1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 37th season of the franchise (going back to their days as the Syracuse Nationals) and their 20th season in Philadelphia. The 76ers entered the season as runner-ups in the 1982 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachBilly Cunningham
General managerPat Williams
ArenaThe Spectrum
Results
Record65–17 (.793)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Lakers 4–0)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWPHL-TV
PRISM
RadioWIP

Harold Katz bought the franchise in 1982. On his watch, the final piece of the championship puzzle was completed before the 1982–83 season when they acquired free-agent center Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade for Caldwell Jones,[1] joining an already stacked roster led by Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones, as well as All-Star Andrew Toney. They went on to dominate the regular season,ending the year with a 65-17 record in what is still their second highest winning season in franchise history.

Erving was the team captain and was named the NBA All Star Game MVP, while Malone was named the league's MVP. When reporters asked how the playoffs would run, he answered, "four, four, four", predicting that the Sixers would need to only play four games in each of the three playoff series to win the title.

The Sixers backed up Malone's boast, breezing through the Eastern Conference playoffs, sweeping the New York Knicks in the Semifinals, then beating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the Conference Finals. They went on to win their third NBA championship with a four-game sweep of the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who had defeated them the season before. Malone was named the Finals MVP, and his prediction turned out to be only one game off, as some used the adapted phrase "fo', fi', fo'" reflecting their one playoff loss to the Bucks.

Regarded as one of the greatest teams in history, their 12–1 playoff record still ranks as the third-best in league history after the 2016–17 Warriors, who went 16–1, and the 2000–01 Lakers, who went 15–1 en route to the NBA title coincidentally beating the 76ers in the finals. The Philadelphia-based group Pieces of a Dream had a minor hit in 1983 with the R&B song "Fo-Fi-Fo", which title was prompted by Malone's quip.

Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
122Mark McNamaraC/F United StatesCalifornia
236J.J. AndersonSF United StatesBradley
245Russ SchoenePF United StatesTennessee-Chattanooga
368Dale Solomon United StatesVirginia Tech
491Bruce Atkins United StatesDuquesne
5114Donald Mason United StatesFresno State
6137Kevin Boyle United StatesIowa
7160Keith Hilliard United StatesSouthwest Missouri State
8183Donald Seals United StatesJackson State
9204George Melton United StatesCheyney (PA)
10224Randy Burkert United StatesDrexel

Roster
Philadelphia 76ers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G 10 Cheeks, Maurice 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956-09-08 West Texas A&M
F 25 Cureton, Earl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957-09-03 Detroit Mercy
G 14 Edwards, Franklin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1959-02-02 Cleveland State
F 6 Erving, Julius 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-02-22 UMass
PF 8 Iavaroni, Marc 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1956-09-15 Virginia
C 45 Johnson, Clemon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1956–09–12 Florida A&M
SF 33 Johnson, Reggie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1957–06–25 Tennessee
F 24 Jones, Bobby 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-12-18 North Carolina
C 2 Malone, Moses 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1955-03-23 Petersburg High School
C 31 McNamara, Mark 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1959-06-08 California
G 4 Richardson, Clint 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1956-08-07 Seattle
G 22 Toney, Andrew 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1957-11-23 Louisiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Philadelphia 76ers 6517.793–35–630–1115–9
x-Boston Celtics 5626.683933–823–1814–10
x-New Jersey Nets 4933.5981630–1119–2211–13
x-New York Knicks 4438.5372126–1518–2310–14
Washington Bullets 4240.5122327–1415–2610–14
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Philadelphia 76ers6517.793–
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks5131.62214
3 x-Boston Celtics5626.6839
4 x-New Jersey Nets4933.59816
5 x-New York Knicks4438.53721
6 x-Atlanta Hawks4339.52422
7 Washington Bullets4240.51223
8 Detroit Pistons3745.45128
9 Chicago Bulls2854.34137
10 Cleveland Cavaliers2359.28042
11 Indiana Pacers2062.24445

