1. 1976 — The Doctor is in
The year 1976 was a big one for the city of Philadelphia. It was the nation’s Bicentennial and the birthplace of the country was the center of the celebration.
It made sense that a team literally named for the nation’s year of independence would have a banner season — on and off the court.
Sixers general manager Pat Williams decided to celebrate by bringing in the most charismatic player in basketball and outsmart opposing general managers as badly as George Washington outfoxed the British.
Looking back on the wheeling and dealing Williams did, all you can saw it … Wow. He had so many fleecings he should have worn a sheepskin coat to games.
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Since this was the year of the NBA-ABA merger, we will consider all moves made through December 2016, since teams had a late start due to merger details getting smoothed out.
Williams, ably helped by personnel director Jack McMahon, made so many good moves, both long- and short-term, we will go through a few before getting to his nabbing one of the best players in NBA history … for nothing.
They did hold the draft on time in June. The Sixers took Michigan State guard Terry Furlow with the 12th pick. He only lasted a few years in the league and sat on the bench his rookie year with Philly.
However, in October 2017, Williams flipped Furlow to Cleveland for two first-round picks. The second came due in 1983 and was paired with Caldwell Jones in a trade with Houston to get Moses Malone, which resulted in an NBA title for the Sixers.
In September, Williams went out and purchased veteran guard Henry Bibby from the New Orleans Jazz. He would be the Sixers starting point guard that season and a steady presence for four years.
Since he had been hired after the Sixers historically bad 9-73 season in 1973, you would think Williams would be completely in win-now mode, but he showed some Hinkie-esque attention to the future as well.
In November he traded little-used Mel Bennett to Indiana for a 1980 first-round pick. That draft pick would become guard Andrew Toney, one of the best players the Sixers had in the 1980s and, if not for foot injuries, a probable Hall of Famer.
A month later, an aging Fred ‘Doggy’ Carter was sent to Milwaukee for two second-round draft picks. Carter retired at the end of the season, and one of the picks the Sixers received for him in 1978 turned into Maurice Cheeks.
So, in five months, Williams had made moves that would lead to the 76ers getting Moses Malone, Andrew Toney, Henry Bibby and Maurice Cheeks.
But his biggest accomplishment came in October, when he stunned the NBA to get Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving for, as they say now, cash considerations.
With the merger, the biggest buzz was about where Erving, the ABA’s most exciting player, would end up.
His rights were a bit complicated. He had signed a contract years ago with the Atlanta Hawks and was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks.
At the time of the merger he was a member of the New York (now Brooklyn) Nets. The Knicks were making a fuss about adding another New York team to the league and demanding millions in compensation. Nets owner Roy Boe offered the Knicks Erving in lieu of compensation, but they turned him down (the Knicks have never won another NBA title since).
Although Philadelphia had absolutely no connection to The Doctor, Williams swooped in. He talked new owner F. Eugene Dixon into sending Boe $3.2 million in return for the rights to Erving , so he could pay off the Knicks demands.
Erving would be named the 1981 MVP and finish fifth in scoring in NBA history, as well as become a great ambassador for the game and the 76ers organization.
In Doc’s first seven years with the Sixers, they won a championship, made four appearances in the NBA finals and six times reached the Eastern Conference finals.
1976 was definitely a year for fireworks in Philadelphia.
Note: There were other important offseasons we did not have room to mention, most of them depressing instances where the Sixers screwed up in the draft (1993 — Shawn Bradley over Penny Hardaway, 1998 — Larry Hughes over Paul Pierce, virtually every pick between 1967-72). Wilt Chamberlain getting traded in 1968 was close but he forced that move. FYI, Chamberlain came over from the Warriors in a trade during the season, so not eligible.