Philadelphia 76ers
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Wikipedia-Article "Philadelphia 76ers"
| Philadelphia 76ers | |
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| Founded | 1939. Charter member in 1946 of the NBL. Joined NBA in 1949. |
| Arena | Wachovia Center |
| Team History | Syracuse Nationals (1939-1963) Philadelphia 76ers (1963-present) |
| Team Colors | Black, Blue, Gold, Red, Silver and White |
| NBA Championships | 3 (1955, 1967, 1983) |
| Conference Championships | 6 (1967, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 2001) |
| Division Titles | 11 (1950, 1952, 1955, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1990, 2001) |
| Head Coach | Maurice Cheeks |
| Mascot | Hip Hop |
The Philadelphia 76ers are a National Basketball Association team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also known as the Sixers for short.
Contents |
Franchise History
The team began in 1939 as the Syracuse Nationals and in 1946 were a charter member of the National Basketball League. In 1949, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA.
The Glorious 1950's
In the 1950-51 season, led by Hall of Famers Dolph Schayes and Al Cervi, the Nationals made a serious run at the NBA Finals as they beat the best team in the East - the Philadelphia Warriors - in 2 straight games in Round 1, but at the east finals they ran into a dead end as they lost to the New York Knicks in a tough 5-game series.
In the 1954-55 season, led by Dolph Schayes and Paul Seymour the Nationals made it to the playoffs for the 9th straight year. The team would go on to beat the Boston Celtics in 4 games to advance to the NBA finals. In Game 7 of the finals against the Fort Wayne Pistons, unsung hero George King sank a clutch free throw to give the Nationals a 92-91 lead. King would then steal an inbound pass to clinch the First NBA Championship for the Nationals. Although the Nationals would remain a playoff contender for the rest of the 1950's and into 1963, the Nationals would never again reach the NBA finals, and by 1963 the Nationals would be gone from Syracuse.
Welcome Back To The NBA, Philadelphia
Thanks to paper magnate Irv Kosloff, who purchased the team from Daniel Biasone, who was the inventor of the 24-second shot clock still in use today, the Nationals moved to Philadelphia in 1963 playing at the Philadelphia Arena, Civic Center-Convention Hall and The Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania, one year after the Warriors had left for San Francisco. They were the longest-surviving of the NBA franchises based in medium-sized cities. Their name changed to the "76ers," after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776. In the 1964-65 season, the 76ers acquired the legendary Wilt Chamberlain from the Warriors. The 76ers would push the Boston Celtics to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, with the 76ers trailing 110-108 in Game 7. After Hal Greer's pass was stolen by John Havlicek - an infamous blow to 76ers fans, rubbed in by fabled Celtics announcer Johnny Most when he yelled into the microphone "Havlicek stole the ball!" - the Celtics went on to beat the 76ers and win another NBA Championship.
The Unforgettable 1966-67 Season
Led by head coach Alex Hannum, the 76ers had a dream season as they won the first 38 of 41 games en route to a record of 68-13. Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham, and Hal Greer, along with all-stars Chet Walker and Lucious Jackson, led the team to the Eastern Conference finals. This time, with the Celtics aging and hurt, the 76ers beat the Celtics in five games. In Game Five of that series, as the 76ers went to victory and the NBA Finals, rabid Philadelphia fans chanted "Boston is dead!", a symbol that the Celts' eight-year run as the NBA titleholders had ended. The 76ers' magicial season ended with a convicing six game series victory over the former Philadelphia Warriors to give the Sixers their first NBA Championship.
The Fall and Rebirth of the 76ers
In the 1967-68 season, with a new home court in the form of the The Spectrum to defend their championship, the 76ers made it back to the NBA Playoffs and in the rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals, the 76ers held a 3-1 series lead over the Celtics, before selfish play and ego cost them big, as the Celtics came back to beat the 76ers in seven games. This, and the subsuquent trade of Chamberlain to the Los Angeles Lakers would send the 76ers into a freefall that culminated in the 1972-73 season, in which they won only nine of 82 games, earning the nickname from the skeptical Philadelphia media of the "Nine and 73-ers". The seventy-three losses, although threatened many times, remains the all-time low-water mark for any NBA franchise. The next year, the 76ers would hire Gene Shue as their head coach and slowly they came back. In the 1975-76 season, the 76ers got George McGinnis from the Indiana Pacers of the ABA (after the Knickerbockers tried to sign him, not knowing that the Sixers owned his rights), and with him, the 76ers were back in the playoffs after a six-year absence, and even though they lost to the Buffalo Braves in three games, a "Doctor" would come along and get the team healthy enough to stay in perennial contention.
