| Philadelphia 76ers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 Philadelphia 76ers season | |||
| Conference | Eastern Conference | ||
| Division | Atlantic Division | ||
| Founded | 1939 Joined NBA in 1949. |
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| History | Syracuse Nationals (1946–1963) Philadelphia 76ers (1963–present) |
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| Arena | Wells Fargo Center | ||
| City | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
| Team colors | Red, Royal Blue, White |
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| Owner(s) | Joshua Harris, Adam Aron, David Blitzer, Jason Levien, Art Wrubel, Erick Thohir, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith[1] | ||
| General manager | Rod Thorn | ||
| Head coach | Doug Collins | ||
| D-League affiliate | Maine Red Claws | ||
| Championships | 3 (1954–55, 1966–67, 1982–83) | ||
| Conference titles | 11 (1949-50, 1951-52, 1954–55, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 2000–01) | ||
| Division titles | 5 (1976–77, 1977–78, 1982–83, 1989–90, 2000–01) | ||
| Retired numbers | 8 (2, 6, 10, 13, 15, 24, 32, 34, Microphone) | ||
| Official website | sixers.com | ||
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The Philadelphia 76ers (often referred to as the Sixers) are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA. After their move to Philadelphia, a contest was held to decide on their new name. The winning name, chosen by Walter Stalberg, was the "76ers", as a "tribute to the gallant men who forged this country's independence."[2]
The 76ers have had a rich history, with many of the greatest players in NBA history having played for the organization, including Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, and Allen Iverson. They have won three NBA championships, with their first coming as the Syracuse Nationals in 1955. The second title came in the 1966-67 season, a team which was led by Chamberlain. The third title came in the 1982-83 season, won by a team led by Erving and Malone. They have only been back to the Finals once since then, during the 2001 campaign, led by Iverson, only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers, 4–1.
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In 1946, Danny Biasone sent a $5,000 check to the National Basketball League offices in Chicago, and the Syracuse Nationals became the largely Midwest-based league's easternmost team.[3] In 1949, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA. In 1955, the Nationals (led by forward Dolph Schayes) won the NBA championship.
By the early 1960s, the NBA's Nationals were struggling. Syracuse was the last of the medium-sized cities housing an NBA Team, but it was too small for a professional team to be profitable. Paper magnate Irv Kosloff bought the Nationals from Danny Biasone and moved them to Philadelphia in 1963. The NBA thus returned to Philadelphia one year after the Warriors had left for San Francisco. Schayes was named head coach, a post he held for four years (the first as player-coach).
For their first four years in Philadelphia, the 76ers played mostly at the Philadelphia Arena and Civic Center-Convention Hall, with an occasional game at The Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania.
In the 1964–65 season, the 76ers acquired the legendary Wilt Chamberlain from the Warriors; Chamberlain had been a high school legend in Philadelphia and began his career with the Warriors while they still played in Philadelphia. The 76ers would push the Celtics to seven games in the semifinals, with the 76ers trailing 110–109 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 Los Angeles Lakers and win another NBA Championship.
Led by head coach Alex Hannum, the 76ers had a dream season as they started 46–4,[4] en route to a record of 68–13, the best record in league history at the time.[5] Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham, and Hal Greer, along with all-stars Chet Walker, Lucious Jackson and Wali Jones led the team to the semifinals. 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 reign as NBA champion had ended. The Finals were almost anticlimactic, with the Sixers ousting the Warriors in six games to give them their second NBA Championship. The 1966–67 Sixers were voted the best team in league history during the NBA's 35th anniversary celebration.
In the 1967–68 season, with a new home court in the form of The Spectrum to defend their championship, once again the 76ers made it back to the NBA Playoffs and in the rematch of the previous year's semifinals, the 76ers held a 3–1 series lead over the Celtics, before the Celtics staged a dramatic come back to beat the sixers in seven games. At the end of the season, the 76ers made a questionable trade of Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain to the Los Angeles Lakers for Archie Clark, Darrell Imhoff and Jerry Chambers. The trade sent the Sixers into a freefall, which GM Jack Ramsay accelerated by subsequent divestiture of All Star forward Chet Walker.
