76ers History Online Information and NBA Betting Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
NBA Philadelphia 76ers History betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
NBA Philadelphia 76ers History History "The Answer", and the 2000-01 season With new ownership and Iverson in place, and the 76ers moving into the CoreStates Center, things seemed to finally be heading in a positive direction. Croce fired Lucas as both coach and general manager. Johnny Davis was named head coach, while Brad Greenberg took over as general manager. Iverson was named Rookie of the Year, but Philadelphia's overall improvement was minimal, as they finished with a 22–60 record. 76ers top brass felt changes had to be made after the 1996-97 season. |
To replace Davis, Larry Brown was hired as head coach. Known for a defense-first approach and transforming unsuccessful teams into winners by "playing the right way", Brown faced perhaps his toughest coaching challenge. He often clashed with Iverson, but the 76ers improved to 31 wins in 1997-98. In the early 1997-98 season, the Sixers traded Jerry Stackhouse, who had been the third overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, to the Detroit Pistons. In exchange, Philadelphia received Aaron McKie and Theo Ratliff, defensive standouts who would have an impact in the team's resurgence. The 76ers also acquired Eric Snow from the Seattle SuperSonics in January 1998.
Prior to the 1998-99 season, the 76ers signed George Lynch and Matt Geiger, but a lengthy lockout delayed the start of the season, which was shortened to 50 games. During the season, Philadelphia acquired Tyrone Hill in a trade with Milwaukee. The team began its resurgence during this strike-shortened season, finishing with a 28–22 record and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, marking the first time since 1991 the team reached the postseason. In the first round, Philadelphia upset the Orlando Magic, three games to one, before being swept by the Indiana Pacers. The following season, the Sixers improved to 49–33, fifth in the East. Again, the Sixers won their first round series in four games, this time defeating the Charlotte Hornets. For the second straight year, they were defeated by Indiana in the second round, this time in six games. Iverson and Brown continued to clash, and their relationship deteriorated to the point where it seemed certain Iverson would be traded. 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. When it became clear Iverson was staying in Philadelphia, he and Brown worked to patch things up, and the team would reap the benefits in 2000-01.
During that season, the 76ers got off to a hot start by winning their first ten games, and their record would eventually swell to 41–14. Larry Brown coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars, and Allen Iverson was named MVP of the All-Star Game. Shortly before the All-Star break, Theo Ratliff was lost for the season with a wrist injury. Feeling the team needed an established center to advance deep into the playoffs, Philadelphia acquired Dikembe Mutombo from the Atlanta Hawks in a deal that sent Ratliff, Nazr Mohammed, Toni Kukoc, and Pepe Sanchez to Atlanta (Sanchez was reacquired later in the season after the Hawks waived him) In total, the team went 56–26 en route to becoming the top seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The 56 wins were tied for the second-most in the league behind San Antonio's 58. The Los Angeles Lakers also won 56, but gained a higher overall seed than the Sixers based on tiebreakers.
In the first round of the playoffs, Philadelphia faced Indiana yet again. In Game One, the 76ers wasted an 18-point lead and lost, 79–78, when Reggie Miller hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds. Philadelphia fought back, however, and took the next three games to win the series. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Sixers squared off against the Toronto Raptors and their superstar, Vince Carter. The teams alternated wins in the first four games, with Iverson scoring 54 points in Philadelphia's Game Two victory. In Game Five, the 76ers jumped out to a 33–12 lead after the first quarter and routed the Raptors, 121–88, with Iverson contributing 52 points. Toronto won Game Six, setting the stage for Game Seven at the First Uinon Center. With the Sixers ahead, 88–87, Carter missed a jump shot at the buzzer to send Philadelphia into the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. After the teams split the first two games of the series, it was learned Iverson would miss Game Three due to various injuries that had plagued him late in the season. Though many people felt Milwaukee would win easily, the 76ers kept the game close before falling, 80–74. The Sixers would win Games Four and Five before dropping Game Six. In Game Seven, the Bucks jumped out to a 34–25 second quarter lead before seldom-used reserve Raja Bell scored 10 points to spark a 23–4 run that gave Philadelphia the lead for good. Iverson scored 44 points, and the 76ers pulled away in the second half, winning by a 108–91 score, putting them in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1983. 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 the Sixers. Because of a seemingly meaningless loss to the Chicago Bulls in the regular season finale (both the Sixers and the Lakers finished with identical 56–26 records), the 76ers had to open a series on the road for the first time in the 2001 playoffs.
In Game One, the Lakers jumped out to an 18–5 lead, but the Sixers stormed back to take a 15-point lead in the second half. Los Angeles fought back to force a 94–94 tie at the end of regulation. The Lakers scored the first five points of the overtime period, but the 76ers went on a 13–2 run to end the game, winning by a 107–101 score. Iverson hit a go-ahead three-pointer in the extra period, and followed that with a jump shot after which he famously stepped over Tyronn Lue after making the basket. Eric Snow hit a running jump shot in the waning seconds with the shot clock expiring to clinch the stunning victory. Los Angeles would win Game Two, 98–89. In Game Three, Shaquille O'Neal fouled out late in the fourth quarter, and the 76ers pulled to within a point with under a minute to play. Robert Horry, however, hit a three-pointer in that final minute, and the Sixers would lose, 91–86. The Lakers wrapped up the NBA title with a 100-86 win in Game Four and a 108–96 win in Game Five. The 2000-01 Sixers featured the NBA's MVP (Iverson), the NBA's coach of the year (Brown), the Defensive Player of the Year (Mutombo), and the Sixth Man of the Year (Aaron McKie).
