With the 2019-20 season on a temporary hold due to the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and the earliest we could see basketball again being in mid-April, we here at Sixers Wire are deciding to keep basketball going a little bit.
Normally, we would be discussing the upcoming playoff schedules and what the Sixers will have to do to make a deep run into the postseason, but our focus is now on the history of the Sixers. We’ll focus on a specific game or moment each day in their history to remember the good ole days.
March 13, 2009
The Sixers were in the midst of positioning themselves for the playoffs all while hosting future Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. Philadelphia was stuck in mediocrity as they were chugging along entering the game at even .500 record of 31-31.
The big reason this game is being remembered is it was the final game at The Spectrum where the Sixers played basketball until 1996 before moving to the building now known as the Wells Fargo Center. They won a championship while playing there in 1983 led by Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Mo Cheeks, and Moses Malone and they had plenty of terrific seasons thereafter when led by Charles Barkley.
With the demolition announced for the old building, the Sixers wanted to play one final game there in March of 2009.
The Sixers were led by Thaddeus Young who dropped 31 points on 14-for-21 shooting and had five rebounds while Andre Iguodala had 25 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Samuel Dalembert, who had four blocks in the game, had a critical rejection of Rose late which led to a Young breakaway dunk to seal the 104-101 win.
With Erving and other Sixers greats courtside, Young told reporters postgame:
You always get the feeling it’s a special night when you see those guys. Those guys are a big part of Sixers history and you definitely want to go out there and have a great showing for them. And we did.
Philadelphia would go on to earn a 6 seed in the playoffs that season before running into the Orlando Magic in Round 1. Iguodala led Philadelphia to an upset win in Game 1 when he made a tough jumper late and Young then had a game-winning bucket in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead, but the Magic would answer back and eventually win the series 4-2.
The Magic would go on to reach the NBA Finals before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1.
Young would spend five more seasons in Philadelphia before being sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the early stages of “The Process”. He averaged 13.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in seven seasons in Philadelphia. Ironically, he now plays for the Bulls after signing with them in free agency.
As for The Spectrum, it stood tall until it was demolished in November of 2010. It first opened in 1967 when both the Sixers and the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers moved in. [lawrence-related id=27580,27557,27541]