While the rapidly declining 76ers continued to contend for the next three seasons, they never got past the second round. In 1971–72—only five years after winning the title—the 76ers finished 30–52 and missed postseason play for the first time in franchise history.
The bottom fell out in the 1972–73 season. The 76ers lost their first 15 games of the season, and a few months later set a then-record 20 game losing streak in a single season. Their record following the 20 game losing streak was 4–58, and the team at that point had just lost 34 of 35 games. The 76ers finished the season with a 9–73 record, earning the nickname from the skeptical Philadelphia media of the "Nine and 73-ers". Under Coach Roy Rubin the 76ers won 4, and lost 47. He was succeeded by player-coach Kevin Loughery, the team won 5, lost 26. This was Roy Rubin's first and last job coaching in the NBA. The 76ers finished an NBA-record 59 games behind the Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics. The nine wins by the 1972–73 squad is the second fewest in NBA history—to the six games won by the Providence Steamrollers in the 48 game 1947–48 season. The 73 losses, although threatened several times (1992-93 Dallas Mavericks, 1997-98 Denver Nuggets, 2009-10 New Jersey Nets), remains the all-time low-water mark for any NBA franchise. The 76ers' .110 winning percentage is also the lowest in NBA history. Only six seasons earlier, the 76ers had set the NBA record for most wins in a season.
The next year, the 76ers would hire Gene Shue as their head coach and they slowly came back. In the 1975–76 season, the 76ers acquired George McGinnis from the Indiana Pacers of the ABA (after the Knicks tried to sign him, not knowing that the 76ers owned his rights). With him, the 76ers were back in the playoffs after a five-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. During this period, however, one last personnel misjudgment had effects when the team used the fifth pick overall in the 1975 draft to select Darryl Dawkins directly from high school. The immensely talented and physically imposing Dawkins seldom, if ever, lived up to his great potential in part because of a perpetual adolescence.
The 1976–77 season would be memorable for the 76ers; as a result of the terms of the ABA-NBA merger they acquired Julius Erving from the New York Nets, soon after the team was purchased by local philanthropist Fitz Eugene Dixon, Jr., grandson of George Dunton Widener and heir to the Widener fortune. With them, the 76ers began an exciting ride for the fans of Philadelphia, beating their long-time rival from Boston in a seven-game playoff to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. There, they defeated the Houston Rockets, led by future 76er Moses Malone, in six games to advance to the NBA Finals. There they would lose to former coach Jack Ramsay and the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers in six games, after building a commanding 2–0 series lead.
That led to the 1977–78 motto of "We owe you one", which would ultimately backfire when they lost in the playoffs that season to the Washington Bullets, who went on to win the NBA championship. In the next four seasons, the 76ers would fall short of the NBA Championship, even after changing coaches to former 76ers great Billy Cunningham. In the 1980 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, they lost, four games to two. In Game Six, rookie Magic Johnson played center for the Lakers in place of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who was out because of a sprained ankle sustained in Game Five) and scored 42 points. In the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals, the 76ers opened a 3–1 series lead over the Celtics only to see Boston come back and win the series in seven games. The following season, the 76ers again faced the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, and again jumped to a 3–1 series lead only to see Boston forge a 3–3 series tie. The 76ers were given little chance of winning as they faced the Celtics in Game Seven at Boston Garden. This time, they played angry but inspired basketball, pulling away to a 120–106 victory. In the game's closing moments, the Boston Garden fans began chanting "Beat L.A., Beat L.A.", an incredible moment in basketball history.[6] Although they lost in the NBA Finals, the 76ers began the 1982–83 season with great momentum. All they needed now was Moses to lead them to the promised land of the NBA championship.