Record vs. opponents
1982-83 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —1–55–16–01–11–13–30–22–06–00–20–21–42–43–22–41–11–10–21–11–12–04–2
Boston 5–1—3–25–12–02–03–31–12–04–11–12–03–35–13–33–32–01–12–01–11–12–03–3
Chicago 1–52–3—5–11–11–12–42–01–14–20–20–21–52–41–41–50–21–10–21–10–21–11–5
Cleveland 0–61–51–5—2–00–21–52–02–05–11–10–21–50–61–50–50–21–10–21–11–10–23–2
Dallas 1–10–21–10–2—3–32–03–25–12–03–32–30–20–20–20–22–33–22–45–02–32–40–2
Denver 1–10–21–12–03–3—2–04–15–11–13–31–42–01–10–20–24–12–32–43–23–24–21–1
Detroit 3–33–34–25–10–20–2—2–02–04–20–20–23–33–21–50–61–11–11–11–10–20–23–2
Golden State 2–01–10–20–22–31–40–2—3–21–11–41–51–10–21–10–22–42–41–43–33–33–22–0
Houston 0–20–21–10–21–51–50–22–3—2–01–50–50–21–10–20–20–50–51–52–31–40–61–1
Indiana 0–61–42–41–50–21–12–41–10–2—1–10–21–50–63–31–41–10–20–21–11–12–01–5
Kansas City 2–01–12–01–13–33–32–04–15–11–1—1–41–11–11–10–21–42–33–34–11–44–22–0
Los Angeles 2–00–22–02–03–24–12–05–15–02–04–1—2–01–12–00–23–33–31–45–15–14–11–1
Milwaukee 4–13–35–15–12–00–23–31–12–05–11–10–2—3–24–21–51–12–02–02–00–22–03–2
New Jersey 4–21–54–26–02–01–12–32–01–16–01–11–12–3—4–23–31–11–10–21–12–01–13–2
New York 2–33–34–15–12–02–05–11–12–03–31–10–22–42–4—1–50–21–12–00–21–11–14–2
Philadelphia 4–23–35–15–02–02–06–02–02–04–12–02–05–13–35–1—2–00–21–12–02–02–04–2
Phoenix 1–10–22–02–03–21–41–14–25–01–14–13–31–11–12–00–2—5–13–24–25–15–00–2
Portland 1–11–11–11–12–33–21–14–25–02–03–23–30–21–11–12–01–5—2–35–13–33–21–1
San Antonio 2–00–22–02–04–24–21–14–15–12–03–34–10–22–00–21–12–33–2—4–11–45–12–0
San Diego 1–11–11–11–10–52–31–13–33–21–11–41–50–21–12–00–22–41–51–4—0–62–30–2
Seattle 1–11–12–01–13–22–32–03–34–11–14–11–52–00–21–10–21–53–34–16–0—5–01–1
Utah 0–20–21–12–04–22–42–02–36–00–22–41–40–21–11–10–20–52–31–53–20–5—0–2
Washington 2–43–35–12–32–01–12–30–21–15–10–21–13–33–32–42–42–01–10–22–01–12–0—

