Julius Erving Helps Carry ABA Legacy to Prime Video in ‘Soul Energy’ Docuseries

[ad_1] by Mary Spiller February 14, 2026

The four-part documentary revisits the innovation, star energy and cultural influence of the American Basketball Affiliation forward of its fiftieth merger anniversary.

Julius Erving’s NBA résumé already contains championships in two leagues, a number of MVP awards and a everlasting place among the many sport’s all-time greats. Now, the Corridor of Famer identified worldwide as Dr. J is including a brand new title: govt producer. Erving is among the driving forces behind “Soul Energy: The Legend of the American Basketball Affiliation,” a four-part documentary collection premiering Feb. 12 on Prime Video.

The challenge, narrated by rapper Widespread and co-produced by former NBA coach George Karl, revisits the rise and affect of the ABA, the upstart league that merged with the NBA 50 years in the past.

The trailer, launched this week, options appearances from Erving in addition to George Gervin, Charles Barkley, Larry Brown, Rick Barry, Spencer Haywood, Walt Frazier, Chris Mullin and broadcaster Bob Costas. The collection explores the ABA’s star gamers, its rivalry with the NBA and the social and enterprise forces that formed its legacy.

“Dr. J gave the league credibility,” Costas says within the preview. Gervin provides, “We’re on the point of present you all, man, what y’all was lacking.”

Whereas Erving’s high-flying fashion stays central to the story, director Kenan Kamwana Holley stated the movie goals to increase the narrative past spotlight reels. Holley, who traveled throughout the nation filming at iconic courts comparable to Rucker Park in Harlem and the Los Angeles website featured in “White Males Can’t Leap,” stated youthful gamers persistently traced the ABA’s which means again to at least one determine.

“We had younger N.B.A. gamers like Tyrese Haliburton and RJ Barrett ship us movies speaking about what the A.B.A. means to them, and so they all began with Dr. J,” Holley stated. “Once we requested gamers concerning the A.B.A., all of them stated, ‘Dr. J, Dr. J, Dr. J.’”

Based in 1967, the ABA launched improvements that now outline trendy basketball, together with the three-point line and the slam-dunk contest. Erving’s hovering free-throw-line dunk within the league’s closing All-Star Recreation stays one of many sport’s most enduring pictures. The league additionally featured a pink, white and blue ball and a quicker, extra open fashion of play that foreshadowed as we speak’s space-and-pace period.

Holley stated earlier portrayals typically decreased the ABA to quirky anecdotes about monetary instability and colourful personalities. However as he researched, he found a aggressive league whose groups steadily defeated NBA squads in exhibition play.

“That was fairly unimaginable,” Holley stated. “I’d by no means heard that earlier than.”

The documentary additionally examines racial dynamics inside skilled basketball. At a time when the NBA operated underneath an off-the-cuff quota system limiting Black gamers, the ABA supplied broader alternatives and embraced a freer model of expression.

Erving, who started his skilled profession with the Virginia Squires, stated the league’s gamers believed they matched up with anybody.

“We knew in our hearts we have been nearly as good because the N.B.A. groups,” he stated. “Additionally the A.B.A. lives within the N.B.A. as we speak, no query about it. There’s the 3-point shot … However there’s additionally the spirit of the A.B.A. recreation, spreading the court docket, operating the ball, the quicker tempo of play.”

Reflecting on his early profession, Erving recalled signing with the ABA after being supplied $500,000 over 4 years — a life-changing determine for a younger participant whose mother and father earned far much less mixed. “It was a no brainer,” he stated. “What’s a brother to do?”

Although he later received an NBA championship in Philadelphia, Erving stays deeply linked to the league that launched his profession. “I’m all A.B.A.,” he stated. “Something related to the league, I’m there for it.”

With the fiftieth anniversary of the ABA-NBA merger approaching in 2026, “Soul Energy” goals to make sure the league’s imprint on the sport — and on basketball tradition — is now not neglected.