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Philadelphia 76ers Team History

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Philadelphia 76ers




  • 1963
  • 1967
  • 1982
  • 1983
  • 2009
  • 2011
  • Syracuse to Philadelphia 1963

    Move to Philadelphia

    The playoff overtime loss on March 26, 1963, would prove to be the last game for the Syracuse Nationals, as investors Irv Kosloff and Ike Richman purchased the team from Danny Biasone moving the team to Philadelphia to become the 76ers, filling the void left by the Warriors. Syracuse was the last of the medium-sized cities housing an NBA Team, ...
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  • Wilt Chamberlain - Philadelphia 76ers 1967

    NBA Finals Winner 1967

    NBA Finals – 1967 The 1967 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1966 – 1967 National Basketball Association season and was the conclusion of the 1967 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Francisco Warriors and the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers. This was the first championship series in 11 ...
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  • Spectrum - Philadelphia 76ers

    “The Spectrum” Opens

    In the 1967 – 1968 season, with a new home court in the form of The Spectrum to defend their championship, once again the 76ers made it back to the NBA Playoffs and in the rematch of the previous year’s semifinals, the 76ers held a 3-1 series lead over the Celtics, before the Celtics staged a dramatic comeback to beat ...
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  • Los Angeles Lakers vs Philadelphia 76ers, 1983 NBA Finals

    NBA Finals Winner 1983

    NBA Finals – 1983 The 1983 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association’s 1982 – 1983 season. This was the final postseason using the 12-team format before the NBA expanded the postseason to 16 teams the next season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers ...
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  • Wells Fargo Center

    Move into Wells Fargo Center

    It was also during the season that the Sixers played one home game at their old home, the Wachovia Spectrum. The Sixers won 104–101 over the Chicago Bulls on March 13, 2009. The game was played to provide the final curtain call on the Spectrum, which was scheduled to be imploded on New Year’s Eve 2009. The Wells Fargo Center ...
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  • Joshua Harris - Owner 76ers

    New Ownership: Joshua Harris

    On July 13, 2011, Comcast-Spectacor reached an agreement to sell the 76ers to an investment group led by Apollo Global Management co-founder Joshua Harris. Harris’ group paid $280 million for the franchise. The sale did not include any ownership stake in the Flyers or Comcast Sportsnet. The Sixers will continue to play their home games at the Wells Fargo Center ...
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History of the 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers (also commonly known as the Sixers) are an American professional basketball team based in Philadelphia. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 and originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA, and one of only eight (out of 23) to survive the league’s first decade.

The 76ers have had a rich history, with many of the greatest players in NBA history having played for the organization, including Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, and Billy Cunningham. They have won three NBA championships, with their first coming as the Syracuse Nationals in 1955. The second title came in the 1966 – 1967 season, a team which was led by Chamberlain. The third title came in the 1982 – 1983 season, won by a team led by Erving and Malone. The 76ers have only been back to the NBA Finals once since then: in 2001, when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1.





Established
1946

City
Syracuse – Philadelphia

League History
1946 – Present / National Basketball Association
1946 – 1949 / National Basketball League

Team History
1963 – Present / Philadelphia 76ers
1946 – 1963 / Syracuse Nationals

Nickname
76ers –The Syracuse Nationals were relocated to the City of Brotherly Love in 1963 and the team was renamed the 76ers, an allusion to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776.

A contest was held to decide on a new name for the team. The winning name, chosen by Walter Stalberg, was the "76ers." Newspaper writers liked the name because it was easily shortened to "Sixers" in headlines. The shorter name was quickly accepted by the team for marketing purposes, and for most of the last half-century "76ers" and "Sixers" have been officially interchangeable.

Championship
NBA Championships 2
1983, 1967, 1955

Arena
1996 – Present / Wells Fargo Center
1967 – 1995 / The Spectrum
1963 – 1967 / Convention Hall & Philadelphia Arena

*Syracuse*
1951 – 1963 / Onondaga War Memorial
1946 – 1951 / State Fair Coliseum

Owner
2012 – Present / Joshua Harris
1996 – 2011 / Comcast Spectacor
1981 – 1996 / Harold Katz
1976 – 1981 / Fitz Eugene Dixon, Jr.
1963 – 1976 / Irv Kosloff
1946 – 1963 / Daniel Biasone

Who is the greatest Philadelphia 76ers?
  • Add your greatest player

To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.

Retired Number
2 / Moses Malone
3 / Allen Iverson
4 / Dolph Schayes
6 / Julius Erving
10 / Maurice Cheeks
13 / Wilt Chamberlain
15 / Hal Greer
24 / Bobby Jones
32 / Billy Cunningham
34 / Charles Barkley
– / Dave Zinkoff

*Blue is this team’s history

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