The Philadelphia 76ers trace their lineage all the way back to the National Basketball League’s Syracuse Nationals, but who are their 25 best players?
Syracuse, N.Y., faded away from the NBA landscape more than a half-century ago, but it was there that the game we think of as the modern NBA received its most important innovation.
The pace of play in the NBA had slowed to a crawl and the fledgling league—still in its first decade of operation—had shrunk to eight teams.
Danny Biasone, the owner of the Syracuse Nationals, calculated that limiting teams to 24 seconds per possession would allow for at least 30 shots per quarter, speeding play and increasing scoring.
The implementation of the 24-second clock changed the game and in a league that has continued to tweak its game-play rules, it is the one standard that remains unchanged for 60 years.
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Why is that germane?
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Because the Syracuse Nationals are the forefather of the
, a franchise that has been around since the middle of the 1940s, when Biasone sent $5,000 to the National Basketball League to begin a franchise in upstate New York for the 1946-47 season.
The Nationals spent three years in the NBL before joining the NBA as part of a 1949 merger between the NBL and the newer Basketball Association of America.
The franchise reached the postseason ever year it was in Syracuse—three times in the NBL and 14 in the NBA— The Nats beat the Fort Wayne Pistons for the NBA title in 1955 and reached the Finals in 1950 and 1954, losing each time to the Minneapolis Lakers.
In 1963, Irv Kosloff and Ike Richman bought the team from Biasone and moved it to Philadelphia, filling the void left a year earlier when the Warriors joined professional sports’ westward migration by moving to San Francisco.
Changing the name to the 76ers, the franchise has remained in Philadelphia ever since, playing first at the Philadelphia Arena and Civic Center-Convention Hall before moving into The Spectrum in 1967 and its current location, Wells Fargo Center, in 1996.
In 1976, the 76ers were sold to Fitz Eugene Dixon, with Harold Katz buying the team in 1981. Katz sold the franchise in 1996 to Comcast Spectacor, with Pat Croce named team president.
The team was sold in 2011 to a group led by Joshua Harris, co-founder of Apollo Global Management.
The 76ers have added two titles to the franchise’s bounty, beating the San Francisco Warriors in 1967 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1983. Philadelphia also reached the Finals in 1977, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers, as well as losses to the Lakers in 1980, 1982 and 2001.
Since coming to Philadelphia, the 76ers have reached the playoffs 33 times in 53 seasons, with the franchise’s run of 22 straight years in the postseason ending in 1972. The team has missed the playoffs four straight years, last making the field in 2012.
The 76ers’ best season was in 1966-67, when they won a then-record 68 games in an 81-game schedule. It’s one of four 60-win seasons in franchise history. Philadelphia was 65-17 in 1982-83 and posted 62-20 marks in both 1967-68 and 1980-81.
Philadelphia still owns the record for most losses in a season, a 9-73 disaster in 1972-73, and nearly matched that in 2015-16 with a 10-72 mark.
The 76ers have lost 60 games or more six times in all. The 76ers were 22-60 in 1996-97, 19-63 in 2013-14 and 18-64 in both 1995-96 and 2014-15.
Despite the hard times of the last few seasons and some tough seasons over the last two decades, the franchise still has a winning record overall with a .514 winning percentage (2,726-2,578).
The franchise has employed 20 general managers/personnel decision-makers since joining the NBA, with Pat Williams having the longest tenure from August 1974 until June 1986.
Others who held the job for at least five years include Leo Ferris (from Syracuse’s entry into the NBA until January 1955), Biasone (January 1955 through May 1963) and Billy King—currently the GM of the Brooklyn Nets—from May 1998 until December 2007.
The 76ers have had three GMs in 2016. Sam Hinkie resigned April 6 after just less than three years on the job. Jerry Colangelo held the position for three days before hiring his son, former Executive of the Year Bryan Colangelo, on April 10.
No 76ers executive has been named Executive of the Year since the award began in 1972-73.
Billy Cunningham, who also played for the 76ers in a Hall of Fame career, is the winningest of the franchise’s 24 coaches, going 454-196 from 1977-85 and winning one of the team’s three titles.
Al Cervi coached from 1949-57 and was 294-201, Hall of Fame coach Alex Hannum had two stints with the club (1960-63, 1966-68) and was 257-145 and another Hall of Famer, Larry Brown, was 255-205 from 1997-2003.
All U Can Heat
Current coach Brett Brown was hired in August 2013 and is 47-199 in three seasons.
Dolph Schayes was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1965-66 and Brown won the award in 2000-01.
The franchise made its third No. 1 overall selection in the NBA Draft in June, taking Ben Simmons from LSU. The 76ers won the coin flip for the top pick in 1973 and selected Doug Collins of Illinois State and after winning the lottery in 1996 chose Allen Iverson of Georgetown.
The team has chosen second four times, third three times, fourth three times and fifth a whopping nine times.
Here are the 25 best players in the history of the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers. Players had to have appeared in 150 games and averaged a minimum of 20 minutes per game for the team to qualify for this list.
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Elton Brand was a two-time All-Star but represented a major risk when the Philadelphia 76ers signed him in July 2008, as he was coming back from a season-ending Achilles injury.
His first season with the 76ers was cut short by shoulder surgery and he never got back his previous star form before being released via the NBA’s amnesty clause in July 2012.
On Jan. 4, 2016, Brand ended a brief retirement and signed for a second stint with the 76ers. Appearing in just 17 games, Brand averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game while shooting .431/0-for-1/8-for-9
In five seasons in Philadelphia, Brand averaged 12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals in 30.4 minutes per game, shooting .488/0-for-4/.746.
Brand was a No. 1 overall pick out of Duke by the Chicago Bulls in the 1999 NBA Draft and shared Rookie of the Year honors with Steve Francis of the Houston Rockets in 1999-2000.
He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in June 2001 and was a two-time All-Star and an All-NBA pick in 2005-06 while in L.A.
He signed with the Dallas Mavericks the day after his release by the 76ers and signed with the Atlanta Hawks in July 2013. He announced his retirement from the NBA in August 2015 before returning to Philadelphia in January.
