Julius Erving said meeting his daughter felt like winning a championship: 'I only thought this would happen at my funeral'

Julius Erving was at the peak of his NBA career when he got involved in an extra-marital affair with sportswriter Samantha Stevenson. As if that wasn't wrong enough, Dr. J got her pregnant, and she gave birth to a daughter whom she named Alexandra.

Fearing that the scandal would damage his NBA career, Julius, his wife, and his mistress all agreed to protect the NBA star. With the help of his lawyer, they drafted an agreement prohibiting Samantha from exposing their relationship and daughter. She would have custody of the child and move at least 200 miles away from the Erving. In exchange, he would give the mother and child a monthly stipend for their expenses.

When that agreement was put into place, Erving realized that he might never see Samantha's daughter again. But as fate would have it, he would. And he called it one of the best days of his life.

"Well, I only thought this would happen at my funeral," that was Dr. J's first line when he finally came face-to-face with his daughter Alexandra Stevenson. "All seven of my children in the same area, and Cory, of course, in spirit."

Dr. J did not show up when Alexandra was born

Erving married Turquoise Brown in 1972, and they had three children - Julius III, Cory, and Jazmin plus an adopted son Cheo. In 1977, Samantha helped Turquoise write an article about being an NBA star's wife for the New York Times. Soon after, the writer had an affair with the NBA star and impregnated her.

On December 15, 1980, Samantha gave birth to Alexandra in a San Diego hospital. Although the Sixers had a game in Indiana against the Pacers on December 16th, Julius said he would come. But he never came.

"He was supposed to meet her, but he didn't show up," Samantha recalled. "He wasn't coming to rescue me, or be with me, so I moved on. I'm a big girl. The only thing I needed from him was his middle name: Winfield. I gave it to her, because she was a part of him because I wanted her to be tied to him."

The secret was revealed when Alexandra played pro tennis

Samantha kept her part of the agreement as she disappeared and kept silent about her affair with Dr. J and them having a daughter. However, in good faith, she put Erving's name as the father on Alexandra's birth certificate and used Winfield as her middle name. That piece of paper was kept hidden in the San Diego records books. Well, that was until Alexandra turned 18.

Alexandra became an outstanding tennis player and in 1998, she made her professional debut as a wild card at the U.S. Open. She lost in the first round, but many took notice of her talent and star potential. Naturally, the media started digging up her personal life and soon, an Orlando Sentinel writer found out about her big secret.

"I never thought anyone would find it; I didn't think anyone would care," Samantha continued. "I had lived my life quietly, and not once had I been asked for it. And I never second-guessed putting his name on it. He was her father, and I didn't want her to feel she was out in the world by herself. She needed to know two people were committed to her. Because I thought, one day, Julius would care."

Erving tried to support them

While Dr. J kept his distance, he never forgot about Samantha and Alexandra. When their daughter was 10, Samantha approached Pete Sampras' childhood coach Pete Fischer, and inquired if he could train Alexandra. He said yes. However, Fischer was in L.A., which was 240 miles away from La Jolla, where the Stevensons stayed. Erving bought them a white Volvo station wagon so that she could train with Fischer.

"I wasn't in their life but I was never a deadbeat dad," added Erving. "I didn't ignore them; I tried to support them. With the lawyers involved, and Alexandra's mom and my wife, it put me in a very unusual position that there's no real preparation for. So I honored an agreement that if I look on, would I do it again and do it the same way? I would prefer not to, but what's done is done. I've always had a parental love, knowing that I had a child out there, and I knew if there was ever a time she needed me, I would be there."

But it wasn't until Halloween of 2008 that Dr. J. finally had a face-to-face conversation with Alexandra. Erving said meeting Alexandra ranked up there with winning the ABA and NBA titles or getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. Their meeting came very late, but they ended up having a father-daughter relationship.