Harold Katz bought the 76ers from Dixon in 1982. On his watch, the final piece of the championship puzzle was completed before the 1982–83 season when they acquired center Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets. Led by Hall of Famer Julius Erving and All-Stars Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones they dominated the regular season, winning 65 games in what is still the second most winning year in franchise history. Malone was named League MVP, and when reporters asked how the playoffs would run, he answered, "four, four, four"—in other words, saying that the 76ers needed to win four games in each of the 3 rounds. The media misinterpreted this and assumed Moses was predicting that the 76ers would sweep all three rounds to win the title, with the minimum 12 games. Malone's accent made his boast sound like "fo', fo', fo'."
However, the 76ers backed up Malone's boast. They made a mockery of the Eastern Conference playoffs, first sweeping the New York Knicks and then beating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. The 76ers went on to win their third NBA championship (and second in Philadelphia) with a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, who had defeated them the season before. Malone was named the playoffs' MVP. The 76ers didn't quite fulfill Malone's prediction, as their run was actually "fo', fi', fo" ("four, five, four")--a loss to the Bucks in game four of the Eastern finals being the only blemish on their playoff run. Nonetheless, their 12–1 playoff record is the second-best in league history after the 2000–2001 Lakers, who went 15–1 en route to the NBA Title, coincidentally beating the 76ers in the Finals (after suffering their only defeat that postseason in Game 1). The Philadelphia-based group Pieces Of A Dream had a minor hit in 1983 with the R&B song "Fo-Fi-Fo", which title was prompted by Malone's quip. However, after this title, the city of Philadelphia would not see another championship for 25 years, until the Phillies won the 2008 World Series.[7]
After a disappointing 1983–84 season, which ended with a five-game loss to the upstart New Jersey Nets in the first round of the playoffs, Charles Barkley arrived in Philadelphia for the 1984–85 season. For the next eight seasons, Barkley brought delight to the Philadelphia fans thanks to his humorous and sometimes controversial ways. The Sixers returned to the Eastern Conference Finals, but lost to the Boston Celtics in five games. Following the season, Matt Guokas replaced Billy Cunningham as head coach, and led the 76ers to the second round of the playoffs in 1985–86, where they were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games.
On June 16, 1986, Katz made two of the most controversial and highly criticized personnel moves in franchise history,[says who?] trading Moses Malone to Washington and the first overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft (which had been obtained from the San Diego Clippers in a 1979 trade for Joe Bryant) to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In return, the 76ers received Roy Hinson, Jeff Ruland, and Cliff Robinson, none of whom played more than three seasons with the team. Cleveland, meanwhile, turned their acquired pick into future All-Star Brad Daugherty. The 76ers returned to the playoffs in 1986–87, but were defeated in the first round by Milwaukee, three games to two. In 1987–88, with the team's record at 20–23, Guokas was fired and replaced by assistant Jim Lynam. Lynam finished the season 16–23, and overall Philadelphia finished 36–46, failing to reach the post-season for the first time since 1974–75. Philadelphia selected Charles Smith with its first pick in the 1988 NBA Draft, then traded his rights to the Los Angeles Clippers for their first pick, Hersey Hawkins. In five seasons with the 76ers, Hawkins would average 19 points per game, and left the team as its all-time leader in three-point field goals attempted and made.
In 1988–89, Philadelphia returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence, but were swept in the first round by the New York Knicks. In 1989–90, Barkley finished second in the league's MVP voting, as the Sixers won the Atlantic Division title. After defeating Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs, Philadelphia faced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the second round. The 76ers fell to the Chicago Bulls in five games, and would do the same in 1991 after sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. Some people feel the two post-season losses to Chicago were the beginning of the end of Barkley's stay in Philadelphia. In 1991–92, the 76ers missed the playoffs for the just the second time during Barkley's eight seasons in Philadelphia. On June 17, 1992, Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry, and Andrew Lang, a deal that was met with harsh criticism.