Brand is 20th in NBA history with 1,828 blocked shots and 36th with an average of 1.7 blocks per game.
He is currently unsigned for the 2016-17 season.
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The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to shake up their frontcourt rotation in January 1988 when they acquired Mike Gminski and Ben Coleman from the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Roy Hinson, Tim McCormick and a second-round pick in 1989.
Gminski was a solid shooter for a big man, finishing fourth in the NBA in free-throw shooting in 1987-88.
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In parts of four seasons in Philadelphia, Gminski averaged 14.9 points, nine rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 blocks in 33.2 minutes per game, shooting .455/.129/.873.
The seventh overall pick out of Duke by the Nets in the 1980 NBA Draft, Gminski was later traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in February 1994. Unsigned as a free agent after the 1993-94 season, Gminski returned to Charlotte to retire in September.
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Steve Mix was on the outer fringes of professional basketball in 1972-73, cut by the Philadelphia 76ers in training camp and playing for a team called the Grand Rapids Pickers in the Continental Basketball Association. He got another chance with the 76ers in August 1973 and made the most of it.
Mix went from those humble beginnings to become an All-Star in 1975 and finished second in the NBA in steals in 1973-74.
He was also part of a renaissance in Philadelphia, playing in three NBA Finals as a reserve. In a six-game loss to the
in the 1977 NBA Finals, Mix averaged 6.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals in 18.7 minutes a game, shooting 48.5 percent from the floor and going 7-for-9 at the line.
He appeared in five of the six games of the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980 NBA Finals, averaging 7.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 15.2 minutes a game, shooting .483/—/8-for-8.
Mix was nearing the end in 1982 in another six-game loss to the Lakers, appearing in three games and averaging 3.3 points in five minutes per game, shooting 4-for-7/1-for-1/1-for-1.
He signed with the Milwaukee Bucks as a veteran free agent in September 1982, ending a decade with the 76ers.
In nine seasons in Philadelphia, Mix averaged 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 25.3 minutes per game, shooting .503/5-for-17/.808.
Mix was a fifth-round pick out of Toledo by the Detroit Pistons in the 1969 NBA Draft and spent parts of three seasons there before being waived in November 1971. He signed with the American Basketball Association’s Denver Rockets in December 1971 before he was waived after playing in just one game.
The Bucks waived Mix in April 1983 and five days later, he signed with the Lakers, playing in one game against Philadelphia in the NBA Finals.
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Red Kerr has earned All-America recognition as a senior at Illinois, averaging more than 25 points a game, and the bulky center was taken sixth overall in the 1954 NBA Draft by the Syracuse Nationals, who were coming off a berth in the NBA Finals.
Kerr stepped in and helped the Nationals to their first NBA title in 1955 and went on to earn three All-Star berths. A bull on the boards, Kerr finished fourth in the league in rebounding in 1958-59 and was fifth in both 1957-58 and 1961-62.
In a seven-game triumph over the Fort Wayne Pistons in the 1955 NBA Finals, Kerr averaged 12.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 33 minutes per game, shooting 34.3 percent from the floor and 56.3 percent from the line.
He remained with the team through its move to Philadelphia in 1963 before the 76ers traded him to the Baltimore Bullets in September 1965 in exchange for Wali Jones.
In 11 seasons in Syracuse and Philadelphia, Kerr averaged 14 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 31.2 minutes per game, shooting 41.8 percent from the field and 71.9 percent at the foul line.
In May 1966, Kerr was selected in the expansion draft by the Chicago Bulls, opting to retire to become the franchise’s first head coach.
He coached the Bulls for their first two seasons, going 62-101 and 1-7 in the playoffs while winning NBA Coach of the Year honors in 1966-67.
He was then named the first coach of the Phoenix Suns, with a record of 31-89 in parts of two seasons.
Kerr is 37th in NBA history with 10,092 rebounds and 24th with an average of 11.2 rebounds per game. He died from prostate cancer in his native Chicago—where he spent more than 30 years as a broadcaster for the Bulls—on Feb. 26, 2009, at the age of 76.
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The Syracuse Nationals picked up some backcourt help during the summer of 1948 when they signed Paul Seymour, who had bounced around the National Basketball League and Basketball Association of America.
Seymour settled in with the Nationals, earning three All-Star bids after the team joined the NBA, and twice being named All-NBA.
He was fourth in the league in assists in 1953-54 and 1954-55 and fifth in 1952-53, also finishing second in minutes per game in 1954-55 and fourth in free-throw shooting in 1953-54.
Seymour averaged 7.5 points a game in a six-game loss to the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1950 NBA Finals.
He put up a team-best 15.9 points a game in a seven-game loss to Minneapolis in the 1954 NBA Finals and averaged 10.7 points, six assists and 3.4 rebounds in 36 minutes a game when the Nationals topped the Fort Wayne Pistons in a seven-game series in the 1955 NBA Finals, shooting 28 percent from the floor and 92 percent at the line.
Seymour was named player-coach in Syracuse in November 1956, going 155-124 in parts of four seasons, posting a 9-11 playoff record, before resigning as coach and retiring as a player in March 1960.
In 11 NBA seasons with Syracuse, Seymour averaged 9.6 points, 3.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game, shooting 35.1 percent from the field and 79.6 percent at the foul line.
Seymour originally signed with the Toledo Jeeps of the NBL out of the University of Toledo in 1946 and went to the BAA’s Baltimore Bullets in 1947 before being released in January 1948.
He spent parts of two seasons as coach of the St. Louis Hawks from 1960-61, with a record of 56-37 in the regular season and 5-7 in the postseason. He was 38-42 with Baltimore in 1965-66 and 22-38 while finishing out the 1968-69 season as coach of the Detroit Pistons.
Seymour died May 5, 1998, in Jensen Beach, Fla., at the age of 70 after suffering from heart disease.
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Chet Walker was a three-time All-American at Bradley, averaging more than 26 points and 12 rebounds per game as a senior, but slipped to the second round in the 1962 NBA Draft, where the Syracuse Nationals gladly grabbed him.
