Julius Erving Says 1982-83 76ers Would Beat the Warriors

The Golden State Warriors have already put themselves in the conversation to be among the top teams in NBA history, but not everyone is ready to call them the best just yet. 

According to ESPN, Julius Erving is the latest to say his old team would knock off the Warriors in a head-to-head matchup.

Dr. J listed the 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers as the team to beat, a squad that went 65-17 in the regular season and 12-1 in the playoffs en route to a title.

"When you have a team with the makeup of our team back then, we could play slow, we could play fast," Erving said on Mornings with Keyshawn, Jorge & LZ on ESPN LA 710. "Moses [Malone] was such a dominant force. I have visions of him grabbing the rebound a few times and taking it coast to coast."

The 76ers swept a Los Angeles Lakers team that featured Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the finals.

Of course, Johnson also felt his teams would succeed against today's Warriors.

"We would probably sweep 'em," he said this week, per Des Bieler of the Washington Post.

"They're too small." former Lakers coach Pat Riley added. "Try to put somebody on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar."

Golden State set an NBA record with 73 wins a year ago before losing in the NBA finals, but this year's squad is attempting to be the first ever to go 16-0 in the playoffs. The team is two wins away from the title going into Game 3 Wednesday night.