Julius Erving was known for having huge hands, which allowed him to squeeze a basketball the way most people handle an orange. That is important background information for this anecdote from Shaquille O'Neal in which he recalls the first time he had a chance to meet Dr. J.
Shaq was still playing in college at LSU when Erving was on campus for a function run by Converse. On the same day, Shaq missed one of his classes, and there was a standard punishment for such an infraction. But Shaq had no clue that Erving was going to be part of the deal.
Shaq was being honored at the Pump Foundation's annual gala to raise money in the fight against cancer when he explained why his first encounter with Erving became so memorable:
Now that's a death grip.