Walker was an All-Rookie selection in 1962-63 and after the Nationals moved to Philadelphia in 1963, he earned three All-Star appearances.
He was a standout in the 1967 NBA Finals, averaging 23.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 34.8 minutes per game, shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 77.4 percent from the line in a six-game win over the San Francisco Warriors.
In September 1969, the 76ers traded Walker and Shaler Halimon to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Jim Washington, receiving Bob Kauffman as a player to be named later in May 1970.
In seven seasons in Syracuse and Philadelphia, Walker averaged 16.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 31.6 minutes per game, shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 73.9 percent at the foul line.
Walker was a four-time All-Star with the Bulls, leading the NBA in free-throw shooting in 1970-71, retiring in November 1975 after a serious knee injury.
He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
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Theo Ratliff was a raw project as a big man when he was acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers in a massive trade with the Detroit Pistons in December 1997.
The Sixers got Ratliff along with Aaron McKie and a first-round pick in 2003 in exchange for Jerry Stackhouse, Eric Montross and a second-round selection in 2005.
Ratliff became an All-Star in 2001 and was an All-Defensive pick in 1998-99, leading the NBA in blocks in 2000-01, finishing third in 1998-99 and fourth in both 1997-98 and 1999-2000.
But by the time the 76ers played in the 2001 NBA Finals, Ratliff was gone.
Out with an injured hand that caused him to miss the All-Star Game, Ratliff was traded with Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed and Pepe Sanchez to the Atlanta Hawks in February 2001 in exchange for Dikembe Mutombo and Roshown McLeod.
He returned to Philadelphia as a free agent in August 2008 and played one more season before leaving to sign with the San Antonio Spurs in July 2009.
In parts of five seasons with the 76ers, Ratliff averaged 10 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in 29.4 minutes per game, shooting .498/—/.736.
Selected 18th overall out of Wyoming by Detroit in the 1995 NBA Draft, Ratliff’s NBA adventure was long and winding.
While with the Hawks, he led the league in blocks in 2002-03. He was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in February 2004, leading the NBA in blocks again in 2003-04 while also being named All-Defensive that season.
He was dealt to the Boston Celtics in June 2006 and was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in July 2007 before being waived in February 2008. Five days later, he returned to the Pistons as a free agent.
In February 2010, Ratliff was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats and he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers in July 2010. Unsigned in the summer of 2011, Ratliff retired.
He is 19th in NBA history with 1,968 blocked shots and 13th with an average of 2.4 blocks per game.
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It was a franchise-changing trade in December 2006 when the Philadelphia 76ers sent Allen Iverson and Ivan McFarlin to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first-round picks in 2007.
Miller had to replace a legendary figure in Iverson and he handled it admirably until leaving to sign as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers in July 2009.
In parts of three seasons in Philadelphia, Miller averaged 15.9 points, 6.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 36.8 minutes per game, shooting .479/.179/.803.
Miller was the eighth overall pick out of Utah by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1999 NBA Draft, earning All-Rookie honors in 1999-2000 and leading the NBA in assists in 2001-02.
In July 2002, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers and left in August 2003 to sign with the Nuggets as a free agent.
Miller was traded back to Denver as part of a three-team deal in June 2011 and was swapped to the Washington Wizards in a three-team deal in February 2014.
In February 2015, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings and he signed a free-agent deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves in August 2015.
His contract was bought out by the TImberwolves Feb. 25, 2016, and four days later he signed with the San Antonio Spurs for the remainder of the season.
Unsigned for 2016-17, Miller is 17th in NBA history with 1,304 games, 30th with 40,268 minutes played, ninth with 8,524 assists, 35th with 1,546 steals and 38th with an average of 6.5 assists per game.
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It was a trade that ended an era in July 1968 when the Philadelphia 76ers traded Wilt Chamberlain to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for All-Star Archie Clark, Darrall Imhoff and Jerry Chambers.
Clark played both guard spots while with the 76ers before being traded with a second-round pick in October 1971 to the Baltimore Bullets for Fred Carter and Kevin Loughery.
In parts of four seasons in Philadelphia, Clark averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and four rebounds in 34 minutes per game, shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 76.3 percent at the line.
He does not appear on any of the franchise’s all-time lists.
Clark was a fourth-round pick out of Minnesota by the Lakers in the 1966 NBA Draft and was an All-Star in L.A. in 1968. He was a late bloomer who was discovered playing intramural ball while in the Army and didn’t finish college until he was 24.
He earned another All-Star bid with the Bullets in 1972, also being named All-NBA. In August 1974, he was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics and in September 1975, Clark was swapped to the Detroit Pistons.
Waived in July 1976, Clark retired and in 1992 helped co-found the National Basketball Retired Players Association.
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The Philadelphia 76ers made a big trade on draft night in 1988, acquiring the rights to sixth overall pick Hersey Hawkins and a first-round pick in 1989 from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the rights to No. 3 overall selection Charles Smith.
Hawkins had come off a massive senior season at Bradley in which he was named AP Player of the Year, averaging more than 36 points and almost eight rebounds a game.
He didn’t quite put up those numbers in Philly, but he was an All-Rookie selection in 1988-89, when he finished fourth in the NBA in 3-point shooting, and was an All-Star in 1991.
Hawkins was traded in September 1993 to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Dana Barros, Sidney Green, Greg Graham and a first-round pick in 1994.
In five seasons in Philadelphia, Hawkins averaged 19 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals in 36.1 minutes per game, shooting .464/.406/.867.
Hawkins was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in June 1995 and later dealt to the Chicago Bulls in August 1999.
After being waived by the Bulls in September 2000, he returned to Charlotte as a free agent two days later, playing one more season before retiring after the 2000-01 campaign.
Hawkins is 47th in NBA history with 1,226 3-pointers, 27th with 1,622 steals, 50th with a 3-point percentage of .395 and 26th with a free-throw percentage of .870.
