Dr. J: From Deadbeat to Loving Father, a Transformation

Erving met Samantha Stevenson in the late 70s. At this point in time, Erving was the king of basketball, leading the ABA-NBA merge, and was nearly worshiped as a basketball god. Samantha was a female freelance reporter, and just as quickly as they were attracted to each other, they were met with the inevitable heartbreak and fallout. Samantha gave birth to Alexandra on December 15, 1980 in San Diego. That same night, Erving was in Indiana, playing the Pacers, all while Samantha waited for him to come. He never did. That day, Alexandra Winfield Stevenson was born, daughter of Samanta Stevenson and Julius Winfield Erving.

Stevenson expected Erving to come. To call. Instead, legal documents came. The lawyers called. All with intent to keep this affair and child quiet, and unknown to the general public. The agreement was that the reigning MVP was to pay a hefty monthly stipend in exchange for Samanta to keep sole custody, keep the scandal out of the news and to live at least 200 miles away. She obliged, citing that she did indeed love Erving, and did not want to tarnish his image.

At age four, Alexandra was shown a book, The Legend of Dr. J, being told that Erving was her father, and that he loves her, but she has to live with her mother. As she grew, it was clear that Alexandra inherited the genes of the NBA legend, as she excelled in all sports she played in, but never credited her father, as she never knew who he was, and never cared to know. Until third grade.

Confused, shocked and torn, Alexandra looked at him and told him she didn't want his autograph and stomped away. Immediately realizing what had just happened, Erving felt utterly embarrassed as tears fell from his eyes. Turquoise, his wife who had ordered the legal agreements on Samantha and Erving reportedly fainted. Samantha's friend, who had brought Alexandra to the camp, retrieved the ball and went home with Erving's daughter. Alexandra refused to let anybody touch or see the ball, as she stayed in her bedroom studying the ball for hours, only to hide it deep within her closet behind teddy bears and dolls.

After that day, Alexandra stayed away from basketball, and began playing tennis. She quickly became a virtuoso, and immediately piqued the interest of many prominent tennis coaches. At one point, Pete Sampras' former coach, Pete Fischer said that Alexandra had the potential to be number one in the world after witnessing her 100mph serve at just age ten. Fischer wanted to coach her, but that required Samantha and Alexanda to take trips from San Diego to Los Angeles at least three times a week. At this point in their lives, Samantha only had a Schwinn bicycle, only to be given a white Volvo by none other, Julius Erving.

But that was the extent of Erving's hand in his daughter's lives. He was wrapped up with basketball, championships, endorsements, his four other children, his wife...his life.

But Samantha and Alexandra had seemingly written him out of their lives, citing that it was better never than late. But with Alexandra's success, came the beginning of many assumptive questions.

Alexandra's coach noticed her massive hands and evolving skill-set, and wondered if Erving truly was the father, but never outright mentioned it. Once, in a game of H-O-R-S-E between the two, Fischer tested Alexandra, saying that his next shot would be the "Dr. J Slam." Alexandra walked up, with nothing to say. But her success continued on. Observers tell a story of Alexandra in high school where she had hit a ball so hard on an opening serve, her opponent retired and walked off the court in complete fear. As women's amateur tennis grew in popularity, a certain Richard Williams contacted Fischer asking if he would coach his two daughers, Serena and Venus. Fischer politely turned him down saying that he was already coaching the future of women's tennis.

But at age sixteen, the secret began to unravel. A curious reporter, Charles Bricker of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel asked Alexandra after the tournament who her father was. It was definitely a curious question to many, as a white mother walked around with a inter-racial daughter. Alexandra politely answered as she had often done, "None of your business."

Almost simultaneously, Alexandra ended up losing to Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledown that year, while Julius Erving publically admitted to being father to the tennis prodigy, back in the U.S. Alexandra returned to the Americas only to be greeted by a multitudes of reporters, with a new name, a name she had never heard for the first 18 years of her life. Dr. J's daugther.

