Philadelphia 76ers Have Had Multiple First Round Draft Picks Before

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Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the full first round draft board at the conclusion of the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

The Philadelphia 76ers will be drafting either three for four times in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft. But this is not the first time the team has had multiple first round draft selections.

The Philadelphia 76ers may be new to an NBA draft with so many first round draft picks in the Sam Hinkie era, but this is not by any means the first time the team has enjoyed multiple picks in the first round. In fact, it has happened with surprising relative frequency in the team’s history. Since just 1960, The 76ers have selected multiple times in the NBA draft on five seperate occasions: to be more specific, in 1973, in 1980, in 1984, in 1994, in 2007.

1973

(1) Doug Collins – Doug Collins was drafted first overall in the 1973 out of Illinois State where he played shooting guard and played for eight years for the Philadelphia 76ers. Eventually a series of injuries to his lower extremeties in 1979, particularly his feet, forced him to retire in 1981. However, Collins did have a very successful career with the Sixers. He was an All-Star four of his eight seasons with the team, and would eventually join up with Julius Erving to lead the team into the NBA Finals in 1976-1977, where the team lost to the Portland Trailblazers.

In his career, he played in 415 games and scored 7,427 points. His shooting average throughout his career was 50.1%,

(18) Raymond Lewis – Lewis was selected just two spots ahead of current Assistant Head Coach Mike D’Antoni, but never took the basketball court in a Philadelphia 76ers jersey. During training camp, Lewis fell into a vicious contract dispute and was dismissed from the team. After that wasted season, he attempted to play for the ulternative league American Basketball Association’s Utah Stars, but he never got the chance, as the 76ers threatened a lawsuit. On the third year, Lewis once more attempted to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, but once more the player met with an impasse. In this instance, Lewis claimed in an interview years later:

"“(the 76ers) tore up my original agreement and said, ‘Now you have to make the team.’ There were 12 guys on the team with guaranteed contracts. I said, ‘Wait a minute."

Despite the overall effect of just one draft selection, the Sixers did in fact select twice in the first round that year.

1980

(8) Andrew Toney – Since the Philadelphia 76ers 1973 shooting guard Doug Collins health was failing, the Sixers made the wise choice and selected his replacement in the 1980 NBA Draft. Toney picked up right where Doug Collins had left off, playing for the Sixers for eight years, making two NBA All-Star games, and played for the 1983 Sixers championship team, considered by many to be one of the greatest NBA teams in the history of the league. But in a fashion that had remarkable parallels to his predecessor, Doug Collins, Andrew Toney’s Sixer career was shortened dramatically with foot injuries. Toney earned the nickname “The Boston Strangler” by Boston sports writers, no doubt in awe of his dominance of the Boston Celtics during his career where the teams competed in a very intense rivalry.

(21) Monti Davis – While Monti Davis was a first round selection for the Philadelphia 76ers from Tenessee State, he never hit his stride in the NBA. His professional career lasted just one season, playing for the Sixers in 1980 where he appeared in just one game. He would also in appear in his second and last game in 1981 while playing for the Dallas Mavericks.

Next: 1984