Next: No. 1 Pick’s Career Cut Short By Knee Injury
Doug Collins was an All-American, an Olympian who had averaged 26 points and five rebounds a game as a senior at Illinois State and the Philadelphia 76ers—coming off the worst season in NBA history—took the shooting guard with the first overall pick in the 1973 NBA Draft.
Injuries cut short his rookie year and would be an over-arching theme to his career. Despite that, Collins was a four-time All-Star, but he never really recovered from a major knee injury in 1979.
In the 1977 NBA Finals, Collins averaged 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 39.2 minutes per game, shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 81.3 percent at the line in a six-game loss to the
.
When the 76ers returned to the NBA Finals in 1980, Collins was injured and did not play in the six-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
He eventually retired in September 1981 after playing in only 48 games the previous two seasons.
In eight seasons in Philadelphia, Collins averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 33.6 minutes per game, shooting .501/0-for-1/.833.
Collins later coached in the NBA, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 137-109 record and a 13-17 playoff mark from 1986-89. In 1995, he became coach and general manager of the Detroit Pistons and was 121-88 overall and 2-6 in the postseason before he was fired in February 1998.
He coached the Washington Wizards for two seasons from 2001-03, going 74-90, and was coach of the 76ers from 2010-13, with a record of 110-120 and an 8-10 playoff mark before resigning in April 2013.
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Andre Iguodala was an intriguing upside prospect when he entered the 2004 NBA Draft after his sophomore year at Arizona during which he averaged almost 13 points, more than eight rebounds and nearly five assists per game.
The Philadelphia 76ers used the ninth overall pick to take the athletic swingman.
Iguodala was an All-Rookie selection in 2004-05, an All-Defensive pick in 2010-11 and an All-Star in 2012 for the 76ers, leading the NBA in minutes per game in 2008-09 and finishing fourth in steals in 2006-07.
In August 2012, Iguodala was sent to the Denver Nuggets in a massive four-team swap in which the Sixers also traded Maurice Harkless, Nikola Vucevic and a future first-round pick to the Orlando Magic and got back Andrew Bynum from the Los Angeles Lakers and Jason Richardson from Orlando.
In eight seasons in Philadelphia, Iguodala averaged 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals in 37.7 minutes per game, shooting .461/.331/.737.
Iguodala played one season in Denver before going to the Golden State Warriors in a three-team, sign-and-trade deal in July 2013.
With the Warriors, he was an All-Defensive pick in 2013-14 and made history in the 2015 NBA Finals by becoming the first reserve to win Finals MVP honors.
Under contract with Golden State through 2016-17, Iguodala is 45th in NBA history with 1,472 steals.
Next: Made The Most Of An Opportunity
Dana Barros was traded twice in three days but the second one was the charm, as the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Barros along with Sidney Green, Greg Graham and a first-round pick in 1994 from the Charlotte Hornets in September 1993 in exchange for former All-Star Hersey Hawkins.
Barros had spent his first four seasons as a reserve but made the most of his first opportunity to play regularly, earning Most Improved Player honors in 1994-95 as well as being named an All-Star in 1995.
He was second in the NBA in minutes per game in 1994-95 while also finishing third in 3-point shooting and free-throw shooting and fourth in 3-pointers. He was also fifth in the league in 3-pointers in 1993-94.
He turned his stint with the 76ers into a nice payday, signing as an unrestricted free agent with the Boston Celtics in September 1995.
In two seasons in Philadelphia, Barros averaged 16.9 points, 6.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 35.8 minutes per game, shooting .481/.426/.872.
Barros was the 16th overall pick out of Boston College by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1989 NBA Draft and led the NBA in 3-point shooting in 1991-92.
In September 1993, he was traded to the Hornets before coming to the 76ers.
In August 2000, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in a four-team deal but was swapped again to the Detroit Pistons in October 2000.
Unsigned as a free agent after the 2001-02 season, Barros sat out nearly two years before returning to Boston as a free agent in April 2004. Unsigned after the season, he retired.
He is 17th in NBA history with a 3-point percentage of .411 and 39th with a free-throw percentage of .858.
Next: Began, Ended Career In Philadelphia
Larry Costello had lost most of his first two NBA seasons to the U.S. Army and didn’t impress terribly in his third before the Syracuse Nationals purchased his contract from the Philadelphia Warriors in October 1957.
The move shot his career to new heights.
Costello was a six-time All-Star with the Nationals and, later, the 76ers and was an All-NBA selection in 1960-61.
He was the top free-throw shooter in the NBA in 1962-63 and 1964-65, was third in the league in 1961-62 and fifth in 1959-60.
He also finished third in the league in field-goal percentage in 1960-61, was third in assists in 1958-59 and fourth in 1959-60 and was fifth in the NBA in minutes per game in both 1957-58 and 1958-59.
Costello retired after the 1964-65 season and played the 1965-66 campaign in the Eastern Professional Basketball League before getting a call from coach Alex Hannum that the 76ers needed backcourt help for the 1966-67 season.
He was on the roster but did not play in the 1967 NBA Finals, when the 76ers won their first title after moving from Syracuse by beating the San Francisco Warriors in six games. Costello then retired for good after the 1967-68 season.
In 10 seasons with Syracuse and Philadelphia, Costello averaged 12.9 points, 4.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game, shooting 44.5 percent from the floor and 84.6 percent at the line.
A second-round pick out of Niagara by the Warriors in the 1954 NBA Draft, Costello missed the entire 1955-56 season to serve in the U.S. Army.
The Milwaukee Bucks hired Costello as their head coach for their inaugural season in 1968-69 and also, just for good measure, selected him from Philadelphia in the May 1968 expansion draft.
In parts of nine seasons with the Bucks, Costello was 410-264 and 37-23 in the playoffs, including winning the NBA championship in 1970-71. He resigned his position in November 1976 after a 3-15 start.
In June 1978, he was hired to coach the Chicago Bulls, but was fired in February 1979 with the club at 20-36.
After battling cancer for more than a year, Costello died Dec. 13, 2001, in Fort Myers, Fla., at the age of 70.
