Each NBA team’s best trade in franchise history

Philadelphia 76ers

Dikembe Mutombo and Roshown McLeod for Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed, Theo Ratliff, and Pepe Sanchez (to ATL) (2001)

When fans discuss the 2000-01 Philadelphia 76ers, the conversation usually doesn’t go much farther than this: Allen Iverson carried them to the NBA Finals.

While that’s certainly true as far as the offense was concerned — a generous description of then-head coach Larry Brown’s scheme would be Iverson-centered — that Sixers team also sported a fearsome defense, as their defensive rating sat 4.1 points per 100 possessions below the league average.

With Iverson shouldering most of the scoring load, the team relied on physical perimeter defenders like Eric Snow, Raja Bell, and that season’s Sixth Man of the Year Aaron McKie to shut down opposing guards and wings and center Theo Ratliff to patrol the paint and each entity excelled at their job.

But when Ratliff suffered an injury midway through the season, the front office — led by executive Billy King — scoured the league for a suitable replacement and decided on All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo, who was wasting away on a bad Atlanta Hawks team.

To bring the former Defensive Player of the Year aboard — along with Roshown McLeod for salary matching — the Sixers sent Ratliff, Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed, and Pepe Sanchez. Mutombo’s 2.5 blocks per game and, .201 WS/48, and 2.7 DBPM more than maintained Philly’s defensive profile, and it along with Iverson’s heroics carried the Sixers to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers brushed them aside in five games, but at least we got Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue.