NBA: Greatest head coach in each team’s franchise history

Greatest head coach in Philadelphia 76ers history: Billy Cunningham, 1977-85

For all the flash of the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers, and The Legend of Larry Bird, few people give credit to the Philadelphia 76ers for their success in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. Seven times did the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals, including four trips to the NBA Finals and a title in 1983.

Those rosters were stacked with the likes of Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones. That collection of two-way talent was managed by Billy Cunningham, who spent eight seasons leading the team in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Many coaches have had success with the 76ers. The franchise’s first five coaches all finished their Sixers careers with a winning record (the first few as the Syracuse Nationals, technically). Larry Brown led the team back to the NBA Finals in 2001 where Philadelphia ran into the steam engine that was Shaquille O’Neal in his prime.

Despite the various successes, no coach hit the high that Cunningham got to. 454 wins blow the next-best total out of the water, as does his 66 playoff games coached. For sustained success even when the rest of the Eastern Conference was loading up around him, Cunningham gets the nod here.