Next: Took Philly By Storm For A Season
It took a few years, but the Philadelphia 76ers finally got their man when they signed power forward George McGinnis as a free agent in July 1975.
The 76ers had selected the former Indiana star in the second round of the 1973 NBA Draft … just after he had completed his first All-Star season with the ABA’s Indiana Pacers.
McGinnis was the reigning co-MVP of the ABA when he signed with the Sixers and he delivered. He was a two-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA pick and finished fifth in the MVP voting in 1975-76.
He was also second in the NBA in steals in 1975-76.
McGinnis, however, struggled in the 1977 NBA Finals, averaging 13 points, 9.3 rebounds, three assists and a steal in 28.8 minutes per game, shooting just 38.8 percent from the floor and 51.6 percent at the line in the six-game loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
In August 1978, he was traded with the rights to 21st overall pick Mike Evans to the Denver Nuggets for Bobby Jones, Ralph Simpson and a first-round pick in 1984.
In three seasons in Philadelphia, McGinnis averaged 21.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals in 35.2 minutes per game, shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 71.4 percent at the foul line.
McGinnis signed with the Pacers after his sophomore year at Indiana and was a three-time ABA All-Star and three-time All-ABA pick besides sharing MVP honors with future Philadelphia teammate Julius Erving in 1974-75, when he led the ABA in scoring.
He earned an All-Star berth with the Nuggets in 1979 before being traded back to Indiana in February 1980. Waived in October 1982, McGinnis retired.
He was 22nd in ABA history with 4,056 rebounds, sixth with 525 steals, 21st with 7,919 points, sixth with an average of 38.2 minutes per game and fifth with averages of 25.2 points and 12.9 rebounds per game.
Of players eligible for the Basketball Hall of Fame, McGinnis is the only former MVP in either the ABA or NBA not to be inducted.
Next: Mo Ran The Show
Maurice Cheeks was an intriguing mid-major prospect out of West Texas State (now West Texas A&M) after averaging almost 17 points, six rebounds and six assists per game as a senior.
The Philadelphia 76ers took Cheeks in the second round of the 1978 NBA Draft and the Chicago native was a day-one starter at point guard.
Cheeks wound up a four-time All-Star and a five-time All-Defensive selection for the 76ers, leading the NBA in minutes per game in 1985-86.
He was also third in the league in assists in 1981-82 and fifth in 1985-86 and finished second in the NBA in steals in 1981-82, third in 1986-87 and fourth in 1980-81, 1983-84 and 1985-86.
In the 1980 NBA Finals, Cheeks averaged 14.7 points, 6.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 36.8 minutes per game, shooting .577/0-for-1/6-for-9 in a six-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Back in the Finals in 1982, he averaged 14.7 points, 8.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and two steals in 37.2 minutes per game on .429/0-for-1/.762 shooting in another six-game defeat at the hands of the Lakers.
The 76ers broke through against L.A. in the 1983 NBA Finals, with Cheeks averaging 15.3 points, 6.3 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.3 rebounds in 35.8 minutes per game, shooting .553/—/9-for-15 in the four-game sweep.
In August 1989, Cheeks was traded with David Wingate and Chris Welp to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Johnny Dawkins and Jay Vincent.
In 11 seasons in Philadelphia, Cheeks averaged 12.2 points, 7.3 assists, three rebounds and 2.3 steals in 33.5 minutes per game, shooting .528/.250/.790.
He was traded to the New York Knicks in February 1990 and later was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks in October 1991. In January 1993, he signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets, retiring at the end of the 1992-93 season.
Cheeks was an assistant coach for the 76ers for six years before getting a head coaching gig with the Portland Trail Blazers in June 2001. He was 162-139 and 3-7 in the playoffs before he was fired in March 2005.
Hired to coach in Philadelphia in May 2005, the 76ers were 122-147 and 2-4 in the postseason on Cheeks’ watch before he was fired in December 2008. Cheeks was hired to coach the Detroit Pistons in June 2013, but was just 21-29 before he was fired in February 2014.
Hired as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder in June 2015, he is 12th in NBA history with 7,392 assists, fifth with 2,310 steals, 47th with a field-goal percentage of .523, 33rd with an average of 6.7 assists per game and 10th with an average of 2.1 steals per game.
Next: The Super Sub Of The Sixers
It was a trade of All-Star big forwards in August 1978 when the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Bobby Jones along with Ralph Sampson and a first-round pick in 1984 from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for George McGinnis and the rights to 21st overall pick Mike Evans.
Philadelphia won the deal in a rout.
Jones was a two-time All-Star and a seven-time All-Defensive selection with the 76ers and won the NBA’s first Sixth Man of the Year award in 1982-83.
In the 1980 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Jones averaged 11 points, 5.7 rebounds, two assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals in 26.8 minutes per game, shooting .500/—/10-for-11 in the six-game loss.
Still a starter when the 76ers got to the Finals again in 1982, Jones averaged 11.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and a block in 31 minutes per game, shooting .560/—/.619 in another six-game defeat at the hands of the Lakers.
Coming off the bench in the 1983 NBA Finals, Jones averaged 12 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.3 blocks and two steals in 26.8 minutes per game on .568/0-for-1/6-for-9 shooting in a four-game sweep of L.A.
Jones remained a reserve for much of the rest of his career before retiring in June 1986.
In eight seasons in Philadelphia, Jones averaged 10.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks in 24.8 minutes per game, shooting .542/0-for-16/.794.
Jones was the fifth overall pick out of North Carolina by the Houston Rockets in the 1974 NBA Draft, but he never played for them, signing instead with the Denver Rockets of the ABA.
He was an All-Star, an All-ABA pick and a two-time ABA All-Defensive pick before the team, renamed the Nuggets in 1974, moved to the NBA. Jones earned two more All-Star bids and two more All-Defensive spots in the NBA and led the league in field-goal percentage in 1977-78.
He was 16th in ABA history with 337 steals, 11th with 337 blocked shots and was the ABA’s all-time leader with a field-goal percentage of .592.
