvania against the New York Knicks, "The Shot" by Michael Jordan over Craig Ehlo to ice the series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989 and most recently LeBron James' chase down block on Andre Iguodala in the dying moments of game 7 against the Golden State Warriors are some of the greatest moments the league has ever witnessed.

There is one moment though that is not talked about often, one that is going to go down as arguably the greatest shot in NBA history, the reverse scoop layup by Julius Erving.

The iconic moment occurred in the 1980 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers. It was the final quarter of game 4 with seven minutes and thirty-five seconds left in the game. The 76ers were trailing 2-1 in this series.

Julius Erving commonly referred to as "Dr. J" had the ball in his hands. He drove towards the basket, but was cut-off and forced baseline by Mark Landsberg and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers. He ran out of space and eventually took off and at this moment everyone thought it was a wasted possession, but the result came to the surprise of everyone.

Julius Erving adjusted his body mid-flight to score a reverse scoop layup from behind the backboard. He seemed to be in the air for so long, it seemed as if he defied the laws of physics. It felt like he walked in the air while time froze around him. It was an amazing moment that stunned all the players and fans in the arena.

Magic Johnson, one of the greatest players to have ever played in the NBA, was part of that game. He himself says he was in awe of what Dr. J was able to do on that play and branded it the greatest shot in the history of the sport.

The fact that this play was made in the NBA Finals against the early Showtime Lakers makes it so much more special. Over the last few years, we've seen players making shots from almost every area on the court with great range. Steph Curry is a great example of for these players. These shots can be replicated or repeated though as we've seen frequently in the past few seasons.

No one before Dr. J and no one after Dr. J has been able to replicate the iconic reverse scoop layup shot made at that moment. It is safe to say that it might never be repeated. With the difficulty of the shot, its uniqueness in execution, and the quality of opposition in consideration, there's no doubt it is one of the greatest shots and certainly one of the greatest moments in the history of the NBA. This shot should be mentioned with all the other great moments.

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