No. 4 1989-90 76ers vs. No. 5 2018-19 76ers
4 seed: 1989-90
Regular-season record: 53-29
Playoff result: Lost in semifinals
This is one of the more underrated teams in Sixers history. Barkley went on a rampage in this season and he had some really good players around him in Hawkins and Dawkins that really helped them become a great team.
Key players
Barkley-Besides being one of the more colorful guys on TV, Barkley was a damn good basketball player. He averaged 25.2 points and 11.5 rebounds as he played with such an edge.
Hersey Hawkins-He poured in 18.5 points and 3.7 rebounds as he was the second scorer to Barkley on this team. He also shot 42% from deep.
Johnny Dawkins-The maestro of the offense, he averaged 14.3 points and 7.4 assists with 1.5 steals per game. He was a solid player for this team.
Mike Gminski-The Sixers needed a guy like Gminski to help Barkley down low. He averaged 13.7 points and 8.5 rebounds along with 1.3 blocks per game.
Rick Mahorn-The former “Bad Boy” still had some game to him. He averaged 10.8 points and 7.6 rebounds doing a lot of different things for this team to succeed.
Ron Anderson-This team’s version of McKie, he hopped off the bench and averaged 11.9 points as he gave the team that spark they needed.
5 seed: 2018-19
Regular-season record: 51-31
Playoff result: Lost in semifinals
This team was one ridiculous bounce by Kawhi Leonard from going to the Finals in 2019. Obviously, hindsight is 20-20, but the writing was on the wall. They were so talented and with the issues with the Golden State Warriors, they would have probably won in 2019.
Key players
Joel Embiid-This was the big fella’s most dominant season as he averaged 27.5 points and 13.6 rebounds with 1.9 blocks per game. He established himself as the best center in the game.
Ben Simmons-Simmons made the first All-Star game of his career and he averaged 16.9 points, 7.7 assists, and 8.8 rebounds. He also continued his defensive development as he is now one of the best in the game.
Jimmy Butler-Drama aside, Butler was huge for this team. He averaged 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists before stepping his game up even more in the playoffs.
JJ Redick-The sniper shot 39.7% from deep and averaged 18.1 points in the regular season. He did not defend well, but his offense made a difference.
Tobias Harris-Acquired at the deadline from the Los Angeles Clippers, Harris averaged 18.2 points, but he struggled shooting the ball. He could not find a real comfortable role on this team.
Mike Scott-Coming over with Harris, he shot 41.2% from deep and gave the team a real edge. After all, the man ain’t no [expletive].
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