Jones is 16th in NBA history with a field-goal percentage of .550, as well.
Next: The Kangaroo Kid Made Leap From Role Player To Star
Billy Cunningham had leapt his way to All-American honors, averaging more than 25 points and 14 rebounds per game as a senior at North Carolina, and the Philadelphia 76ers used the fifth overall pick in the 1965 NBA Draft to take the athletic combo forward.
He was an All-Rookie selection in 1965-66 and went on to become a four-time All-Star and a four-time All-NBA selection, finishing third in the MVP voting in 1968-69 and fifth in 1969-70.
Cunningham finished third in the league in scoring in 1968-69 and fourth in 1969-70.
In the 1967 NBA Finals, he averaged 19.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and three assists in just 25.3 minutes per game, shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 53.7 percent from the foul line as the 76ers won the NBA title in six games over the San Francisco Warriors.
In September 1969, Cunningham signed a future contract, a two-year, $400,000 deal with the ABA’s Carolina Cougars that wouldn’t take effect until the 1972-73 season. In January 1971, the deal was upgraded to five years.
But he only played two in the rival league. The cash-strapped Cougars sold Cunningham’s contract back to the 76ers in June 1974—one of the few instances of a player switching leagues without some sort of legal fight.
While with Carolina, Cunningham had earned the ABA MVP award in 1972-73.
His return to the NBA ended early in the 1975-76 when Cunningham sustained a career-ending knee injury. He officially retired in October 1976.
In nine seasons in Philadelphia, Cunningham averaged 20.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, four assists and 1.2 steals in 34.3 minutes per game, shooting 44.6 percent from the floor and 72 percent at the line.
In November 1977, Cunningham was hired to coach the 76ers and was 454-196 in parts of eight seasons prior to resigning in May 1985. The team was 66-39 in the playoffs under Cunningham, reaching the NBA Finals three times and winning the 1983 NBA title.
Cunningham is 41st in NBA history with an average of 20.8 points per game and 39th with an average of 10.1 rebounds per game.
Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986, Cunningham was named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996.
Next: A Two-City Star
Hal Greer put up some amazing numbers as a 6-foot-2 guard at Marshall as a senior—almost 24 points and 12 rebounds a game—and the Syracuse Nationals rolled the dice on Greer as a second-round selection in the 1958 NBA Draft.
He spent two seasons as a reserve before breaking into the starting lineup and went on to be a 10-time All-Star and MVP of the 1968 NBA All-Star Game as well as a seven-time All-NBA selection.
He was second in the league in field-goal percentage in 1959-60 and fifth in 1958-59, finished third in free-throw shooting in 1963-64 and fifth in 1962-63 and was fifth in minutes per game in 1967-68.
Greer only played in the NBA Finals once and made the most of it, averaging 26 points, eight rebounds and 6.2 assists in 45.5 minutes per game while shooting 39.9 percent from the floor and 82.6 percent at the line as the 76ers beat the San Francisco Warriors in six games in 1967.
He played his final two seasons as a player-assistant coach before retiring in June 1973.
In 15 seasons with Syracuse and Philadelphia, Greer averaged 19.2 points, five rebounds and four assists in 35.5 minutes per game, shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 80.1 percent at the foul line.
Greer is 34th in NBA history with 39,788 minutes played and 33rd with 21,586 points.
Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982, he was also named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996.
Next: Chairman Of The Boards Delivered A Title
Moses Malone was the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player when he agreed to a whopping six-year, $13.2 million deal as a veteran free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers in September 1982.
The deal wasn’t cheap—the 76ers lost Caldwell Jones and a first-round pick in 1983 to the Houston Rockets as compensation, but Malone delivered the Sixers their elusive NBA title.
He repeated as MVP in 1982-83, was a four-time All-Star, a three-time All-NBA selection and was All-Defensive in 1982-83, Malone led the league in rebounding in 1982-83, 1983-84 and 1984-85 and was fourth in 1985-86 and finished fifth in the NBA in scoring in 1982-83, as well.
He was a monster in the 1983 NBA Finals, averaging 25.8 points, 18 rebounds, two assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in 39.3 minutes per game, shooting .507/—/.660 as the 76ers swept the Los Angeles Lakers to win the championship. Malone was named Finals MVP.
In June 1986, Malone was traded with Terry Catledge and first-round picks in 1986 and 1988 to the Washington Bullets for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson.
He returned to the 76ers as a free agent in August 1993, spending a season as a reserve before being waived in June 1994.
In five seasons in Philadelphia, Malone averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks in 33.1 minutes per game, shooting .476/0-for-9/.780.
His pro basketball odyssey began in August 1974, when he became the first high-school player to sign a pro contract, inking a seven-year deal with the ABA’s Utah Stars and was named an ABA All-Star as a rookie in 1975.
When the Stars folded in December 1975, his rights were assigned to the Spirits of St. Louis, who folded as part of the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.
He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the ABA dispersal draft, but was traded to the Buffalo Braves in October 1976 and then to Houston six days later.
Malone was a two-time MVP with the Rockets, a five-time All-Star, a four-time All-NBA selection and an All-Defensive pick in 1978-79, while leading the NBA in rebounding three times and in minutes per game twice.
He was named an All-Star twice and All-NBA in 1986-87 while with Washington and signed with the Atlanta Hawks as an unrestricted free agent in August 1988.
In July 1991, Malone signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks. After being waived by the 76ers, he signed with the San Antonio Spurs in August 1994, retiring after the 1994-95 season.
He is 14th in NBA history with 1,329 games, 17th with 45,071 minutes played, fifth with 16,212 rebounds, 26th with 1,733 blocked shots, eighth with 27,409 points, 47th with an average of 20.6 points per game and 15th with an average of 12.2 rebounds per game.
Named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996 and the ABA All-Time Team in 1997, Malone was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
Malone died Sept. 13, 2015, in Norfolk, Va., at the age of 60.
