PHILADELPHIA — Julius Erving has denied an upcoming auction of his personal basketball memorabilia collection is tied to a lawsuit filed against him by a Georgia bank.

Known on the hardwood as Dr. J, Erving said on Wednesday he’s never been a “hoarder or collector,” and plans to donate a portion of the auction proceeds to the Salvation Army.

It has been reported that Erving owes more than $200,000 on a loan with Georgia Primary Bank, according to a lawsuit filed in Fulton Superior Court.

The lawsuit was reported only hours after SCP Auctions announced that bidding would be open to registered bidders on Friday. Not true, he said.

“That irony actually gave me a sleepless night last night,” he said. “I had to laugh at it and cringe at it that these stories would run concurrent with one another.”

The 61-year-old Erving said the auction was part of a long-planned celebration of his career. He said most of his cherished possessions were in storage and that he rarely looked at his collection. He said he occasionally wore his 1983 ring and never his ABA rings. Erving said he will keep his Hall of Fame ring. His induction into the Hall of Fame came in 1993.

“My family is 100 percent behind it,” he said. “We decided to do it a long time ago. To claim it’s a firesale or to clear up some debt, I don’t think so. You don’t do an auction overnight. This has been long planned. We had 4,000 catalogs that have been mailed already to people who buy this kind of stuff.”