Dr. J and the 76ers
The 1976-77 season would be memorable for the 76ers as they acquired Julius Erving from the New York Nets, along with the purchase of the team by local philantrophist F. Eugene Dixon, heir to the Widener fortune, and with them, the 76ers began an exciting ride for the fans of Philadelphia, first beating their long-time nemesis from Boston in a seven game slugfest, then in the Eastern Conference Finals, they beat the Houston Rockets led by a guy named Moses Malone in six games to advance to The NBA Finals, and there they would lose to former coach Jack Ramsay and the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers in six games, after the Sixers built a commanding 2-0 series lead. That led to the motto being used in 1977-78 of "We owe you one," which would ultimately back fire when they lost in the playoffs the following year to the Washington Bullets, who went on to win the NBA championship that year. In the next four seasons, the Sixers would fall short of the NBA Championship, even after changing coaches to former Sixers great Billy Cunningham. In the 1980 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, they lost the decisive Game Six at home, with rookie Earvin "Magic" Johnson playing center for the Lakers in place of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who was out because of migrane headaches, and Magic scored 42 points. Then came the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals in which the 76ers opened a big 3-1 series lead over the Celtics only to choke under pressure as the Celtics beat them in seven games. The following season, as the 76ers were about to be choked again by the Celtics after they squandered a 3-1 series lead into a 3-3 series tie, the fans had given up hope as the 76ers faced the Celtics in Game Seven at Boston Garden. Instead of a funeral, they played angry but inspirational basketball as they advanced to the Finals, the fans at Boston Garden had a change of heart and began chanting "Beat L.A., Beat L.A.", a incredible moment in basketball history, and although they lost in the NBA Finals, the 76ers began the 1982-83 season with great momentum. All they needed now was Moses (Malone) to lead them to the promised land of the NBA championship.
The Historic 1982-83 Season: "Fo', Fi', Fo'."
The final piece of the championship puzzle was completed before the 1982-83 season when they acquired center Malone from the aforementioned Houston Rockets. They went on to capture their historic second NBA championship as they won 65 games, and ran the table in the playoffs, first sweeping the New York Knicks, and then beating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games and finally finished it off with a four game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers who had defeated them the season before, completeing one of the most dominating playoff runs in league history with a 12-1 mark after league and NBA Finals MVP Moses promised "Fo', fo', fo" (as in "four, four, four" - four wins to sweep round 1, four wins to sweep round 2, etc.), but it actually wound up as "Fo', fi', fo." (four, five, four) The 76ers were also led by Hall of Famers Erving, Malone and All-Stars Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones.
Charles In Charge and Another Freefall
After a disappointing 1983-84 season, which ended with a five-game loss to the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the playoffs, Charles Barkley arrived in Philadelphia for the 1984-85 season, and with it the 76ers made it to the conference finals but lost to the Boston Celtics in five games. For the next eight seasons, Barkley brought delight to the Philadelphia fans thanks to his humorous and sometimes controversial ways. Even owner Harold Katz, who bought the team from local philantrophist F. Eugene Dixon in 1982, made questionable decisions, such as trading away both Moses Malone and the number one draft pick (acquired in the NBA's Draft Lottery) in 1986 on the same day for what later would turn out to be two stiffs, Roy Hinson and Jeff Ruland, in the same day. In the 1989-90 season, the 76ers won the Atlantic Division title and went on to face the Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Alas, the 76ers fell to the Bulls that year and then again in 1991. Some 76ers fans say that was the beginning of the end of Barkley's stay in Philadelphia, after a very disappointing 1991-92 season for the 76ers, Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns marking the end of the Charles Barkley era at Philadelphia, and with it a downhill slide that wouldn't end until the late 90's.
