Exclusive: Dr. J opens up about legacy beyond the basketball court

Well now to an action news exclusive. We go one-on-one tonight with the legendary Dr. J, one of the most creative and influential dunkers in basketball history. But his impact goes well beyond the court, becoming an inspiration to so many. Our photojournalist Tim Madder sat down with the beloved 76er who helped win the city's last NBA championship in 1983. Nothing is done alone by an individual, you know, family first, friends, community spirit, Lord above. I think when I arrived in Philadelphia, I really didn't know 100% what I was getting into. I had an uncle who was here. We used to come to visit and it was interesting. They never let us go more than two or three blocks away from where they lived. They were real guardians for us because there was a lot of little madness going on in Philly. Every time we hit Philly, man, something was happening to somebody. I was seeing it as, you know, 10-year-old, 12-year-old, 14-year-old. When I saw it as an adult at 26, I saw the real Philadelphia. Because I was here, I was employed as a member of the 76ers. They had great people who played here before me. Will Chamberlain was probably the greatest. Billy Cunningham, who was eventually going to be my coach. It was for me where I was meant to be. I was meant to have this experience in my life. I sort of just have resigned myself to being a professional on and off the court, going out trying to do my job and doing it as well as I can. It involves trying to be a complete player. Every time he steps out on the court now, he wants to put on a good show and give the fans something to remember. I take that as a compliment. I think one of the things that helped me when I hit the pro stage was that the dunk had been taken out of basketball in college. So as a little kid, in an 8-foot basket, you know, I worked on some dunk shots. Left hand, right hand, two hand. Then a 9-foot basket. Then eventually I could dunk on a 10-foot basket. And, you know, I thought I was hot stuff. And then when I got to college, they had this guy out, UCLA, and they were trying to neutralize him, so they took the dunk shot out of basketball. My two varsity seasons at UMass, I couldn't dunk the ball. I just dunked the ball in warm-ups, sophomore year. And then my junior year, they took it out of the warm-ups. They were like, you guys are going to start the game with a technical foul if anybody dunks this ball. So it was crazy. And most people don't know about it or forgot about it. When I left after my junior year, I went to Rucker Park in New York, and the dunk was in the game. You know, it was like you could dunk in some of these games. So when I got to my first team, the ABA, the Virginia Squires, it was really like the chains had been taken off because those two years of no dunking in college, I was making up for it in two weeks. So somebody was going to catch it. And lots of times it was a bigger guy, a stronger guy. And I'd see those guys under the basketball nets. I'm going in there. I ain't going to stay out here shooting those set shots or whatever. I can shoot that any time. Let me go in and strut my stuff. And sometimes, you know, I end up flat on my back. But most of the time, it didn't happen like that. I was able to finish what I started. And it became one of my signature moves, taking the baseline, coming up on the other side. And I still was inspired by Elgin Baylor and Connie Hawkins. I was born with the big hands and big feet, so I had to use them for something. He's been a superb professional athlete, but beyond that, a role model for all of us. He's been everything that we want our sons to be. He taught us to respect others and to help young people. And he's just been, like I said, a leader for us, a role model for us, young guys like myself. When I was in Nigeria, I'd been hearing about Dr. Jay for a long time. Even back in Nigeria, they talk about the doctor. Oh, yes, back in Nigeria. He's meant more to me as a man and as a human being than he could ever mean to me as a basketball player. He's set a great, positive road for me in terms of off-the-court activities. Being a role model, he's such a classy person. He's always, for real, he gives me a lot of hope and inspiration. I love to do that. It's a matter of passing it on. If somebody touches your life, like a guy who was an inspiration in my life was a guy named Don Ryan, and he was my Salvation Army coach. To get something like that, a guardian angel in your life, who was your coach and who was your inspiration, left me thinking that it's never too early to start looking at the next generation or friends, neighbors, even my little brother. Let me be an inspiration to him and others who need to go through this life too. I'm going through this life. My father, unfortunately, was deceased by my 11th birthday. There was a gap there where I was the man of the house. I'm there with my mom, my older sister, my younger brother, but I'm the middle child and I was the man of the house. I took that seriously. I had my little job, getting up during the early morning paper route, making $12 a week, coming to get off 10, giving it to Mom, help with everything. I