A Look Back At The Incredible 1983 Sixers

Lakers Build A Roster, Too

Now, the Sixers were doing everything they could to be matched up well with the Lakers, but that was a difficult task to do when the Lakers had the first overall pick in the draft, despite winning a championship the year prior (the first team to ever be this lucky).

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Using this pick, they drafted James Worthy. Worthy is in the Hall of Fame, and is a great historic player. What most people don’t remember about this Sixers team is that this first round pick was not at all present for the playoffs, due to an injury. Would the outcome have been drastically different if he was on the floor?

With the momentum he had before breaking his leg, I think he would have been fantastic in the Finals, and tough to shut down. He was already averaging double digit points per game in the regular season. Having to defend Kareem as well as Worthy would have been a terribly tough task.

I’m not confident in my hypothetical assumptions enough to say that the Lakers would have won, but I don’t think the Sixers would have swept the Lakers with a healthy Worthy.

Next: The Regular Season