Julius Erving emerges from “The Doctor,” a new documentary (Monday, 9 p.m. Eastern, NBA TV), as he would like to be portrayed: as an arrestingly beautiful player, a hang-time levitator, a slam-dunk specialist and a soaring eagle of the A.B.A. and N.B.A.

Highlights of Dr. J’s feats are skillfully curated from his college career, Rucker Park performances and 16 seasons with the Virginia Squires, the New York Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers. Eyewitnesses like Magic Johnson, Pat Riley and Bob Costas are still goggle-eyed by his amazing jams and flights to the hoop that began at free-throw lines.

About Erving, Riley said, “We always thought of him as an alien.”

Tom Hoover, who played against him at Rucker Park in Harlem, said Erving once dunked the ball with such force that it hit him on his head and knocked his teeth out.

“He’s the first guy I ever saw with air brakes,” Darryl Dawkins said.

“The Doctor” will make basketball fans smile.