No. 3 2000-01 76ers vs. 1976-77 76ers
3 seed: 2000-01 Sixers
Regular-season record: 56-26
Playoff result: Lost NBA Finals
This was, by far, the most successful Iverson-led team. They reached the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1983 title team and they handed the big and bad Los Angeles Lakers their only loss of the postseason in Game 1.
Key players
Iverson-Of course, we start off with the league MVP. Iverson was on a different level as he averaged 31.1 points and 4.6 assists with 2.5 steals on the season.
Dikembe Mutombo-Acquired midseason from the Atlanta Hawks for Theo Ratliff, Mutombo made a huge difference in the paint averaging 2.5 blocks.
Snow-Snow gets a bad rep. He wasn’t this big star, but he averaged 9.8 points and 7.4 assists with 1.5 steals as he did the little things.
McKie-Coming off the bench before becoming a starter in the playoffs, McKie gave the team a spark averaging 11.6 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.1 rebounds. He was a big part of the Finals run.
Tyrone Hill-The glue guy down low, Hill averaged 9.0 points and 9.6 rebounds. He did the unsung dirty work the team needed.
Jumaine Jones-Jones only averaged 4.7 points in the regular season, but coach Larry Brown then made him a starter in the playoffs and he made an impact. His numbers weren’t great, but he provided a defensive lift.
6 seed: 1976-77
Regular-season record: 50-32
Playoff result: Lost in NBA Finals
This team was terrific. This was the beginning of the dominant runs put on by Erving and everything that he brought to the floor was brought to the forefront.
Key players
Erving-One of the many spectacular seasons “The Doctor” put on, he averaged 21.6 points and 8.5 rebounds. This is one of the seasons he came oh so close to winning that elusive title.
George McGinnis-McGinnis was the second scorer to Erving. He averaged 21.4 points and 11.5 rebounds as he was a big piece down low.
Doug Collins-The coach of the team he is facing in this round, he averaged 18.3 points and 4.7 assists to form a sort of “Big 3” with Erving and McGinnis.
World B. Free-The man who earned the nickname “World” had some game to him. He averaged 16.3 points and 3.4 assists. He was also a pest on defense.
Henry Bibby-He averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 assists. He was a forgotten man on this team.
Steve Mix-He became lost in the shuffle of history, but he did average 10.5 points for this team. He gave this team some good production.
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