Game log
1982–83 Game Log
Total: 65–17 (Home: 35–6 ; Road: 30–11)
October: 2–0 (Home: 1–0 ; Road 1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
1October 29@ New York Knicks104–89Madison Square Garden1–0
2October 30New Jersey Nets110–99Philadelphia Spectrum2–0
November: 11–3 (Home: 7–2 ; Road 4–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
3November 3San Diego Clippers130–111Philadelphia Spectrum3–0
4November 5@ Detroit Pistons120–109Pontiac Silverdome4–0
5November 6Boston Celtics119–115Philadelphia Spectrum5–0
6November 10Chicago Bulls145–108Philadelphia Spectrum6–0
7November 12Indiana Pacers108–117Philadelphia Spectrum6–1
8November 13@ New Jersey Nets110–100Brendan Byrne Arena7–1
9November 14Washington Bullets102–93Philadelphia Spectrum8–1
10November 17Detroit Pistons120–103Philadelphia Spectrum9–1
11November 19Milwaukee Bucks121–109Philadelphia Spectrum10–1
12November 23Portland Trail Blazers103–106Philadelphia Spectrum10–2
13November 24@ Indiana Pacers121–106Market Square Arena11–2
14November 26@ Cleveland Cavaliers120–102Coliseum at Richfield12–2
15November 27Utah Jazz126–113Philadelphia Spectrum13–2
16November 30@ Atlanta Hawks97–111Omni Coliseum13–3
December: 11–2 (Home: 5–0 ; Road 6–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
17December 2@ Phoenix Suns116–108Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum14–3
18December 3@ San Diego Clippers127–110San Diego Sports Arena15–3
19December 5@ Los Angeles Lakers114–104The Forum16–3
20December 8Atlanta Hawks132–85Philadelphia Spectrum17–3
21December 10@ Boston Celtics97–123Boston Garden17–4
22December 11Detroit Pistons128–111Philadelphia Spectrum18–4
23December 15Cleveland Cavaliers99–93Philadelphia Spectrum19–4
24December 17New York Knicks109–95Philadelphia Spectrum20–4
25December 18@ Washington Bullets97–100Capital Centre20–5
26December 21Boston Celtics122–105Philadelphia Spectrum21–5
27December 26@ San Antonio Spurs124–122HemisFair Arena22–5
28December 28@ Houston Rockets104–93The Summit23–5
29December 29@ Dallas Mavericks126–116Reunion Arena24–5
January: 14–1 (Home: 7–0 ; Road 7–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
30January 5Los Angeles Lakers122–120Philadelphia Spectrum25–5
31January 7@ Washington Bullets106–89Capital Centre26–5
32January 8Kansas City Kings125–113Philadelphia Spectrum27–5
33January 11@ Atlanta Hawks109–99Omni Coliseum28–5
34January 12Milwaukee Bucks122–121Philadelphia Spectrum29–5
35January 14@ Detroit Pistons115–105Pontiac Silverdome30–5
36January 15Indiana Pacers114–105Philadelphia Spectrum31–5
37January 18@ Cleveland Cavaliers98–90Coliseum at Richfield32–5
38January 19Chicago Bulls126–106Philadelphia Spectrum33–5
39January 21Seattle SuperSonics130–117Philadelphia Spectrum34–5
40January 23@ Milwaukee Bucks96–107MECCA Arena34–6
41January 25@ Chicago Bulls116–99Chicago Stadium35–6
42January 26Phoenix Suns113–102Philadelphia Spectrum36–6
43January 28@ Kansas City Kings114–99Kemper Arena37–6
44January 29@ Utah Jazz126–109Salt Palace38–6
February: 11–1 (Home: 7–0 ; Road 4–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
45February 1@ Denver Nuggets133–124McNichols Sports Arena39–6
46February 3@ Golden State Warriors117–111Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena40–6
47February 4@ Portland Trail Blazers109–115Memorial Coliseum40–7
48February 6@ Seattle SuperSonics97–96King County Domed Stadium41–7
49February 9Atlanta Hawks106–93Philadelphia Spectrum42–7
50February 10@ Chicago Bulls116–110Chicago Stadium43–7
51February 16Denver Nuggets116–95Philadelphia Spectrum44–7
52February 18Houston Rockets127–98Philadelphia Spectrum45–7
53February 20New York Knicks104–89Philadelphia Spectrum46–7
54February 23Dallas Mavericks133–101Philadelphia Spectrum47–7
55February 25Chicago Bulls116–111Philadelphia Spectrum48–7
56February 27Golden State Warriors115–104Philadelphia Spectrum49–7
March: 11–5 (Home: 6–1 ; Road 5–4)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
57March 1@ New York Knicks106–94Madison Square Garden50–7
58March 4@ Boston Celtics110–115Boston Garden50–8
59March 6@ New Jersey Nets106–112Brendan Byrne Arena50–9
60March 7Detroit Pistons123–114Philadelphia Spectrum51–9
61March 12@ Washington Bullets95–86Capital Centre52–9
62March 13Washington Bullets97–93Philadelphia Spectrum53–9
63March 15@ Indiana Pacers132–128Market Square Arena54–9
64March 16Boston Celtics105–100Philadelphia Spectrum55–9
65March 19@ Milwaukee Bucks105–97MECCA Arena56–9
66March 20@ Detroit Pistons121–119Pontiac Silverdome57–9
67March 22@ New York Knicks76–89Madison Square Garden57–10
68March 23Milwaukee Bucks104–101Philadelphia Spectrum58–10
69March 25New Jersey Nets92–101Philadelphia Spectrum58–11
70March 27Cleveland Cavaliers94–80Philadelphia Spectrum59–11
71March 29@ Chicago Bulls95–97Chicago Stadium59–12
72March 30Atlanta Hawks120–113Philadelphia Spectrum60–12
April: 5–5 (Home: 2–3 ; Road 3–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
73April 1New Jersey Nets104–111Philadelphia Spectrum60–13
74April 3@ Cleveland Cavaliers96–84Coliseum at Richfield61–13
75April 5@ Milwaukee Bucks116–108MECCA Arena62–13
76April 6San Antonio Spurs109–112Philadelphia Spectrum62–14
77April 8Indiana Pacers126–118Philadelphia Spectrum63–14
78April 10New York Knicks113–97Philadelphia Spectrum64–14
79April 12@ Atlanta Hawks97–102Omni Coliseum64–15
80April 13Washington Bullets76–95Philadelphia Spectrum64–16
81April 15@ New Jersey Nets100–98Brendan Byrne Arena65–16
82April 17@ Boston Celtics101–114Boston Garden65–17
1982–83 Schedule

