The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Comparing Philadelphia 76ers 1983 NBA Champs vs. 2018 roster

By Bret Stuter

PHILADELPHIA,PA - MARCH 24 : Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers dunks the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Wells Fargo Center on March 24, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA,PA - MARCH 24 : Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers dunks the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Wells Fargo Center on March 24, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The last time the Philadelphia 76ers won an NBA Championship was 1983. Let’s examine the talent of the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers to that of the 2018 Philadelphia 76ers on a position by position basis

The Philadelphia 76ers want to win to get the 3-seed in the NBA Playoffs. Can they do it? Well, they have a 13 game winning streak going, plus the chance of extending that to 16 with three more wins. They just dominated the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers and held on to win their 13th game. You see, the 2018 Philadelphia 76ers are young and hungry. Powered by second year player Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, rookies Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, and fourth year player Robert Covington,  this team is playing very well.  Very well, yes, but it’s been a three chapter book for the team so far.   In the first 27 games, the team ended up 14-13, and struggled mightily with winning and losing streaks. The next 27 games began with the team in a 1-6 freefall, but recovered nicely to climb to a 29-25 record.

The championship team in 1983 won 65 games, which is a plateau far higher than the 50 game goal of the team this season. But the Philadelphia 76ers ended January 2018 at 24-24. Since that time, the team has gone on a 25-6 run. Over the course of a season, that number projects out to an amazingly coincidental 65-17 season.

Comparing apples and oranges

While carving out a third of the season to annualize doesn’t prove anything, the reality is that the last third of this 2017-2018 season is more typical with the future performance of this team. The team roster stabilized in this period. And with players learning the NBA for the first time making up significant contributors, later in the season is better. If you’ve seen the 2017-2018 Sixers play, you KNOW they are good. How good?

But the team has not yet landed on a roster which remains the same from year to year. So this remains an apples to oranges comparison for now. Still, it’s fun to consider the current 25-6 run as enough of a statisical sample to run the comparison between the two teams. Even if not a valid comparison at this point in time, it’s beneficial in the sense of gauging this team’s progress going forward. The 1983 Philadelphia 76ers team was the best of the NBA. The 2018 Philadelphia 76ers are not the best in the NBA, yet. But they may be someday.