Philadelphia 76ers

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  The Philadelphia 76ers won their first championship in 1955, though they were not yet called by that name. George King sank a free throw with seconds remaining in the NBA Finals. His team led 92-91. He then stole the inbound pass to clinch the win. Those Nationals spent eight more years in upstate New York. An investor group bought the franchise and relocated it south in 1963. A naming contest produced the new identity. Walter Stalberg submitted the winning entry: "76ers," alluding to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776. What followed was one of professional basketball's most extreme franchise histories. The 76ers have produced players who define the word dominance and seasons that seem almost impossible in retrospect. Who built the dynasties? How did they collapse? And what does it take to rebuild when a franchise has hit the lowest point the sport has ever recorded?

  81415122

• 2. The 24-Second Clock

  ›

  Danny Biasone founded the Syracuse Nationals for $5,000 in 1946, entering them in the National Basketball League. Their first season ended in fourth place with a 21-23 record. The turning point came in 1948-49, when Leo Ferris joined the organization and signed Al Cervi as player-coach. Ferris also outbid the New York Knicks to sign Dolph Schayes for his professional debut. The Nationals finished 40-23, their first winning record.

  When the NBL and BAA merged into the NBA in 1949, the Nationals joined as one of seven former NBL clubs. Their first NBA season produced a league-leading 51-13 record and an Eastern Division title, though they fell to the Minneapolis Lakers in the Finals.

  The NBA was down to just eight teams in the 1954-55 season, struggling financially. Biasone proposed limiting how long a team could hold the ball. He and Ferris calculated that a 24-second shot clock would produce at least 30 shots per quarter. The rule was adopted, and scoring jumped 14 points per game across the league. In that first season of the shot clock, the Nationals won the Eastern Division with a 43-29 record. They advanced to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.

  Dolph Schayes missed 24 games during the 1961-62 season and failed to lead the team in scoring for the first time in 14 years. Syracuse had become the last medium-sized city with an NBA franchise. The Nationals' final game as a Syracuse team came on the 26th of March, 1963: a playoff overtime loss to the Cincinnati Royals, 131-127.

  810111312

• 3. The 1967 Dream Season

  ›

  Wilt Chamberlain grew up at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, where he became a high school legend. He began his professional career with the Philadelphia Warriors before that franchise relocated to San Francisco. In the 1964-65 season, the 76ers acquired Chamberlain from the Warriors, bringing him back to the city where he grew up. That first season together ended in heartbreak. In Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Hal Greer's inbound pass was stolen by John Havlicek. The Celtics advanced to win the championship.

  On the 3rd of December, 1965, co-owner Ike Richman died of a heart attack courtside during a game at Boston Garden. The franchise absorbed the loss and kept building.

  Under head coach Alex Hannum, the 1966-67 team started 46-4 and finished 68-13, the best single-season record in league history at that time. Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham, and Hal Greer anchored a roster that also included Chet Walker, Lucious Jackson, and Wali Jones. In the semifinals, they dispatched the Boston Celtics in five games, ending an eight-year dynasty. The Finals proved less dramatic. The Sixers beat the San Francisco Warriors in six games for their second title. During the NBA's 35th anniversary celebration in 1980, voters chose the 1966-67 76ers as the best team in league history.

  In the 1967-68 season, with a new home at The Spectrum, the 76ers held a 3-1 series lead in a rematch with the Celtics in the playoffs. The Celtics rallied to win in seven games. General manager Jack Ramsay then sent Chamberlain to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Archie Clark, Darrall Imhoff, and Jerry Chambers. Within a year, the player who moved into the starting center role, Lucious Jackson, suffered a severe injury.

  1718821

• 4. Nine and 73

  ›

  Owner Irv Kosloff placed an ad in The Philadelphia Inquirer to find a new head coach for the 1972-73 season. The previous coach had departed for the expansion Buffalo Braves. At least two prominent coaches had already turned the job down: Al McGuire and Adolph Rupp. Roy Rubin, the longtime head coach at Long Island University, answered the ad. On the same day Rubin was introduced, Billy Cunningham announced he was leaving to join the American Basketball Association. The roster was left with Hal Greer and almost nothing else.

  The 76ers lost their first 15 games of the season. A few months later, they set what was then a league record: a 20-game losing streak in a single season. Their record at that point was 4-58. They had lost 34 of their previous 35 games. The season ended at 9-73. The Philadelphia press began calling them the "Nine and 73-ers." Rubin was fired after 51 games and a 4-47 record. Kevin Loughery, serving as player-coach, went 5-26 the rest of the way. The team finished 59 games behind the Atlantic Division champion Celtics, an NBA record. Their 0.110 winning percentage was the worst in league history at that time.

  Gene Shue was hired as head coach the following year, beginning the franchise's recovery. In the 1975-76 season, the 76ers acquired George McGinnis from the Indiana Pacers of the ABA, ending a five-year postseason absence.

  19202123

• 5. The Erving Era

  ›

  The New York Nets were the final champions of the American Basketball Association. When the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, the Nets owed $5 million to the Knicks for entering the New York metropolitan area. They also faced a $3.2 million expansion fee for joining the league. When the 76ers offered $3 million for Julius Erving's contract, the figure roughly matched what NBA membership alone would cost the Nets. The Nets accepted. The team's ownership had also changed: Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. had taken over on the 28th of May, 1976.

  Erving's arrival launched an extended playoff run. In 1977, the 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics in a seven-game Eastern Conference Semifinals series. They then beat the Houston Rockets in six games to reach the NBA Finals. Their opponent was the Portland Trail Blazers, coached by former 76ers general manager Jack Ramsay and led by Bill Walton. The 76ers took a 2-0 lead and lost the next four games.

  The 1980 NBA Finals produced a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The series is remembered partly for Game 6, when rookie Magic Johnson played center in place of an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson scored 42 points. In both 1981 and 1982, the 76ers held 3-1 series leads over the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics rallied to win the 1981 series in seven games. In 1982, the 76ers won Game 7 at Boston Garden, 120-106. But they lost the Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers again.

  The final piece arrived before the 1982-83 season. Harold Katz, who had bought the team from Dixon in 1981, acquired Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets. Alongside Julius Erving and Maurice Cheeks, both Hall of Famers, the team featured All-Stars Andrew Toney and Bobby Jones. Together they won 65 regular season games. Malone was named League MVP. When reporters asked how the playoffs would unfold, Malone predicted "four, four, four," a sweep in every round. His accent rendered it as "fo', fo', fo'."

  In the first round, the 76ers swept the New York Knicks. They beat the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, then swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. Their 12-1 playoff record is tied for the fewest losses by any champion in league history. Malone was named the Finals MVP. A Philadelphia group called Pieces of a Dream had a minor R&B hit in 1983 titled "Fo-Fi-Fo," a reference to the playoff run. That 1983 title remains the last major-pro championship in Philadelphia until the Phillies won the World Series in 2008.

  Charles Barkley arrived for the 1984-85 season, bringing eight years of highlights and controversy to the city. His tenure ended without a championship.

  222324262

• 6. The Answer

  ›

  The 1995-96 Philadelphia 76ers finished 18-64, the worst record in franchise history at that point. The franchise changed hands that season, sold to Comcast Spectacor, a group that included Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider. Pat Croce, a former trainer for both franchises, became team president. That dismal season produced one dividend: the franchise won the lottery for the first overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. They selected Allen Iverson, who quickly became known by the nickname "the Answer."

  Iverson won the Rookie of the Year award, but the team finished 22-60. After another disappointing season, Larry Brown was hired as head coach. Brown emphasized defense and what he termed "playing the right way." He and Iverson clashed frequently. A four-team deal that would have sent Iverson to Detroit was agreed upon but dissolved due to salary cap complications. The two eventually resolved their differences.

  During the 2000-01 season, the 76ers won their first ten games and never faced a serious Atlantic Division challenge. Iverson was named MVP of the All-Star Game. On the 22nd of February, at the trade deadline, the team acquired Dikembe Mutombo from the Atlanta Hawks. Theo Ratliff and three other players went to Atlanta in the deal. Philadelphia finished 56-26 and earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

  Iverson scored 54 points in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Toronto Raptors. That performance set the tone for a memorable postseason. In Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, reserve Raja Bell scored 10 points off the bench to spark the decisive run. Iverson finished with 44 points and the 76ers won 108-91, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 1983.