Playoffs
1983 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 24 New York W 112–102 Moses Malone (38) Moses Malone (17) Maurice Cheeks (10) Spectrum
14,375		 1–0
2 April 27 New York W 98–91 Moses Malone (30) Moses Malone (17) Maurice Cheeks (6) Spectrum
15,829		 2–0
3 April 30 @ New York W 107–105 Moses Malone (28) Moses Malone (14) Maurice Cheeks (7) Madison Square Garden
17,735		 3–0
4 May 1 @ New York W 105–102 Moses Malone (29) Moses Malone (14) Maurice Cheeks (7) Madison Square Garden
15,457		 4–0
Conference Finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 8 Milwaukee W 111–109 (OT) Maurice Cheeks (26) Moses Malone (12) Maurice Cheeks (7) Spectrum
18,482		 1–0
2 May 11 Milwaukee W 87–81 Moses Malone (26) Moses Malone (17) Cheeks, Toney (4) Spectrum
18,482		 2–0
3 May 14 @ Milwaukee W 104–96 Julius Erving (26) Moses Malone (14) Maurice Cheeks (9) MECCA Arena
11,052		 3–0
4 May 15 @ Milwaukee L 94–100 Andrew Toney (24) Moses Malone (12) Maurice Cheeks (8) MECCA Arena
11,052		 3–1
5 May 18 Milwaukee W 115–103 Andrew Toney (30) Moses Malone (17) Maurice Cheeks (8) Spectrum
18,482		 4–1
NBA Finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 22 Los Angeles W 113–107 Moses Malone (27) Moses Malone (18) Julius Erving (9) Spectrum
18,482		 1–0
2 May 26 Los Angeles W 103–93 Moses Malone (24) Moses Malone (12) Maurice Cheeks (8) Spectrum
18,482		 2–0
3 May 29 @ Los Angeles W 111–94 Moses Malone (28) Moses Malone (19) Moses Malone (6) The Forum
17,505		 3–0
4 May 31 @ Los Angeles W 115–108 Moses Malone (24) Moses Malone (23) Andrew Toney (9) The Forum
17,505		 4–0
1983 schedule

NBA Finals

The 1983 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1982–83 season.

