With the NBA in an indefinite hiatus due to COVID-19, we continue our day-by-day look back at the history of the Philadelphia 76ers. We continue down our path into Sixers history every day as we look to fill the void left by the absence of basketball.
We’re going back 20 years with this edition as the Sixers head into the playoffs on the road to take on the Charlotte Hornets as the 5 seed. The Hornets were a talented bunch and they really fed off the Charlotte crowd and the “buzz” that they brought to the arena on a nightly basis was enough to give them a good home-court advantage. Allen Iverson soon put an end to that.
April 22, 2000
The Sixers were still a relatively young team still trying to earn its playoff stripes as many prognosticators picked Charlotte to win this series. They were led by proven veterans such as Derrick Coleman, Anthony Mason, Eddie Jones, and David Wesley and they appeared to have the upper hand.
Iverson soon put an end to those thoughts as he came out of the gates quickly and dropped a cool 40 points on 13-for-25 shooting as well as grabbing five rebounds. He was not afraid to go inside against either Coleman or Elden Campbell as he got to the foul line 16 times. Any defender Charlotte tried to throw at him inevitably failed to get anything done.
Charlotte would bounce back to win Game 2, but as the series shifted to Philadelphia, Iverson put on more terrific performances and they went on to win the series 3-1. The 6-foot guard from Georgetown averaged 25.8 points and 5.3 assists in the series. [lawrence-related id=29827,29818,29810]