  The opponent was the Los Angeles Lakers, who had gone 11-0 in the earlier playoff rounds. In Game 1, Los Angeles jumped ahead 18-5 before the 76ers rallied to take a 15-point lead. The Lakers forced overtime at 94-94. Iverson hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:19 remaining in the extra period. He then stepped over a fallen Tyronn Lue after a basket. Eric Snow sealed the victory with a running jump shot as the shot clock expired, and the 76ers won 107-101. Los Angeles won the next four games and the championship. That 2000-01 team swept the major individual awards: Iverson won the NBA MVP, Brown the Coach of the Year, Mutombo the Defensive Player of the Year, and Aaron McKie the Sixth Man of the Year.

  On the 5th of December, 2006, Iverson gave management an ultimatum: find players who could support him, or trade him. On the 19th of December, the 76ers sent Iverson to the Denver Nuggets. In return, they received Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two first-round draft picks.

  6827282930

• 7. The Process

  ›

  Tony Wroten, a guard for the 76ers, gave the franchise's rebuilding strategy its name: The Process. The strategy was overseen by Sam Hinkie, who joined from the Houston Rockets in May 2013 as general manager. His first major move came in the 2013 draft, when the 76ers traded All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans. In return, they received Nerlens Noel, who was recovering from a knee ligament injury, plus the Pelicans' 2014 first-round pick. The 76ers used the 11th pick in the same draft on Michael Carter-Williams as Holiday's replacement. They chose Arsalan Kazemi with the 54th pick, making him the first Iranian player ever selected in the NBA draft.

  The 2013-14 team started 3-0 but lost the next 26 consecutive games, tying the all-time NBA record for most consecutive losses in a single season. They finished 19-63. The 2014-15 team began 0-17 before beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 85-77 on the 3rd of December to end the streak. They finished 18-64. A losing streak that carried over from 2014-15 into 2015-16 reached 27 games, the longest in professional sports history. The 2015-16 season ended at 10-72.

  Carter-Williams won the 2013-14 Rookie of the Year award. He joined Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson as the only rookies ever to lead all first-year players in points, rebounds, assists, and steals in the same season.

  In the 2014 draft, the 76ers selected Joel Embiid with the third overall pick. Embiid was recovering from a stress fracture in his foot's navicular bone and could not play immediately. Croatian prospect Dario Saric arrived via trade with the Orlando Magic as the 12th pick in the same draft.

  Sam Hinkie resigned on the 6th of April, 2016, with a letter of resignation approximately 7,000 words long. Bryan Colangelo, son of Special Advisor Jerry Colangelo, was named president of basketball operations four days later. The players Hinkie had accumulated were finally ready to take the court.

  4849505152

• 8. The Embiid Era

  ›

  Ben Simmons, a point forward from Louisiana State University, joined the 76ers as the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. The franchise had been given a 25% chance of landing that pick. Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot and Furkan Korkmaz also joined that year, selected 24th and 26th overall.

  By 2017-18, the rebuilt roster produced its most successful season since 2011-12. The 76ers finished 52-30 and set a franchise record with a 16-game winning streak. They won their first playoff series since 2012, defeating the Miami Heat in five games in the opening round.

  On the 12th of November, 2018, the 76ers acquired Jimmy Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves. On the 6th of February, 2019, Tobias Harris arrived from the Los Angeles Clippers. The 76ers reached the second round of the playoffs before Kawhi Leonard's game-winning buzzer-beater in Game 7 in Toronto ended their run.

  The 2020-21 season brought a first-place finish. The 76ers went 49-23 and earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference, along with their first division title in 20 years. They defeated the Washington Wizards in five games in the opening round. The Atlanta Hawks eliminated them in seven games in the Conference Semifinals. In Game 7, Ben Simmons passed up an open dunk late in the contest. The 76ers lost. Simmons then demanded a trade and did not report to training camp. The team reportedly fined him in excess of $19 million for conduct detrimental to the franchise.

  On the 10th of February, 2022, the 76ers sent Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets, along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks. In return, they received James Harden and Paul Millsap. The 2021-22 season finished 51-31. Embiid won the NBA scoring title. Five 76ers have won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award a combined seven times: Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Allen Iverson, and Joel Embiid.

  6770747588