The 76ers went on to capture their second NBA championship in Philadelphia, and the third as the 76ers/Nationals franchise as they swept the New York Knicks, and proceeded to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. They finally finished it off with a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, who had defeated them the season before, making this the only NBA championship not to be won by either the Lakers or the Boston Celtics from 1980 to 1988.

Said head coach Billy Cunningham, "The difference from last year was Moses." Malone was named MVP of the 1983 Finals, as well as league MVP for the third time in his career. The 76ers completed one of the most dominating playoff runs in league history with a 12-1 mark after league and NBA Finals MVP Moses promised "Fo', fo', fo" (as in "four, four, four" – four wins to win each playoff series). The 76ers were also led by Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones.

The 1983 NBA Finals was the last to end before June 1. This championship is especially noted because it would be the last major sports championship for the city of Philadelphia until the Phillies won the 2008 World Series.[2] At the time, no other city with all four professional sports teams had a championship drought last as long as that from 1983 to 2008 (25 years).[3] When the Flyers played for the 2010 Stanley Cup, The Ottawa Citizen reported that the main reason for that lengthy championship drought was because the only years the city's teams played for championships during that time were years presidents were inaugurated.[4] The city's teams had lost championships during such years, beginning with the 76ers themselves in 1977.[4] The exceptions were the Phillies in 1983 and the Flyers in 1987.[4]

Following the 1983 NBA Finals, a video documentary called "That Championship Feeling" recaps the NBA Playoff action that year. Dick Stockton narrated the video, and Irene Cara's 1983 hit single "What A Feeling" is the official theme song for the video documentary. For the first time, NBA Entertainment used videotape instead of film for all the on-court and off-court footage.

Awards, records, and legacy

At the time, their 65-17 regular season record ranked as the fifth greatest regular season win total in NBA history. Previously, only the 1972 Lakers (69-13), 1967 Sixers (68-13), 1971 Bucks (66-16), and 1973 Celtics (68-14; who lost the Conference Finals) exceeded this win total.

In addition, their regular season winning percentage of .793 was only bettered by three teams before 1968 (the 1947 Washington Capitals of .817; 1950 Syracuse Nations of .797 and aforementioned 1967 Sixers of .840), when NBA teams played less than an 82-game regular season. Both the Capitols and the Nationals failed to win an NBA championship.

Their .8105 winning percentage, combined regular season and postseason (77-18) in 1983, has been topped since by just five teams, the 1986 Celtics (.820, also with 18 losses), 1996 and 97 Bulls (.870 and .832), 2016 Warriors (.830, with 18 losses as well as an NBA Finals loss), and 2017 Warriors (.838).

Through the first 66 regular season games, their record stood at 57–9. The 2016 Golden State Warriors started only 3 games better at 60-6 before breaking the regular season record with 73 wins.

Possessing an exceptionally talented roster and a brilliant coaching staff with Billy Cunningham, Matt Goukas, and Jack McMahon, the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers were one of the very best teams in NBA history.

References
  1. "Malone Goes to 76ers for Caldwell Jones". The New York Times. September 16, 1982.
  2. Sheridan, Phil (October 30, 2008). "WORLD CHAMPS!; 28 years later, Phillies again are baseball's best". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A1. After 25 years of drought...Philadelphia has its championship...the Phillies really are World Series champions.
  3. Levin, Bob (October 21, 2008). "Phillified". The Globe and Mail. p. S1.
  4. Warren, Ken (June 2, 2010). "Two cities that could use a CUP". Ottawa Citizen. p. B3.
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