The Sixers' trade of Barkley to Phoenix for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang led to the teams drought in the early 1990s. Unpopular trades such as Hersey Hawkins for Dana Barros, the acquisition of players at the end of their careers such as Jeff Malone, Vernon Maxwell, and Scott Skiles and disappointing high draft picks such as Clarence Weatherspoon, Shawn Bradley, and Jerry Stackhouse couldn't bring the Sixers out of the Eastern Conference basement. Questions remained, but with the first pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, the Sixers found their solution for the future. With the team in "Jeopardy!", "The Answer" was: Allen Iverson.
"The Answer", and the 2000-01 Season.
In 1996, Katz sold the team to Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider and Comcast Corporation, they moved down Broad Street to the new Wachovia Center (first known as the CoreStates Center) and all of a sudden, the team had more than one "Answer" (named Iverson) to their problems, drafting the guard from Georgetown University, earning NBA Rookie of the Year honors for the 1996-97 season. Pat Croce, who had started out as a physical therapist for the Flyers, was named team president, and the team underwent a radical makeover in 1997, with a new logo and changing from their traditional red, white and blue by adding black as a primary to the color scheme, along with both silver and gold. The addition of new coach Larry Brown that summer also helped as the team improved every year until the 2000-01 season.
During that season, the 76ers got off to a hot start by winning their first ten games. In total, the team won 56 games en route to becoming the top seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Little did they know, but a season ending loss to the Chicago Bulls would give the Lakers the top seed in the entire playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, the Sixers defeated the Indiana Pacers in four games. In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, Raptors forward Vince Carter missed a jump shot during Game 7 to send the Sixers to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. This series also went to the limit of seven games. In Game Seven, "A.I." scored 23 points and dished out 19 assists to help the Sixers win by 17 points. The Sixers were set to face off against the Lakers who had not lost a game in the playoffs. The Sixers came out fighting in Los Angeles, and came away with a shocking Game One overtime upset of the Lakers. After that, the Lakers went on to sweep the next four games in the series to win the NBA Title. This Sixers squad had the NBA's MVP (Iverson), the NBA's coach of the year (Larry Brown), the Defensive Player of the Year (center Dikembe Mutombo), and the Sixth Man of the year (Aaron McKie.)
The club in the recent years has revolved around high-scoring point guard Iverson. With the addition of Chris Webber from Sacramento Kings in 2005, the 76ers hoped that the duo would make a volatile and powerful combination. However, the team did not improve significantly and was defeated in the postseason by the then-defending champion Detroit Pistons, who were coached by Larry Brown. In the offseason, the 76ers fired coach Jim O'Brien and hired Maurice Cheeks, a popular former 76ers star.
Uniform History
The Sixers have perhaps had more uniform changes than any other team in the NBA, compared to teams such as the Lakers and the Celtics who have kept relatively the same uniform design since the start of their franchises.
