When the conversation regarding the Utah Jazz's biggest free agency splashes ever comes up, the names that come up are typically Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, and Bojan Bogdanovic. All three of them made their own mark on Jazz history, but did you know that 40 years ago, the Jazz almost landed their biggest splash ever: Julius "Dr. J" Erving?
It's true! The Jazz made a strong bid to get the basketball legend, and were in fact willing to pay him an unprecedented money to join forces with Karl Malone and John Stockton. Alas, Erving opted to return to Philadelphia instead.
August 4, 1986: Julius Erving decides to return to the Philadelphia 76ers for his final NBA season, passing on a reported two-year, $3.8 million deal with the Utah Jazz.
— NBA Cobwebs (@NBACobwebs) August 4, 2026
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By 1986, Erving was not the player he once was. In fact, the 1986-87 season turned out to be his swan song, during which he averaged 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while shooting 47.1% from the field and 26.4% from three (in an era in which the three-ball wasn't as valued).
The Jazz were on the rise when this happened, as Malone had an electric rookie year while Stockton proved how talented he was once thrust into a bigger role. Utah also had Adrian Dantley at the time, but he was later traded. One can only wonder how the dominoes would have fallen if Erving had agreed to join Utah.
Could Erving have disproved that Utah myth before it really spread?
Over the years, there's been a narrative that Utah isn't a player's destination, which has been fueled by players like Derek Harper, who didn't want to be a Jazzman after they acquired him, or Derek Fisher, who controversially asked to be waived by the team before immediately going back to the Lakers.
However, if Erving had come to Utah, maybe that narrative never starts in the first place. Dr. J may not have been an elite player anymore, but he was a big enough name (think Joe Johnson when he joined the Jazz, only 10 times as big) that him becoming a Jazzman would have grabbed headlines.
That could have paid off big time for the Jazz, as it may have convinced other players to do team up with Malone and Stockton as they were yearly close but no cigar and just needed a little bit more reinforcements to get over the jump.
No one's saying the Jazz's history as a franchise would be drastically different if Erving had joined the team just before he hung it up, but one can only wonder what the chain reaction would have been if he did.
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