Philadelphia 76ers Have Had Multiple First Round Draft Picks Before

1984

(5) Charles Barkley – Sir Charles Barkley, one of the most outspoken and popular NBA players even to this day, was selected fifth by the Philadelphia 76ers.   Barkley would not only go on to dominate the game as a power forward, his career literally impacted two NBA franchises who are huge to the Philadelphia 76ers today.  He played eight seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers, before being  keystone in a blockbuster trade that would move him to the Phoenix Suns, where he would join future Sixer executive Jerry Colangelo.  He played another four seasons as a Phoenix Sun, and would finally play out his final four seasons with the Houston Rockets. He arrived in Philadelphia in time to join legendary Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Maurice Cheeks, players who took Philadelphia to the 1983 NBA championship. Malone took Barkley under his wing and taught the young man how to prepare for an NBA game. He averaged 14.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during the regular season and earned a berth on the All-Rookie Team. In the postseason during his rookie season, the Sixers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals but were defeated in five games by the Boston Celtics. As a rookie in the postseason, Barkley averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

Barkley was an undersized power forward who dominated his position: retiring as only one of four players to score over 20,000 points, pull down 10,000 rebounds, and feed over 4,000 assists. He was selected to the All-NBA First Team five times, the All-NBA Second Team five times, and once to the All-NBA Third Team. He earned eleven NBA All-Star Game appearances and was named the All-Star MVP in 1991. In 1993, he was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player and during the NBA’s 50th anniversary, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic games and won two gold medals as a member of the United States’ “Dream Team”. Barkley is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2006 for his individual career, and in 2010 as a member of the “Dream Team”.

(10) Leon Wood – Although playing a respectable six seasons in his NBA career, Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Leon Wood did so on six different NBA teams:  Sixers, Washington Bullets, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings.  He scored 1,742 points over his six year career, averaging 6.4 points per game.

(22) Tom Sewell – The Philadelphia 76eers chose a shooting guard at 22, 6’5″ Tom Sewell.   Since the Sixers were interested in offering newly acquired Barkley a multi-year deal, the team traded Sewell to the Washington Wizards for a 1988 first round pick.  Sewell played one season for the Wizards, appearing in 21 games, and scored 20 points.

1994

(6) Sharone Wright – Wright was selected 6th overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He played one season with the Sixers before the team traded him to the Toronto Raptors for forwards Ed Pinckney and Tony Massenburg and a future No. 1 draft pick. Wright would play three Toronto Raptors. His best year as a professional came during his rookie season with the 76ers when he appeared in 79 games and averaged 11.4 points and 6 rebounds per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

The trade was noteworthy, as it was during a period of devolution of the team desperate to turn the ship around but with each desperate move only accelerating the demise of the Sixers organization.

(20) BJ Tyler – Tyler was a point guard who played 55 games for the Philadelphia 76ers organization. After just one season, the young man was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the NBA expansion draft. That off-season, however, he fell asleep behind the wheel, badly damaging his knee and ending his short NBA career.

Next: 2007