Next: Sir Charles Could Never Reign In Philly
Charles Barkley didn’t put up huge numbers as a junior at Auburn, averaging more than 15 points and nine rebounds per game before declaring for the pros, but the Philadelphia 76ers took a shot at the undersized power forward with the fifth overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft.
Good call.
He was an All-Rookie selection in 1984-85 and was a six-time All-Star, including the MVP of the 1991 All-Star Game, and a seven-time All-NBA selection with the 76ers, finishing second in the MVP voting in 1989-90 and fourth in both 1987-88 and 1990-91.
Barkley led the NBA in rebounding in 1986-87, was second in 1985-86 and 1988-89 and third in 1989-90.
He also finished fourth in the league in scoring in 1987-88 and 1990-91; was second in field-goal percentage in 1988-89 and 1989-90, third in 1986-87 and 1987-88 and fourth in 1990-91; and was second in minutes per game in 1986-87 and 1987-88, third in 1989-90 and fourth in 1988-89.
Unhappy with the rebuilding project in Philly, Barkley was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in June 1992 for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry.
In eight seasons in Philadelphia, Barkley averaged 23.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals and a block in 37.3 minutes per game, shooting .576/.241/.733.
Barkley was named MVP with the Suns in 1992-93, as well as earning four All-Star bird and four All-NBA selections.
In August 1996, he was traded to the Houston Rockets and was an All-Star in 1997. He retired in April 2000 after making a one-game comeback from a torn quadriceps tendon.
Barkley is 35th in NBA history with 39,330 minutes played, 18th with 12,546 rebounds, 25th with 1,648 steals and 23,757 points, 22nd with a field-goal percentage of .540, 32nd with an average of 36.7 minutes per game, 26th with an average of 22.1 points per game and 19th with an average of 11.7 rebounds per game.
Named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team while still active in 1996, Barkley was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Next: The Answer A Polarizing Superstar
Allen Iverson was a controversial figure long before he stepped onto an NBA court but after the All-American averaged 25 points and almost five assists a game as a sophomore at Georgetown, the Philadelphia 76ers took the talented combo guard with the first overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.
Iverson was NBA Rookie of the Year in 1996-97 and was later named MVP in 2000-01 while earning seven All-Star berths—winning MVP of the All-Star Game in both 2001 and 2005—and six All-NBA nods.
He was fourth in the MVP voting in 1998-99 and fifth in 2004-05 and was the NBA’s scoring champ in 1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2004-05.
Iverson also led the NBA in steals three straight seasons (2000-01 through 2002-03) and topped the league in minutes per game four times while with the 76ers.
He averaged 35.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 47.4 minutes per game in the 2001 NBA Finals, shooting .407/.282/.729 in a five-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In December 2006, Iverson was traded with Ivan McFarlin to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first-round picks in 2007.
He returned to the 76ers as a free agent in December 2009 before being released in March 2010.
In parts of 12 seasons in Philadelphia, Iverson averaged 27.6 points, 6.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 41.4 minutes per game, shooting .421/.309/.779.
He was a two-time All-Star with the Nuggets and an All-NBA pick in 2005-06, leading the NBA in minutes per game in both 2005-06 and 2006-07 before he was traded to the Detroit Pistons in November 2008.
Iverson was an All-Star in 2008 and led the NBA in minutes per game in 2007-08. He signed as a free agent with the Memphis Grizzlies in September 2009, but was waived in November of that year.
After being waived by Philadelphia, Iverson played the 2010-11 season in Turkey and officially retired in October 2013.
He is 48th in NBA history with 37.584 minutes played, 43rd with 5,624 assists, 12th with 1,983 steals, 23rd with 24,368 points, fourth with an average of 41.1 minutes per game, seventh with an average of 26.7 points per game, 48th with an average of 6.2 assists per game and ninth with an average of 2.2 steals per game.
Iverson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2016.
Next: Dr. J Provided The Highlights
The excitement over the arrival of ABA superstar Julius Erving to the NBA in the fall of 1976 was enormous and that was before the shocking sale of Erving’s contract to the Philadelphia 76ers from the New York Nets just two days before the start of the season in October 1976.
Erving delivered everything that was hoped for and then some.
The NBA MVP in 1980-81, Erving was an All-Star in each of his 11 seasons with the 76ers, winning All-Star Game MVP honors in 1977 and 1983, and was a seven-time All-NBA pick, as well.
He was second in the MVP voting in 1979-80, third in 1981-82 and fifth in both 1976-77 and 1982-83.
Erving was fourth in the NBA in scoring in 1979-80 and fifth in 1981-82.
In the 1977 NBA Finals, Erving averaged 30.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, five assists, 2.7 steals and 1.2 blocks in 41.3 minutes per game, shooting 54.3 percent from the floor and 85.7 percent at the line in a six-game loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Back in the Finals in 1980, he averaged 25.5 points, seven rebounds, five assists, 2.3 blocks and two steals in 40.7 minutes a game on .522/1-for-4/.708 shooting in a six-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the 1982 NBA Finals, Erving put up a stat line of 25 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks in 38.3 minutes per game, shooting .543/0-for-2/.720 as the Lakers won the series in six games.
He played a smaller role in 1983, averaging 19 points, 8.5 rebounds, five assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.3 steals in 38.3 minutes a game on .469/—/.800 shooting as the 76ers beat Los Angeles in a four-game sweep.
Erving retired after the 1986-87 season.
In 11 seasons in Philadelphia, he averaged 22 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks in 34.3 minutes per game, shooting 507/.261/.777.
He signed with the ABA’s Virginia Squires in April 1971 out of Massachusetts and was later drafted 12th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1972 NBA Draft, though he never played for them.
Erving created some controversy in April 1972, signing with the Atlanta Hawks, but the contract was voided and the Hawks were penalized two second-round picks and $250,000 for the illegal signing.
He was traded to the Nets with Willie Sojourner in August 1973 in exchange for George Carter, the rights to draft pick Kermit Washington and cash.
A three-time ABA MVP, Erving helped the Nets to ABA titles in 1974 and 1976.
