Julius Erving Calls on NBA Stars To Save Dunk Contest, Respect The History!

The NBA Dunk Contest is on relevancy life support ... but Julius Erving, the first-ever winner in the event, has a way to save it -- telling TMZ Sports it's time for the league's biggest stars to brush up on their history.

We caught up with the Hall of Famer in NYC this week ... and considering he has countless iconic slams to his name, we had to ask about the state of the All-Star Weekend staple.

It's no secret fans are starting to roll their eyes at it ... with randos competing against each other instead of franchise players. Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon and G League star Mac McClung have certainly helped the cause ... but overall, it's been a dud for quite some time.

A big criticism is the fact that LeBron James never took part at any point in his career ... and the same can be said for other superstars.

Dr. J shut down the idea of making it mandatory to participate ... but he did encourage the household names to step up.

Erving suggested they educate themselves on the contest ... and he feels if they do, they'll change their stance on sitting out.

He added the players make too much money to be required to do anything nowadays -- that includes suiting up for games (spicy!!)

So, will the best of the best strove for slam dunk greatness moving forward?? If they do, we have Erving to thank.