Lynam relinquished his head coaching position to become general manager following the 1991–92 season, and hired Doug Moe to fill the vacancy. Moe's tenure lasted just 56 games, with the Sixers posting a 19–37 record. Popular former player and longtime assistant coach Fred Carter succeeded Moe as head coach in March 1993, but could only manage a 32–76 record at the helm. Following the 1993–94 season, the 76ers hired John Lucas in the dual role of head coach and general manager. The enthusiastic Lucas had been successful as a head coach for the San Antonio Spurs, and Philadelphia hoped he could breathe new life into the 76ers. It proved disastrous, as the team went 42–122 in its two seasons under Lucas. The acquisition of unproductive free agents such as Scott Williams and Charles Shackleford, players at the end of their careers such as LaSalle Thompson, Orlando Woolridge, and Scott Skiles along with stunningly unwise high draft picks such as Shawn Bradley and Sharone Wright were also factors in the team's decline. In fact, Wright would only play four seasons in the NBA while Temple product Eddie Jones—drafted 4 slots below Wright in 1994 by the L.A. Lakers—had 16 productive seasons as an NBA player.
Starting with the 1990–91 season, and ending with the 1995–96 season, the 76ers had the dubious distinction of seeing their win total decrease each year. The nadir was the 1995–96 season, when they finished with an 18–64 record, the second-worst in franchise history. It was also the second-worst record in the league that year, ahead of only the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies but behind the Toronto Raptors, who were also in their inaugural season. That season would turn out to be their last in The Spectrum. Katz, unpopular among fans since the 1986 trades, sold the team to Comcast Spectacor, a consortium of Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider and Comcast Corporation, at the end of the 1995–96 season. Snider had been the Sixers' landlord since gaining control of the Spectrum in 1971. Pat Croce, a former trainer for the Flyers and Sixers, took over as president.
Many 76ers fans call these years "The Dark Ages". However, after many years of misfortune, there was a bright spot. The team won the lottery for the top pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. Questions remained, but with the first pick, the Sixers found their "Answer": Allen Iverson.
With new ownership and Iverson in place, and the 76ers moving into the CoreStates Center, things seemed to finally be heading in a positive direction. Croce fired Lucas as both coach and general manager. Johnny Davis was named head coach, while Brad Greenberg took over as general manager. Iverson was named Rookie of the Year, but Philadelphia's overall improvement was minimal, as they finished with a 22–60 record. 76ers top brass felt changes had to be made after the 1996–97 season. Changes came in the form of the firings of Davis and Greenberg and the unveiling of a new 76ers team logo and jerseys. To replace Davis, Larry Brown was hired as head coach. Known for a defense-first approach and transforming unsuccessful teams into winners by "playing the right way", Brown faced perhaps his toughest coaching challenge. He often clashed with Iverson, but the 76ers improved to 31 wins in 1997–98. Early in the 1997–98 season, the Sixers traded Jerry Stackhouse, who had been the third overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, to the Detroit Pistons. In exchange, Philadelphia received Aaron McKie and Theo Ratliff, defensive standouts who would have an impact in the team's resurgence. Another key figure in the team's rise, Eric Snow, was added in a trade with the Seattle SuperSonics in January 1998.
Prior to the 1998–99 season, the 76ers signed George Lynch and Matt Geiger, but a lengthy lockout delayed the start of the season, which was shortened to 50 games. During the season, Philadelphia acquired Tyrone Hill in a trade with Milwaukee. The team began its resurgence during this strike-shortened season, finishing with a 28–22 record and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, marking the first time since 1991 the team reached the postseason. In the first round, Philadelphia upset the Orlando Magic, three games to one, before being swept by the Indiana Pacers. The following season, the Sixers improved to 49–33, fifth in the East. Again, the Sixers won their first round series in four games, this time defeating the Charlotte Hornets. For the second straight year, they were defeated by Indiana in the second round, this time in six games. Though the team was moving in a positive direction, Iverson and Brown continued to clash, and their relationship deteriorated to the point where it seemed certain Iverson would be traded. A rumored trade to the Los Angeles Clippers fell through, but a complicated four-team deal that would've seen Iverson sent to Detroit was agreed upon, only to see it dissolve due to salary cap problems. When it became clear Iverson was staying in Philadelphia, he and Brown worked to patch things up, and the team would reap the benefits in 2000–01.