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Year
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Uniform
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Duration
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Description
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| 1954 |  |
1954-1955 | Original Syracuse Nationals Uniform |
| 1963 |  |
1963-1965 | The Sixers begin their run in Philadelphia with the Betsy Ross inspired uniform. |
| 1966 |  |
1966-1970 | The Sixers went to the straightforward look during their first championship run. Simple block letters with the traditional "PHILA" on the front replaced the star-spangled banner look. |
| 1970 |  |
1970-1971 | This uniform was the most unpopular and hardest uniform to produce. |
| 1971 |  |
1971-1976 | SonderLevitt Advertising designed a uniform that had a much longer lifespan than its predecessor. With the new art deco-like lettering, the uniforms retained the star-inset blue side stripe, a graphic element that remained a feature through the 70’s. |
| 1977 |
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1977-1978 | Lettering on the jersey was readjusted. |
| 1978 |
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1978-1991 | This uniform becomes the Sixers “hallmark” look, the Sixers will win more games in this uniform than any other in the history of the franchise. |
| 1991 |
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1991-1994 | The Sixers uniform was redesigned by Champion Products and was a departure from the classic Sixers uniform. The design featured multicolored stars against a royal blue field that curved up from shorts to the jersey. |
| 1994 |
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1994-1997 | This uniform was actually a throwback to the classic Sixers look. Designed by Lucy Loeb, the front featured “SIXERS” in a more ornate block lettering |
| 1997 |
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1999-Present | The Sixers unveiled a completely new look including the first major logo change since becoming the Philadelphia 76ers in August of 1963. In keeping with the traditional red and blue, the logo was “modernized” by adding silver, gold and black. For the first time in franchise history, the Sixers wore black uniforms on the road. Trimmed in red and gold, the jersey that features the word “SIXERS” on the front with white numbers trimmed in red on the back |
Players of note
Basketball Hall of Famers:
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Billy Cunningham
- Julius Erving
- Hal Greer
- Bailey Howell
- Earl Lloyd (inducted as a contributor, not as a player)
- Moses Malone
- Dolph Schayes
Retired numbers:
- 2 Moses Malone, C, 1982-86 & 1993-94
- 6 Julius Erving, F, 1976-87
- 10 Maurice Cheeks, G, 1978-89
- 13 Wilt Chamberlain, C, 1965-68 (also Philadelphia native, and Philadelphia Warriors, 1959-62)
- 15 Hal Greer, G, 1963-73 (1958-73 if Syracuse Nationals service is included)
- 24 Bobby Jones, F, 1978-86
- 32 Billy Cunningham, F, 1965-72 & 1974-75; Head Coach, 1977-85
- 34 Charles Barkley, F, 1984-92
- Microphone - Dave Zinkoff, public-address announcer, 1963-85 (also Warriors, 1946-62)
Erving, Chamberlain, Cunningham, Barkley and Sonny Hill (team executive and director of youth basketball programs in the city) have also been inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
Not to be forgotten
Current Roster:
 Current Roster |
||||
| Head Coach: Maurice Cheeks | Edit | |||
| F | 5 |  |
Michael Bradley | (Villanova) |
| C | 1 |  |
Samuel Dalembert | (Seton Hall) |
| C/F | 45 | |
Steven Hunter | (DePaul) |
| G/F | 9 | |
Andre Iguodala | (Arizona) |
| PG | 3 | |
Allen Iverson | (Georgetown) |
| SF | 26 | |
Kyle Korver | (Creighton) |
| SF | 24 | |
Jamal Mashburn (injured) | (Kentucky) |
| F | 54 | |
Lee Nailon | (TCU) |
| PG | 12 | |
Kevin Ollie | (Connecticut) |
| F | 42 | |
Shavlik Randolph | (Duke) |
| SG | 7 | |
John Salmons | (Miami) |
| PF | 4 | |
Chris Webber | (Michigan) |
| G | 23 | |
Louis Williams | (South Gwinnett HS, Snellville, Georgia) |
| (FA) - Free Agent | Philadelphia 76ers | |||
Coaches and others
Basketball Hall of Famers:
- Daniel Biasone (contributor—founding owner and principal advocate of shot clock)
- Chuck Daly (coach)
- Alex Hannum (coach)
- Jack Ramsay (coach)
External links
- Philadelphia 76ers official web site
- Philadelphia 76ers Official Summer Pro League web site
- Philadelphia 76ers Statistics
- NBA Fantasy Basketball Stats - Philadelphia 76ers
| National Basketball Association (2005–06) |
| Eastern Conference |
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| Atlantic Division: Boston Celtics | New Jersey Nets | New York Knicks | Philadelphia 76ers | Toronto Raptors |
| Central Division: Chicago Bulls | Cleveland Cavaliers | Detroit Pistons | Indiana Pacers | Milwaukee Bucks |
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| Pacific Division: Golden State Warriors | Los Angeles Clippers | Los Angeles Lakers | Phoenix Suns | Sacramento Kings |
| Southwest Division: Dallas Mavericks | Houston Rockets | Memphis Grizzlies | New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets | San Antonio Spurs |
| Other Articles: NBA Finals | NBA All-Star Game | NBA Draft | Current Team Rosters | |