He was 23rd in ABA history with 16,550 minutes played, 11th with 4,924 rebounds, 15th with 1,952 assists, second with 764 steals and an average of 28.7 points per game, fourth with 648 blocked shots and an average of two blocks per game, fifth with 11,662 points and an average of 12.1 rebounds per game, 17th with a field-goal percentage of .504, third with averages of 40.7 minutes and 2.4 steals per game and 10th with an average of 4.8 assists a game.
Erving is 42nd in NBA history with 1,508 steals, 46th with 1,293 blocked shots, 30th with an average of 22.0 points per game and 31st with an average of 1.8 steals per game.
He was named to the NBA’s 35th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1981, the 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996 and the ABA All-Time Team in 1997 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Next: High-Scoring Forward Made A Career With Franchise
The National Basketball League’s Syracuse Nationals set themselves on the road to success by spending some cash, first to acquire the rights to NYU standout Dolph Schayes from the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and then by outbidding the New York Knicks to sign him.
The Knicks had selected Schayes with the fourth overall pick in the 1948 Basketball Association of America draft, but the Nationals offered more money and Schayes signed.
He was the NBL Rookie of the Year in 1948-49 and then moved with the franchise to the NBA after the two rival leagues merged in 1949.
Schayes was a 12-time All-Star after the move, earning All-NBA honors 12 times as well. He was second in the MVP voting in 1957-58 and finished fifth in both 1955-56 and 1956-57.
Schayes also led the NBA in rebounding in 1950-51, was the league’s top free-throw shooter three times, 1957-58, 1959-60 and 1961-62 and led the NBA in minutes per game in 1956-57 and 1957-58.
He finished in the top five in rebounding nine times in all, in scoring five times—capped by a second-place finish in 1957-58—and in free-throw shooting 10 different seasons.
Schayes averaged 17.3 points per game as the Nationals lost to the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1950 NBA Finals in six games and averaged 9.3 points on 39.7 percent shooting from the floor and uncharacteristic 55.9 percent shooting at the line in a seven-game loss to Minneapolis in the 1954 NBA Finals.
In the 1955 NBA Finals, Schayes averaged 19 points, 11.9 rebounds and three assists in 31.1 minutes per game, shooting 39.2 percent from the field and 83.8 percent at the foul line as the Nationals topped the Fort Wayne Pistons in seven games.
When the franchise moved to Philadelphia in 1963, Schayes was named player-coach before retiring as a player after the 1963-64 season.
In 15 NBA seasons with Syracuse and Philadelphia, he averaged 18.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 34.4 minutes per game, shooting 38 percent from the floor and 84.9 percent at the line.
He coached the 76ers for three seasons, going 129-111 and 9-12 in the playoffs, earning Coach of the Year honors in 1965-66 … just before he was fired from the job.
Schayes returned to coaching in 1970 as the first coach of the expansion Buffalo Braves and was 22-61, resigning one game into the 1971-72 season.
He is 26th in NBA history with 11,256 rebounds and 16th with an average of 12.1 rebounds per game.
Named to the NBA’s 25th Anniversary Team in 1971 and the 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996, Schayes was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973.
He died on Dec. 10, 2015, at the age of 87.
Next: The Big Dipper Made A Title-Winning Return To Philly
With a bad team and in financial trouble, the San Francisco Warriors did the unthinkable in January 1965, trading Wilt Chamberlain—the best player in the game—to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Connie Dierking, Paul Neumann, Lee Shaffer and a reported $150,000 cash.
For Chamberlain, it was a return to his hometown and to where his NBA career began.
He won three straight MVP awards for the 76ers in 1965-66, 1966-67 and 1967-68, was an All-Star three times and a four-time All-NBA selection.
He finished fifth in the MVP voting in 1964-65. He led the NBA in scoring in 1964-65 and 1965-66, was fifth in 1966-67 and fourth in 1967-68.
After finishing second in rebounding in 1964-65, he led the NBA three straight seasons and, for good measure, he was second in the NBA in assists in 1967-68 and third in 1966-67.
He also led the NBA in field-goal percentage all four seasons he was with the 76ers and in minutes per game three times, finishing second in 1964-65.
And in 1967, Chamberlain had his breakthrough, finally beating the Boston Celtics in the playoffs before going on to win his first title.
In the six-game NBA Finals victory over—coincidentally enough—the Warriors, Chamberlain averaged 17.7 points, 28.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 47.8 minutes per game, shooting 56 percent from the floor and 30.6 percent from the foul line.
After the 1967-68 season, Chamberlain asked for a trade and was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers for Archie Clark, Darrall Imhoff and Jerry Chambers.
In parts of four seasons in Philadelphia, Chamberlain averaged 27.6 points, 23.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 46.3 minutes per game, shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 45.6 percent at the line.
Chamberlain turned professional after his junior year at Kansas, playing a year with the Harlem Globetrotters before being taken as a territorial selection by the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1959 NBA Draft.
He was the NBA MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1959-60 and was a six-time All-Star with the Warriors, who moved to San Francisco in 1962, and was named All-NBA six times while leading the league in scoring every year and in rebounding four times.
With the Lakers, Chamberlain was a four-time All-Star, was All-NBA in 1971-72, named All-Defensive twice and earned Finals MVP honors in 1972 while leading Los Angeles to the title.
In September 1973, Chamberlain signed to play for and coach the expansion San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA. A court order blocked him from playing but he did coach the team (occasionally) to a 37-47 record, leaving the game after the 1973-74 season.
He is the NBA’s all-time leader with 23,924 rebounds and averages of 45.8 minutes and 22.9 rebounds per game, is seventh in league history with 47,859 minutes played, fifth with 31,419 points, 26th with a field-goal percentage of .540 and second with an average of 30.1 points per game.
Chamberlain was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979 and was named to the NBA’s 35th and 50th anniversary teams in 1981 and 1996, respectively.
Next: NBA Draft: Best Player Ever Selected in all 60 Spots
He was found dead at his Bel Air, Calif., home on Oct. 12, 1999, at the age of 63 from an apparent heart attack.