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Philadelphia 76ers: 25 Best Players To Play For The 76ers

By Phil Watson

Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; General view of the Wells Fargo Center during a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons won107-95. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; General view of the Wells Fargo Center during a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons won107-95. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Philadelphia Warriors basketball player Wilt Chamberlain attempts to block a shot from John Kerr of the Syracuse Nationals.
Philadelphia Warriors basketball player Wilt Chamberlain attempts to block a shot from John Kerr of the Syracuse Nationals. /

player. 93. <strong>How acquired:</strong> 6th overall pick from Illinois, 1954 NBA Draft.. C. 1954-65. Red Kerr. 22

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.

PHI_22_KERR
PHI_22_KERR /

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.

Next: The Player Became The Player-Coach