National Basketball Association

Julius Erving says Zach LaVine is the new Vince Carter

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:14 p.m. ET

Dan Carson

The 2016 NBA Dunk Contest was a beautiful return to form. There's no denying that.

So I see where Julius Erving is coming from in his recent interview with Complex Sports' Ryan Morik, where he places Zach LaVine's dunks on par with the monster slams thrown down by Vince Carter in his prime.

Dr. J says there's new blood in town, and when asked who the best dunker he's every seen is, Erving gave the honor to Carter—but said LaVine is right there.

"I’ll tell you; Zach has put on a show the last couple of years. He has to get kudos. I don’t know if the surprise factor and the timing coordination dunks that he does are as impactful as what Vince Carter brought to the scene when he did a few things that hadn’t been seen before. I think with Connie Hawkins, myself, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Clyde Drexler, there’s a lineage there, and I think Vince shook it up a little bit there with a couple of dunks there. I’m gonna let him reside in that spot right there."

I may not agree with this assessment, but you have to respect Dr. J's assessments of flight. He pioneered this road, after all.

Dan is on Twitter. Vince over everything, and Jordan vs. Dominique or get out.