1983 NBA Finals

The 1983 NBA World Championship Series, also known as Showdown '83, was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1982–83 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It was the last NBA Championship Series completed before June 1. The Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers four games to zero to win their third NBA championship. After their previous four final meetings, they beat the Lakers for the first time in NBA Finals history. 76ers center Moses Malone was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). This, along with the 1989 NBA Finals, were the only two NBA championships of the 1980s not to be won by either the Lakers or the Boston Celtics; every NBA Finals of that decade featured either the Lakers or Celtics, and sometimes both (1984, 1985, 1987). Coincidentally, the Lakers were also swept in the 1989 NBA Finals, that time by the Detroit Pistons.

1983 NBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Philadelphia 76ers Billy Cunningham 4
Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley 0
DatesMay 22–31
MVPMoses Malone
(Philadelphia 76ers)
Hall of Famers76ers:
Maurice Cheeks (2018)
Julius Erving (1993)
Bobby Jones (2019)
Moses Malone (2001)
Lakers:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1995)
Magic Johnson (2002)
Bob McAdoo (2000)
Jamaal Wilkes (2012)
James Worthy (2003; did not play)
Coaches:
Billy Cunningham (1986, player)
Pat Riley (2008)
Broadcasters:
Chick Hearn (2003, contributor)
Officials:
Hugh Evans (2022)
Darell Garretson (2016)
Earl Strom (1995)
Eastern Finals76ers defeated Bucks, 4–1
Western FinalsLakers defeated Spurs, 4–2

Background

Philadelphia 76ers
Main article: 1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 76ers lost their first two Finals meetings with the Lakers in 1980 and 1982. While Julius Erving played superbly in both series, their frontcourt of Darryl Dawkins, Caldwell Jones, and Bobby Jones couldn't neutralize Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. So in the off-season, the 76ers acquired Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets in an effort to counter Abdul-Jabbar, in addition to providing some offense and rebounding to the team. They parted ways with Caldwell Jones, Dawkins, and Lionel Hollins before the season, while giving greater responsibility to high-scoring guard Andrew Toney and backup playmaker Clint Richardson, and adding forwards Clemon Johnson and rookie Marc Iavaroni.

Malone's acquisition paid dividends, as the 76ers won 65 games in the 1982–83 NBA season. Prior to the playoffs, Malone predicted the team would win in four games in each of the three rounds, ending it with the statement Fo, Fo, Fo. The 76ers would steamroll through the playoffs, sweeping the New York Knicks 4–0 in the conference semifinals, before overcoming the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.

Los Angeles Lakers
Main article: 1982–83 Los Angeles Lakers season

The Lakers earned the top pick of the 1982 NBA draft, becoming the only defending champion to earn the top overall pick in the same season. This was because Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien traded their first round pick and Butch Lee to the Lakers for Don Ford and draft pick Chad Kinch three years earlier. Because the Cavaliers earned the worst record at 15–67, they would have earned the top overall pick via a coin toss with the 17–65 San Diego Clippers. Instead, the Lakers would earn the top pick and ultimately selected future Hall of Famer James Worthy first overall.

The Lakers won 58 games the next season. Worthy was a strong contender for Rookie of the Year when he broke his leg late in the season, therefore missing the rest of the season and the playoffs. Despite Worthy's absence, Magic Johnson, already a top-level guard, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 35 and still in his prime, led the Lakers back to the Finals. They beat the Portland Trail Blazers 4–1 and the San Antonio Spurs 4–2 in the second and third playoff rounds, respectively.

Road to the Finals
Main article: 1983 NBA Playoffs
Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference champion)Philadelphia 76ers (Eastern Conference champion)
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers5824.707–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5329.6465
3 x-Phoenix Suns5329.6465
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics4834.58510
5 x-Portland Trail Blazers4636.56112
6 x-Denver Nuggets4537.54913
7 Kansas City Kings4537.54913
8 Dallas Mavericks3844.46320
9 Utah Jazz3052.36628
9 Golden State Warriors3052.36628
11 San Diego Clippers2557.30533
12 Houston Rockets1468.17144
1st seed in the West, 2nd best league record		 Regular season
#
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
1st seed in the East, best league record
Earned first-round bye First Round Earned first-round bye
Defeated the (5) Portland Trail Blazers, 4–1 Conference Semifinals Defeated the (5) New York Knicks, 4–0
Defeated the (2) San Antonio Spurs, 4–2 Conference Finals Defeated the (2) Milwaukee Bucks, 4–1

Regular season series

The Philadelphia 76ers won both games in the regular season series:

Series summary
GameDateHome teamResultRoad team
Game 1May 22Philadelphia 76ers113–107 (1–0)Los Angeles Lakers
Game 2May 26Philadelphia 76ers103–93 (2–0)Los Angeles Lakers
Game 3May 29Los Angeles Lakers94–111 (0–3)Philadelphia 76ers
Game 4May 31Los Angeles Lakers108–115 (0–4)Philadelphia 76ers

The final piece of the Philadelphia 76ers' championship puzzle was completed before the 1982–83 season when they acquired center Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets. They went on to capture their third NBA championship as they won 65 games, and stormed through the playoffs, first sweeping the New York Knicks, and then beating 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.

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 round 1, four wins to win round 2, etc.), but it actually wound up as "Fo', fi', fo." (four, five, four). The 76ers were also led by Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones.

With 59 seconds to go in Game 4, it was Erving who made a three-point play to hold the lead for good, crushing the Lakers in a four-game sweep and ending the last NBA Finals to end before June.

Until the Phillies won the 2008 World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays in a 4-1 sweep, this was the last time for 25 years that a team from Philadelphia in the Big Four leagues won their league's championship.