During the 2000-01 season, the 76ers got off to a hot start by winning their first ten games, and their record would eventually swell to 41–14. Larry Brown coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars, and Allen Iverson was named MVP of the All-Star Game. Shortly before the All-Star break, Theo Ratliff was lost for the season with a wrist injury, one that would later prove to be devastating to his future career. Feeling the team needed an established center to advance deep into the playoffs, Philadelphia acquired Dikembe Mutombo from the Atlanta Hawks in a deal that sent Ratliff, Nazr Mohammed, Toni Kukoč, and Pepe Sanchez to Atlanta (Sanchez was reacquired later in the season after the Hawks waived him). In total, the 76ers went 56–26 to clinch their first Atlantic Division title since 1989-90, and were top seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
In the first round of the playoffs, Philadelphia faced Indiana yet again. In Game One, the 76ers wasted an 18-point lead and lost, 79–78, when Reggie Miller hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds. Philadelphia fought back, however, and took the next three games to win the series. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Sixers squared off against the Toronto Raptors and their superstar, Vince Carter. The teams alternated wins in the first four games, with Iverson scoring 54 points in Philadelphia's Game Two victory. In Game Five, the 76ers stormed out of the gate, outscoring Toronto 33-12 in the first quarter and never looked back, routing the Raptors, 121–88. Iverson contributed 52 points in the blowout victory. Toronto bounced back to win Game Six, setting the stage for Game Seven at the First Union Center. With the Sixers ahead, 88–87, Carter missed a jump shot at the buzzer to send Philadelphia into the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. After the 76ers and Bucks split the first two games of the series, it was learned Iverson would miss Game Three due to various nagging injuries that had plagued him late in the season. Though most predicted a Milwaukee cakewalk, the 76ers kept the game close before falling, 80–74. Despite the loss, Philadelphia seemed to gain momentum in the process, and they would win Games Four and Five. Milwaukee would build up a 33-point lead in the third quarter of Game Six, but the 76ers would make a furious fourth-quarter rally before falling 110-100. Iverson, who had struggled in the series up to that point, scored 26 points in that final quarter to finish with 46 on the night, and appeared to have gotten a second wind. In Game Seven, the Bucks jumped out to a 34–25 second quarter lead before seldom-used reserve Raja Bell scored 10 points to spark a 23–4 run that gave Philadelphia the lead for good. Iverson scored 44 points, and the 76ers pulled away in the second half, winning by a 108–91 score, putting them in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1983. Their opponent would be the Los Angeles Lakers, who had run up an 11–0 record in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and were expected by many to make quick work of the 76ers. Because of a seemingly meaningless loss to the lowly Chicago Bulls in the regular season finale (both the Sixers and the Lakers finished with identical 56–26 records, but Los Angeles was awarded a higher seed based on tiebreakers), the 76ers had to open a series on the road for the first time in the 2001 playoffs.
In Game One, the Lakers jumped out to an 18–5 lead, but the 76ers stormed back to take a 19-point lead in the second half. Los Angeles fought back to force a 94–94 tie at the end of regulation. The Lakers scored the first five points of the overtime period, but the 76ers went on a 13–2 run to end the game, winning by a 107–101 score. Iverson hit a go-ahead three-pointer in the extra period, and followed that with a jump shot after which he infamously stepped over Tyronn Lue after making the basket. Eric Snow hit a running jump shot in the waning seconds with the shot clock expiring to clinch the stunning victory. Los Angeles would win Game Two, 98–89. In Game Three, Shaquille O'Neal fouled out late in the fourth quarter, and the 76ers pulled to within a point with less than a minute to play. Robert Horry, however, hit a clutch three-pointer in that final minute, and the 76ers would lose, 91–86. The Lakers wrapped up the NBA title with a 100–86 win in Game Four and a 108–96 win in Game Five. The 2000–01 76ers featured the NBA's MVP (Iverson), the NBA's coach of the year (Brown), the Defensive Player of the Year (Mutombo), and the Sixth Man of the Year (Aaron McKie).
