Top 30 Memorable Philadelphia 76ers Moments Of All Time
By Josh Wilson
Winning the first Sixers franchise championship
In 1967 Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight boxing title, the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL’s first Superbowl, and the Philadelphia 76ers dominated the NBA, with arguably one of the best teams in league history.
After a disappointing Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Boston Celtics the year before, The Sixers came into the ’67 season with tunnel vision.
With the NBA’s reigning MVP Wilt Chamberlain, the team won 45 of its first 49 games, while only losing at home twice. They ended the season at a league best 68-13.
Chamberlain continued to monopolize rebounds that year averaging 24.2 a game. He also averaged 24.1 points a contest and learned how to share the ball, at 7.8 assists per game, third best in the league.
The fact of the matter was the Sixers complimented Chamberlain with two of the best small forwards in the NBA. Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham nearly averaged a double-double a game, allowing Philadelphia to seize and conquer any activity in the paint.
The Sixers started their playoff run defeating the Cincinnati Royals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They trumped their Conference rivals, the Boston Celtics in five games to reach the championship. Then in the NBA Finals, the Sixers beat the San Francisco Warriors four games to two, embedding the 1967 Sixers as one of the most dominant and successful teams in NBA history.
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