was just blessed with having a giving spirit, helping someone else. Always benefited your comfort with your life, the quality of your life, and your peace of mind. One of my mentors, Mr. Ray Wilson, he used to always talk about the wealthiest person in the world is the person who has peace of mind. It's not about material things. It's not about diamonds, gold, money. It's not about those things. It's about peace of mind. He said, you're on top of the world if you have peace of mind. So I've always sought peace of mind. You can do it with a little cooperation. You see, you've got the ball and I've got the tall. You're pretty involved with not only the Children's Television Workshop, but the children's programs and benefiting children in general. Yes, you're right, with the March of Dimes, the Special Olympics, of course the city's new program, which is against child abuse, and all those things that are very important to society and to Jewish serving individually also. Wow, Dr. J, Dr. J! I've always felt when you give, when you give a little, there's a lot that comes from that. It doesn't always have to be material. Sometimes it's spiritual, sometimes it's emotional. All the times, it's positive. All right, now let's get it with a little bit of rhythm here. Pass. All right, come on to the end. Get back, and just like you're throwing a baseball, let it fly, okay? Give me a baseball pass this time. Baseball pass. There you go. Having the welfare experience as a child, because my mom, you know, she had three kids, and we lived in the projects. I didn't really like it. That was one avenue in which you're taking something that was given to you, and there was an automatic obligation once you accepted that. You were learning about giving and receiving. I was totally comfortable with being on the giving side. I'm okay with earning my keep because I had an early morning paper, but about 4 o'clock in the morning, I was back home by 6.30, and I delivered 200 newspapers. So I had that experience. I had the work experience at 11, 12 years old, and I also had the receiving end of welfare. I think that laid a foundation of sorts, teaching me a little bit about both sides of the track. But the giving part by me to others has continued through this day. Thank you. Your regular season was nothing but awesome. 65 wins with only 17 losses. Once he went down the line and started shaking hands, when he got to Marie's Cheeks and saw that he was as tall as Marie's Cheeks, thought he really felt like one of the fellas. My wife is always the first one to say. The worst thing to be is an unemployed comedian. So be careful. Don't try to be funny. You're not getting paid for it. Well, my man, I think, you know, speaking of things to come, it should be very interesting. That's just sour grapes because I have a better sense of humor than she has. If I can maintain it for the count of 20, then I pass the test and I get the belt. One, two, three, 18, 19, 20. Laughing, joking, smiling, having a sense of humor. I mean, I think it does relax you. It takes some of the stress out that is brought there by some of the hardcore things and some of the realities of life. You know, we've had tragedy in our life since as long as I can remember. I had a cousin who slipped in the lake and drowned. My brother died of lupus, erythematosus. My sister died of colon cancer. And this really goes on with us burying people. It's so ironic that in my life I run into so many people who never lost anybody, you know? And they're in their 30s, 40s, 50s. They never lost anybody. I'm like, whoa, that just seems unnatural because it's real natural in my family that we always thought that if you're born and you're the youngest in the family, and this happened with multiple generations, the youngest was always the first to go. And that was crazy. The youngest should be the last to go. By them going, it changes your approach in some regards. You're like, I'm not invincible. I can be taken out of here any day, any moment. I can be called home or whatever. So while you're here, make your time useful. Make it purposeful. Make somebody happy. Make somebody smile. Find a way to laugh. It was absolutely beautiful. I want to be the beloved doctor. There's a lot of doctors in Philadelphia. There's a lot of wannabe doctors. If I can be the one, the only, the best, let me be that. And I have volunteered for that, and I have paid a lot of dues, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, to try and reward the city for the choice that was made when I was chosen. And the reward has been great because I feel very comfortable at age 76 that I've experienced a lot of things, but the best day of my life is going to be tomorrow. I want that to happen. The best day to be tomorrow, not yesterday. Each and every morning, you know, I wake up and look in the mirror and decide that even though a lot has been done, there's still more work to be done. And the only way we can do that is to do it together. God bless you all, and thank you very much. That was Tim Madder, one of our many talented photojournalists. Thank you, Tim. And you can go to 6abc.com to hear more from our exclusive one-on-one with the incomparable Dr. J.