The 76ers went into the 2001–02 season with high expectations, but were able to produce only a 43–39 record, sixth in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, Philadelphia was defeated by the Boston Celtics, three games to two. In 2002–03, the 76ers sprinted to a 15–4 start, but a 10–20 swoon left them 25–24 at the All-Star break. After the break, the 76ers caught fire, winning nine in a row at one point, and 23 of their last 33 to finish at 48–34, earning the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Iverson scored 55 points in the playoff opener against the New Orleans Hornets, and the Sixers went on to win the series in six games. In the second round, the Detroit Pistons ended Philadelphia's playoff run in a frustrating six-game series that saw the 76ers lose twice in overtime, and once on a last-second shot in regulation.
On Memorial Day, 2003, Brown abruptly resigned as head coach, taking over the reins in Detroit a few days later. After being turned down by Jeff Van Gundy and Eddie Jordan, the 76ers hired Randy Ayers, an assistant under Brown, as their new head coach. Ayers lasted only 52 games and was fired with the team's record at 21–31. Chris Ford took over, but the 76ers finished the 2003-2004 season at 33–49, missing the playoffs for the first time in six years. Iverson, who was at odds with Ford throughout the interim coach's tenure, played only 48 games in a stormy, injury-plagued season.
For the 2004-2005 season, Philadelphia native Jim O'Brien was named head coach. Iverson was moved back to point guard and flourished, having arguably his finest season. He also impressed many with his willingness to get other players involved in the offense. During this season, Philadelphia acquired Chris Webber in a trade with the Sacramento Kings, with the hopes that the team had at long last found a consistent second scoring option to compliment Iverson. Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia's first-round pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, was named to the All-Rookie First Team, and the 76ers returned to the postseason with a 43–39 record. In the first round, they were defeated in five games by the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Pistons, coached by Larry Brown.
Though the 2004-05 76ers exceeded many on-court expectations, there was a great deal of behind-the-scenes tension between O'Brien, his players, and the front office. Shortly after the season ended, O'Brien was fired and replaced by the popular Maurice Cheeks, who played for the team from 1978–89, and was the starting point guard for the 1983 NBA Champions. However, the coaching change did not help team's fortunes for the 2005-06 season. A 2–10 stretch in March doomed them to missing the playoffs for the second time in three years with a 38–44 record.
With the opening of the 2006–07 season, the 76ers started out hot, going 3–0 for the first time since making it to the Finals five years previously. However, they stumbled through the first half of the season and couldn't quite recover, finishing 35–47, good for 3rd in the Atlantic Division, and 9th in the Eastern Conference (tied with Indiana).
On December 5, 2006, disappointed with the direction the team was headed, Allen Iverson gave the 76ers management an ultimatum: find players who will help support me or trade me. This was confirmed via an in-game interview with team owner, Ed Snider.[8]
On December 19, 2006, Allen Iverson, along with Ivan McFarlin, were sent to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Andre Miller, forward Joe Smith, and two first-round draft picks.
On January 11, Sixers GM Billy King announced that the Sixers and aging forward Chris Webber had agreed to a buyout of the remainder of his contract. The Sixers would pay Webber $36 million over the next 1½ seasons, which is $7 million less than he would have been paid to play. After the buyout, the Sixers waived Webber, making him a free agent. Webber signed with the Detroit Pistons shortly thereafter.
The Sixers drafted Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets SF Thaddeus Young with the 12th pick, traded with the Miami Heat for 21st pick Colorado State PF Jason Smith, traded with the Portland Trail Blazers for 42nd pick Vanderbilt SG/SF Derrick Byars, and then finally traded with the Utah Jazz for Providence PF Herbert Hill.
On December 4, 2007, the Sixers fired Billy King and replaced him with Nets GM Ed Stefanski.[9]
This season, the Sixers revamped their homecourt design. The logo based on their home uniforms is placed on center court, while the primary logo is placed on the right side of the baseline. The streaking ball on the left side of the court is eliminated, and the team website is placed on the sideline.