Game 1
May 22
3:35 p.m. EDT
Los Angeles Lakers 107, Philadelphia 76ers 113
Scoring by quarter: 20–30, 37–24, 26–31, 24–28
Pts: Norm Nixon 26
Rebs: Mark Landsberger 10
Asts: Magic Johnson 11		 Pts: Moses Malone 27
Rebs: Moses Malone 18
Asts: Julius Erving 9
Philadelphia leads the series, 1–0
The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 18,482
Referees:
  • No. 14 Jack Madden
  • No. 4 Ed T. Rush

Game 2
May 26
9:05 p.m. EDT
Los Angeles Lakers 93, Philadelphia 76ers 103
Scoring by quarter: 29–26, 26–25, 20–28, 18–24
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23
Rebs: Magic Johnson 8
Asts: Magic Johnson 13		 Pts: Moses Malone 24
Rebs: Moses Malone 12
Asts: Maurice Cheeks 8
Philadelphia leads the series, 2–0
The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 18,482
Referees:
  • No. 10 Darell Garretson
  • No. 9 John Vanak
  • No. 12 Earl Strom (alternate)

Game 3
May 29
12:35 p.m. PDT
Philadelphia 76ers 111, Los Angeles Lakers 94
Scoring by quarter: 21–32, 28–20, 23–20, 39–22
Pts: Moses Malone 28
Rebs: Moses Malone 19
Asts: Moses Malone 6		 Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15
Asts: Magic Johnson 13
Philadelphia leads the series, 3–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,505
Referees:
  • No. 20 Jess Kersey
  • No. 11 Jake O'Donnell
  • No. 25 Hugh Evans (alternate)

Game 4
May 31
6:05 p.m. PDT
Philadelphia 76ers 115, Los Angeles Lakers 108
Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 27–39, 31–28, 33–15
Pts: Moses Malone 24
Rebs: Moses Malone 23
Asts: Andrew Toney 9		 Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28
Rebs: Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Landsberger, McGee 7 each
Asts: Magic Johnson 15
Philadelphia wins the series, 4–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,505
Referees:
  • No. 25 Hugh Evans
  • No. 12 Earl Strom
  • No. 20 Jess Kersey (alternate)

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Andrew Toney4436.8.423.000.8482.35.81.30.322.0
Moses Malone4439.3.507.000.66018.02.01.51.525.8
Maurice Cheeks4435.8.553.000.6002.36.32.80.015.3
Bobby Jones4026.0.568.000.6674.82.82.02.312.0
Marc Iavaroni4424.8.588.000.3755.52.00.30.85.8
Julius Erving4438.3.469.000.8008.55.01.32.819.0
Clint Richardson4023.0.393.000.7503.31.81.30.36.3
Clemon Johnson3012.7.385.000.0003.00.30.30.33.3
Earl Cureton306.3.333.000.0001.00.30.70.00.7
Mark McNamara101.01.000.000.0000.00.00.00.04.0
Reggie Johnson101.0.000.000.0000.00.00.00.00.0
Franklin Edwards301.0.000.0001.0000.30.00.00.00.7
Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Bob McAdoo2021.0.409.5001.0007.00.52.51.011.0
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar4438.8.552.000.7697.53.00.82.323.5
Jamaal Wilkes4439.3.461.000.5715.81.82.01.318.5
Norm Nixon3336.7.405.000.6362.74.71.30.313.7
Michael Cooper4131.5.486.333.8333.51.81.50.310.0
Kurt Rambis4421.3.480.000.7784.50.80.51.57.8
Mark Landsberger4014.0.400.0001.0005.00.50.00.52.5
Magic Johnson4444.8.408.000.9297.812.51.80.519.0
Clay Johnson304.0.600.000.0000.70.30.30.32.0
Mike McGee2010.0.333.000.0003.50.50.00.03.0
Dwight Jones208.5.125.000.0002.00.00.00.01.0
Steve Mix101.0.000.000.0000.00.00.00.00.0

[1]

Television coverage

The 1983 NBA Finals was broadcast by CBS. Dick Stockton and Bill Russell were the commentators and Brent Musburger was the host, with Kevin Loughery as a pre-game, halftime and post-game analyst. It also introduced a new theme music (composed by Allyson Bellink) for the CBS Sports coverage of the NBA, used an introduction of the NBA arenas (similar to the Boston Garden) until the 1989 Playoffs and later revived the second theme beginning in the 1989 Finals.[2]

Russell departed CBS following the series, and was replaced by former Celtics teammate Tom Heinsohn. Russell would later resurface as a color analyst on TBS until 1986.

Team rosters

Philadelphia 76ers
1982–83 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
F 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
F 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 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1955–03–23 Petersburg (HS)
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

Los Angeles Lakers
1982–83 Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
C 33 Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1947–04–16 UCLA
G 21 Cooper, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1956–04–15 New Mexico
G 34 Johnson, Clay 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1956–07–18 Missouri
G 32 Johnson, Magic 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959–08–14 Michigan State
F 13 Jones, Dwight 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1952–02–27 Houston
G 15 Jordan, Eddie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955–01–29 Rutgers
F 54 Landsberger, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1955–05–21 Minnesota
C 11 McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951–09–25 North Carolina
F 40 McGee, Mike 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1959–07–29 Michigan
F 50 Mix, Steve 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1947–12–30 Toledo
G 10 Nixon, Norm 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955–10–11 Duquesne
F 31 Rambis, Kurt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1958–02–25 Santa Clara
F 52 Wilkes, Jamaal 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1953–05–02 UCLA
F 42 Worthy, James 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1961–02–27 North Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

See also

References
  1. "1983 NBA Finals - Lakers vs. 76ers | Basketball-Reference.com".
  2. NBA on CBS
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