Julius Erving's one of the GREATEST DUNKERS in the history of basketball ... and he tells TMZ Sports that Aaron Gordon deserved the dunk contest win!!
We talked to Dr. J -- who was in the building for the dunk contest -- at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. on Monday ... and we asked the hoops legend if the Orlando Magic star was robbed by the judges in Chi-town.
"I don't know if robbed is the right term, if it had ended in a tie, I don't think anybody would've been upset.