The Sixers clinched a playoff berth with a win over the Atlanta Hawks on April 4, 2008. It was their first postseason appearance since 2005, as well as the first in the post-Iverson era. However, they were eliminated by the Pistons in six games, with Detroit winning the series 4–2. Even with this elimination, many fans considered this to be a successful season, considering that the Sixers were 12 games under .500 in early February and went on to have a run that led them to the playoffs and a 40–42 record.
On July 9, 2008, the 76ers signed power forward Elton Brand to a 5 year, $79.795 million-dollar contract.[10] They were able to sign him after trading Rodney Carney,[11] and renouncing their rights to all their unrestricted free agents.[12] Brand had originally opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, looking to re-sign with them.[13] But Elton saw that the 76ers offered him more money (he regarded their offer as the "Philly-Max"), and a better chance at winning an NBA Championship playing in the Eastern Conference. This move has been the subject of controversy since there were rumors that he and Baron Davis had made a friendly agreement to play together for the Clippers.[14] Later the team signed free agent point guard Royal Ivey of the Milwaukee Bucks,[15] Kareem Rush from the Indiana Pacers,[16] and then signed former Sixer Theo Ratliff after Jason Smith's injury. Donyell Marshall was signed on September 2, 2008 after he stated that he wanted to go back home to his agent and end his career in the city of brotherly love.[17] Rush, Ivey, Ratliff and Marshall were all paid the veteran's minimum wage because of their one-dimensional play, but they were to be contributors to a team on the rise. During the offseason they also re-signed valuable restricted free agents Louis Williams and Andre Iguodala for 5 yr/$25 million[18] and 6 yr/$80 million, respectively.[19]
However, the Sixers couldn't find the form that pushed them to the playoffs last year. The Sixers started the year with an uninspiring 9–14 record before firing head coach Maurice Cheeks on December 13. Assistant GM Tony DiLeo took over and the Sixers gradually improved. They finished the season with a 41–41 record, with a 32–27 record under DiLeo. Brand's first season with the Sixers ended early with a right shoulder injury that required surgery. Despite the loss of Brand, the Sixers earned a playoff berth with a 90–95 win against the Detroit Pistons on April 4, 2009, at home.
In the first round, they faced the Orlando Magic. Three of the first four games of the series provided late-game heroics. Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young made game-winning shots in Games 1 and 3, respectively, while Orlando's Hedo Türkoğlu provided the game-winner in Game 4. Just like in the previous year's playoffs, the Sixers led 2–1 after three games. But the Magic went on to win three straight to eliminate the Sixers from the playoffs.
It was also during the season that the Sixers played one home game at their old home, the Wachovia Spectrum. The Sixers won 104–101 over the Chicago Bulls on March 13, 2009. The game was played to provide the final curtain call on the Spectrum, which was scheduled to be imploded on New Year's Eve 2009.
For the 2009 offseason, the Sixers drafted UCLA point guard Jrue Holiday with the 17th pick. The Sixers also traded power forward Reggie Evans to the Toronto Raptors for a three-point specialist, small forward Jason Kapono, who had won back-to-back three-point shootouts in 2007 and 2008.[20] This offseason also marked the return of the 1977–1997 76ers logo, along with a redesigned court and new uniforms updating the 1982–83 jerseys.[21]
On December 2, 2009, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that they had signed Allen Iverson to a one-year prorated $1.3 million non-guaranteed contract. His second debut with the Sixers was spoiled by the Nuggets, the team he was traded to in 2006, in the same week of his return to Philadelphia. In the 93–83 loss, Iverson had 11 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
However, the euphoria that greeted Iverson's return to the 76ers faded quickly. On February 22, Iverson announced he was leaving the 76ers indefinitely to attend to his daughter's illness, and a few weeks later the 76ers announced that Iverson would not be returning for the rest of the season.
The 76ers finished with a record of 27–55, its first 50-loss season since 1998. Most cited the reason behind this as the players' inability to play within Eddie Jordan's Princeton offense, with several players unhappy with his system. Hours after the 76ers' last game at Orlando on April 14, the team fired Jordan after only one season.
On May 18, 2010, the NBA Draft Lottery was held. With the 76ers holding the sixth-best odds at receiving the top pick, they managed to land the second pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, beating out the Warriors, Kings, Timberwolves, and Nets, who all had better odds. Two days later, Doug Collins was named head coach of the 76ers. Collins previously played for the Sixers, and coached the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, and the Washington Wizards. On June 24 they picked Evan Turner with the second overall pick of the draft.
The Sixers started the season with an uninspiring 3-13 mark, but started turning things around, winning 38 of the last 66 games to finish with a 41-41 record. They clinched a playoff berth on April 1, 2011, their third in the last four years. The 76ers valiantly competed, but ultimately fell to the Miami Heat in the first round in five games.
On July 13, 2011, CBS Sports reported a deal was reached between team owner Comcast-Spectacor and an investor group led by Joshua Harris of Apollo Global Management, LLC to sell the 76ers for a reported $280 million. Former player agent and Sacramento Kings executive Jason Levien is rumored to be part of the proposed ownership group.
Ed Snider of Comcast-Spectacor has owned the Sixers, the Philadelphia Flyers NHL team and the Wells Fargo Center where they both play. This sale is for the Sixers only, not the building or any part of the Flyers.[22] on October 18,2011,Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Are Minority Owners of Philadelphia 76ers .
While team colors have changed somewhat over the years, with emphasis alternating between blue, white, red, and even black and gold, the 76ers have always been closely identified with the logo featuring the number 76 with 13 stars arranged in a circle above the number 7 to represent the original 13 American colonies. The logo portrays the patriotic nature of the United States, prominently featuring the colors red, blue and white, and Philadelphia's reputation as the birthplace of American independence. The logo was used from 1962-77, after which it was slightly modified to feature the full team nickname and a basketball adorning the logo. This iteration was used from 1977-97. The 76ers also had an alternate logo with the '76' wordmark inside the silhouette of the Liberty Bell with 'Philadelphia' on top.
In the 1997-98 NBA season, the Sixers drastically changed their logo and colors, apparently in an effort to appeal to a more youthful, hip-hop oriented culture. The iconic 76 logo was dropped, and a new logo was introduced, featuring a bigger 76ers wordmark, with a single star behind the number 7 and a streaking basketball below. More controversially, gold and black became the primary logo colors, with red, white and blue being reduced to accent colors only. Uniforms were primarily white (home), and black (away). This logo and color scheme were the basis for the team uniforms until the 2008-09 NBA season.
During the 2008-09 season, while the previous logo was still in use, the original 'Stars and Stripes' 76 logo was revived to coincide with the team's 60th anniversary (counting the Syracuse years). The previous 1977-97 logo was reintroduced, with the addition of a red square and 'Philadelphia' inside a blue rectangle below it, although the partial logo without the square, city name and rectangles was also used. Uniform colors for this anniversary edition were white only. The anniversary uniforms proved so popular that they inspired the team to return to the old logo and color scheme full time in the 2009-10 season, with red away uniforms completing the ensemble. This combination continues to represent the 76ers to the present.
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Roster • Transactions |
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| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Reserve | Inactive |
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| C | Spencer Hawes | Nikola Vucevic | Tony Battie | |
| PF | Elton Brand | Craig Brackins | Lavoy Allen | |
| SF | Andre Iguodala | Thaddeus Young | Andres Nocioni | |
| SG | Jodie Meeks | Evan Turner | ||
| PG | Jrue Holiday | Lou Williams |
All-time Leading Scorer
NBA Defensive Player of the Year
NBA Most Improved Player of the Year
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Boston Celtics 1959-1966 |
NBA Champions Philadelphia 76ers 1967 |
Succeeded by Boston Celtics 1968-1969 |
| Preceded by Los Angeles Lakers 1982 |
NBA Champions Philadelphia 76ers 1983 |
Succeeded by Boston Celtics 1984 |
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