As the news broke, Alexandra handled the claims carefully, yet intricately, almost as to send her father a message. She told reporters, that she had never spoken to him. That he never changed her diapers, and that only her mother was around. That she was a Stevenson, and only a Stevenson, not an Erving. She told reporters that she didn't even like being called an African-American as it gave her an association to Erving. She crumpled up all newspapers that labeled her as Dr. J's kid.

Through it all, she expected some sort of response; a phone call...but nothing ever came. So she aimed to continue living her life as a tennis player, and hoped some day it would come. One day....

By 2002, Alexandra's tennis career began to take spring, reaching No. 18 in the world, and beating Jennifer Capriati in consecutive tournaments. But just two years earlier, Erving's life went into disarray, with the disappearance of his son, Cory, who was born just six months after Alex. After forty days, Cory Erving was eventually found dead, putting Erving into grief for an extended period of time. During the search, Erving went on Larry King Live to plea for help, hoping somebody out there would be able to help him. During the telecast, King asked Julius if he had been in touch with his daughter...a question that Erving says hurt twice as much with both Cory and Alex, missing in his life.

But finally, after Erving and his wife Turquoise had divorced, he felt it more practical to reach out to Alexandra and finally meet her. And even as his friends urged him to contact her, he still had second thoughts, and could never find it inside of him to even just pick up the phone.

Fast forward to 2008, and Erving still hadn't officially reached out to Alex. Alex's tennis career had slowly dwindled at this point due to shoulder injuries and surgeries. But she kept trying to work her way up, to the point where she was barely making any money on tournaments due to coaches, medical bills, etc., and at one point was carving grooves in her shoes with a knife to gain more traction on the court. With no sponsors, and nearly no money, Samantha had realized that twenty-seven years of a struggle was enough - 18 years of not knowing who her father was; 9 years of dealing with who he, indeed, was.

Samantha called Julius and left a voice mail, asking to call her back. A week went by, and he hadn't called.

Alexandra, this time, called, asking to please call her back; this time with no expectation that he would call either of them back. However, she woke up the following morning, with a voicemail from, her father. She didn't immediately return the phone call, which led to four more calls and voicemails by Erving. Not knowing how to react, she ignored them and went to bed that night, only to be awakened, by yet another call from Julius Erving.

Their first phone call lasted forty minutes. A lot of discussion about her tennis career, and how much she had left in her followed by the need for sponsors, money and trainers - all to which Erving obliged to help find, but wanted to meet her first. Erving says to have noticed her giggle at that comment. Talking comfortably with each other, as though they had known each other all their lives according to Samantha, they decided to meet on October 31, 2008.

Erving, 58 had realized that he had caushed so much pain to his own daughter, and that while he had so many opportunities to pull that first move; he never did. And now that she had seemingly reached out to him, he tells many, that he assured himself that he would never let it go.

From the get-go of their meeting, Alex told him that the reason for contacting him was indeed for money, and that she and her mother had ran out of resources. Erving's only response was that being with Turquoise, it was difficult to find a way to be in touch with her, saying that it was not a good enough excuse, but nonetheless the only way.

While he always signed his text messages and e-mails to her as "Your Father, Julius" or "Love, Dad" she found it hard to call him her own father, but told him it would take time. Finally, she had signed a text to him, Your Daughter, Alexandra, to which their relationship had finally reached full bloom.

It's true...Julius Erving was a terrible father-figure in Alexandra's life for a unbelievable 27 years, but together they have build a foundation of trust, love and something Alexandra never knew of...fatherhood. In recent news, we've heard - whether rumor or not - that there are many fathers out that that leave their children or wives, destitute...with nothing. And these children and mothers are hurt in ways many of us will never, ever know or experience. But once in a while, some people do come around.

And we can only hope for just that.

I was once told, that psychologically, the more you think about something, the more you ingrain an idea in your head, the more it becomes solidified in time and history.