Another downturn
The 76ers went into the 2001-02 season with high expectations, but were able to produce only a 43–39 record, sixth in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, Philadelphia was defeated by the Boston Celtics, three games to two. In 2002-03, the Sixers sprinted to a 15–4 start, but a 10–20 swoon left them 25–24 at the All-Star break. After the break, the 76ers caught fire, winning nine in a row at one point, and 23 of their last 33 to finish at 48–34, earning the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Iverson scored 55 points in the playoff opener against the New Orleans Hornets, and the Sixers went on to win the series in six games. In the second round, the Detroit Pistons ended Philadelphia's playoff run in six games.
On Memorial Day, 2003, Brown abruptly resigned as head coach, taking over the reins in Detroit a few days later. After being turned down by Jeff Van Gundy and Eddie Jordan, the 76ers hired Randy Ayers, an assistant under Brown, as their new head coach. Ayers lasted only 52 games and was fired with the team's record at 21–31. Chris Ford took over, but the Sixers finished the season at 33–49, missing the playoffs for the first time in six years. Iverson, who clashed with Ford throughout the second half of the season, played only 48 games in a stormy, injury-plagued season. Following the season, Philadelphia native Jim O'Brien was named head coach. Iverson was moved back to point guard and flourished, having arguably his finest season. He also impressed many with his willingness to get other players involved in the offense. During the 2004-05 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. Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia's first-round pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, was named to the All-Rookie First Team, and the Sixers returned to the postseason with a 43–39 record. In the first round, they were defeated in five games by the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Pistons, coached by Larry Brown. Following the season, O'Brien was fired and replaced by the popular Maurice Cheeks, who played for the team from 1978-89, and was the starting point guard for the 1983 NBA Champions. However, the coaching change did not turn around the team's fortunes. A 2–10 stretch in March doomed them to missing the playoffs for the second time in three years with a 38–44 record.
With the opening of the 2006-07 season, the Sixers started out hot, going 3–0 for the first time since making it to the Finals five years previously. However, they stumbled through the first half of the season and couldn't quite recover, finishing 35-47, good for 3rd in the Atlantic Division, and 9th in the Eastern Conference (tied with Indiana).
On Tuesday, December 5, 2006, disappointed with the direction the team was headed, Allen Iverson gave the 76ers management an ultimatum: find players who will help support me or trade me. This was confirmed via an in-game interview with team owner, Ed Snider.
A New Era
On December 19, 2006, Allen Iverson, along with Ivan McFarlin, was sent to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Andre Miller, forward Joe Smith, and two first-round draft picks.
On January 11, Sixers GM Billy King announced that the Sixers and aging forward Chris Webber have agreed to a buyout of the remainder of his contract. The Sixers will be paying Webber $36 million over the next 1 1/2 seasons, which is $7 million less than he would have been paid to play. After the buyout, the Sixers waived Webber, making him a free agent. Webber signed with the Detroit Pistons shortly thereafter.
The Sixers drafted Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets SF Thaddeus Young with the 12th pick, traded with the Miami Heat for 21st pick Colorado State PF Jason Smith, traded with the Portland Trailblazers for 42nd pick Vanderbilt SG/SF Derrick Byars, and then finally traded with the Utah Jazz for Providence PF Herbert Hill.
Season-by-season records
| Season | W | L | % | Playoffs | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia 76ers | |||||
| 1990-91 | 44 | 38 | .537 | Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Philadelphia 3, Milwaukee 0 Chicago 4, Philadelphia 1 |
| 1991-92 | 35 | 47 | .427 | ||
| 1992-93 | 26 | 56 | .317 | ||
| 1993-94 | 25 | 57 | .305 | ||
| 1994-95 | 24 | 58 | .293 | ||
| 1995-96 | 18 | 64 | .220 | ||
| 1996-97 | 22 | 60 | .268 | ||
| 1997-98 | 31 | 51 | .378 | ||
| 1998-99 | 28 | 22 | .560 | Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Philadelphia 3, Orlando 1 Indiana 4, Philadelphia 0 |
| 1999-2000 | 49 | 33 | .598 | Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Philadelphia 3, Charlotte 1 Indiana 4, Philadelphia 2 |
| 2000-01 | 56 | 26 | .683 | Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Lost NBA Finals |
Philadelphia 3, Indiana 1 Philadelphia 4, Toronto 3 Philadelphia 4, Milwaukee 3 LA Lakers 4, Philadelphia 1 |
| 2001-02 | 43 | 39 | .524 | Lost First Round | Boston 3, Philadelphia 2 |
| 2002-03 | 48 | 34 | .585 | Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Philadelphia 4, New Orleans 2 Detroit 4, Philadelphia 2 |
| 2003-04 | 33 | 49 | .402 | ||
| 2004-05 | 43 | 39 | .524 | Lost First Round | Detroit 4, Philadelphia 1 |
| 2005-06 | 38 | 44 | .463 | ||
| 2006-07 | 35 | 47 | .427 | ||
| 2007-08 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| Totals | 1885 | 1684 | .528 | ||
| Playoffs | 203 | 183 | .526 | 2 Championships | |
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