History of the Philadelphia 76ers

Al Cervi, playing less and coaching more, emphasized a patient offense and a scrappy defense, which led the league in the 1951–1952 season by yielding a stingy 79.5 points per game as the Nationals won the Eastern Division with a solid 40–26 record.

Needing a win in Boston to keep their hopes alive, the Nationals would take the Celtics deep into overtime before losing in quadruple OT 111–105, in what remains the longest playoff game in NBA history.

Coming off their NBA Championship the Nationals struggled during the 1955–1956 season, needing a tiebreaker over the New York Knickerbockers to avoid finishing in last place and make the playoffs with a 35–37 record.

Fort Wayne and Rochester had moved on to Detroit and Cincinnati for the 1957–1958 season, leaving the Syracuse Nationals as the last small town team in the big city NBA.

In the playoffs the Nationals would once again rise to the occasion sweeping the New York Knickerbockers in 2 straight to reach the Eastern Finals, where they gave the eventual champion Boston Celtics all they could handle, alternating wins before falling by 5 points in Game 7.

Playing in a league now dominated by superstars like Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors and Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks, the Nationals held their posting a solid 45–30 record, while finishing in 3rd place after the 1959–1960 regular season.

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!

Led by Erving, 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.

In the Finals, they sprinted to a 2–0 series lead over the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers—who was coached by former Sixers coach/general manager Jack Ramsay—only to drop the next four games in a row to give the Blazers the title.

In five seasons with the 76ers, Hawkins would average 19 points per game, and was the team's all-time leader in three-point field goals attempted and made when he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for Dana Barros, Sidney Green and draft picks in 1993.

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.

Despite holding a 41–14 record and a comfortable lead atop both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings at the time of the February 22 trade deadline, management felt the team needed an established center to advance deep into the playoffs.

In Game Seven, the Bucks jumped out to a 34–25 second quarter advantage before seldom-used reserve Raja Bell scored 10 points to spark a 23–4 run that gave Philadelphia the lead for good.

As had been the case in their three previous Finals appearances, 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 a worn-down 76ers squad.

In Game Three, Shaquille O'Neal fouled out late in the fourth quarter, and the Sixers pulled to within a point with less than a minute to play after trailing by 12 earlier in the second half.

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.

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.

Shortly after the season ended, O'Brien was fired and replaced by the popular Maurice Cheeks, who played for the team from 1978 to 1989, and was the starting point guard for the 1983 NBA Champions.

[18] 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 July 9, 2008, the 76ers signed power forward Elton Brand to a five-year, $79.795 million contract,[20] after trading Rodney Carney[21] and renouncing their rights to all their unrestricted free agents.

[37] Collins played for the Sixers for his entire NBA career after being the first overall pick in the 1973 draft, and had previously coached the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, and the Washington Wizards.

On July 13, 2011, Comcast-Spectacor reached an agreement to sell the 76ers to an investment group led by Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris for $280 million.

[40][41] Harris decided to retain head coach Doug Collins and president of basketball operations Rod Thorn but fired Ed Stefanski, who served as general manager since 2007.

The Sixers then used their amnesty clause on Elton Brand, traded for Dorell Wright, signed Nick Young, Kwame Brown, and Royal Ivey, and re-signed Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen.

Additionally, Noel was recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered while in college, strongly indicating that he would not be able to make an immediate impact for the Sixers as he would be inactive to start the season.

to finish with the worst record in the league, had a 3–0 start that included wins over the two-time defending champion Miami Heat and a Chicago Bulls team with high expectations.

Neither prospect was expected to make an immediate impact for the Sixers, as Embiid was recovering from a stress fracture in the navicular bone, while Šarić would likely spend one or more years playing in the Turkish League.

[61] On November 12, 2018, the 76ers traded Šarić, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round draft pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton.

Julius Erving played 11 seasons with the 76ers (1976–87), and played in four NBA Finals, ultimately winning in 1983.

Larry Brown, who coached the 76ers 1997–2003, was named Coach of the Year in 2001.