Here are the top 10 players in the long history of the Philadelphia 76ers in blocked shots.
To be an effective shot blocker, one must have an understanding of timing and sense for when a player is going up for a shot. Defenders also must be disciplined and not fall for pump fakes an offensive player will throw in to free themselves for an effortless look.
The Philadelphia 76ers have had some really good rim protectors in their history. Some are recognized among the top defenders in the history of the game.
With it being the dead time of the NBA offseason, now is the time to look back and recognize the top players in the history of the Sixers. In this edition, Sixers Wire looks at the top 10 shot blockers in the long history of the franchise. One of the players on this list is still active and has a chance to go higher on the list with longevity:
10 members in the storied history of the Philadelphia 76ers show up on the 101 greatest nicknames list.
A nickname cannot be given or self-made, it has to be earned. Throughout the history of the NBA, we have all seen the greats earn some sort of nickname through their amazing play on the floor.
In today’s game, we know of Joel “The Process” Embiid, Damian “Dame Dolla” Lillard, LeBron “King” James, and Stephen “Chef” Curry among countless others. There have been many great nicknames in the history of the game.
The Philadelphia 76ers have seen their share of terrific players don the red, white and blue colors, and they have earned some pretty iconic nicknames. Our sister site, Rookie Wire, put together the 101 greatest nicknames in NBA history, and the Sixers have 10 players show up on the list.
The 10 Sixers on the list are as follows in descending order:
We wind the clocks back to 1975 when the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Darryl Dawkins.
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The Philadelphia 76ers just finished up the 1974-75 season at 34-48 and they missed the playoffs as they continued their rebuild. They did land the number 5 pick in the draft and they were able to get an athletic big man by the name of Darryl Dawkins.
Dawkins came straight out of high school in Orlando, Florida as he was able to show off some legitimate NBA game. It took him a few seasons to develop, but he finally broke out in his third season averaging 11.7 points and 7.9 rebounds.
He would continue to put up similar numbers throughout his career and he earned the nickname “Chocolate Thunder” for his rim-rattling dunks and physical play. He averaged 11.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in seven seasons in Philadelphia.
Dawkins was traded to the New Jersey Nets in 1982 for a draft pick that turned out to be Leo Rautins in 1983. He then played for the Utah Jazz and the Detroit Pistons before leaving the NBA in 1989 to play overseas in Italy. He stopped playing basketball in 1994.
Dawkins passed away in August of 2015, but he will always be remembered fondly by Sixers and NBA fans alike. He was a special player to watch and he was known as an even better human being. [lawrence-related id=38558,38553,38550]
The Brooklyn Nets have a pair of talented centers in Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan. Does either rank among the franchise’ five best ever?
When the New York Nets joined the NBA after winning the 1976 ABA Finals, centers were anchored to the paint. Now it’s common to see big men pull up from long-range nightly.
Though, that’s not necessarily the case with Brooklyn’s big men. Jarrett Allen can defend centers and power forwards who are able to stretch the floor, but The Fro isn’t pulled from deep — not yet at least. DeAndre Jordan certainly isn’t.
How the two will coexist in Brooklyn is up in the air, given Jordan’s relationship with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and how similar the centers’ games are. But if the Nets go on to win a title with the two superstars in town, one or both centers could earn a spot among the franchise’s best bigs ever.
Having already gone through the Nets’ point guards, shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards, Nets Wire determined who are the best five centers in the franchise’s history through the novel coronavirus-induced NBA hiatus.
5. Jayson Williams
Credit: Getty Images
Nets Stats: 8.3 PPG | 8.9 RPG
Williams had a checkered career, and it took time for him to earn a major role in the Nets lineup.
After averaging 13.1 minutes per game in his 75 appearances for New Jersey throughout 1994-95, Williams saw his role off the bench increase the next season. The same thing happened from 1995-96 to 1996-97, earning a starting spot. However, he only played in 41 games.
The 1997-98 season was Williams’ best, earning his one NBA All-Star nod as he averaged 12.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. The Nets also snapped their three-year playoff drought this season.
The Nets haven’t played many games on May 3 in the franchise’s history. That may be for the best.
With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:
The Nets have only played three games on May 3 in the history of the franchise — and never won.
In 1984, Darryl Dawkins scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the third game of the 1984 Eastern Conference Semifinals, which New Jersey lost 100-93 to the Milwaukee Bucks (full box score).
Fast-forward 15 years and the Nets were playing their second-to-last game of the abbreviated 1998-99 NBA season. New Jersey was well out of playoff contention, ranked last in the Eastern Conference heading into their matchup with the Washington Wizards.
Stephon Marbury scored 37 points and had 10 assists, Kendall Gill finished with 18 points, eight assists and five steals, and Jamie Feick grabbed 19 rebounds to set a career-high (which he would break in the 1999-00 season) — but it was all for naught. The Nets lost 102-113 (full box score).
The last time the Nets played on May 3 came in 2004, when they started the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Detroit Pistons.
Only two Nets — Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles — finished in double figures. They combined for 25 points as New Jersey lost Game 1 78-56 (full box score).
We now move on to the fifth and final installment of the top five rankings as we now rank the top five centers in Philadelphia 76ers history.
The center position on a basketball team needs to be the anchor of the team on the defensive end as well as being the guy who provides post play on the offensive end. The Philadelphia 76ers have had a lot of players do this for their team as they have done a solid job of doing both of those things for the team to be successful.
We have counted down the top five players at each position so far, but now we are moving on to the final position in the lineup: centers. Make sure you check out our previous rankings for the other four positions if you have not seen them yet.
Arn Tellem: In high school, Kobe trained with the Philadelphia 76ers. By his senior campaign, the big question was, would Kobe attend a college like La Salle, where Joe was an assistant coach, or turn pro. During the previous three decades, only six U.S. players had joined the NBA without playing college ball, and all of them had been big men: Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins, Bill Willoughby, Shawn Kemp, Thomas Hamilton and Kevin Garnett. Kobe was a 6-foot-6 guard. I asked Kobe what he wanted to do. He didn’t hesitate. “I’m going to the NBA,” he said. “I want to be the next Michael Jordan.”
As much as Spencer Dinwiddie was Brooklyn’s leader in the month of November, Jarrett Allen was just as electric for the Nets.
Heading into December, one player stood above the rest of the NBA in terms of field goal percentage: Jarrett Allen.
Through Brooklyn’s first 19 games of the season, the Nets center shot 67.4% from the floor. He leads Sacramento Kings big man Richaun Holmes — who’s second in the NBA in field goal percentage — by 2.5%.
But it doesn’t end there for Allen.
In November, Allen shot 69.7% from the floor, logging the fourth-highest field goal percentage in the NBA. (DeAndre Jordan was right behind him at 69.5%.)
As it was pointed out on YES Network’s broadcast of Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat, Allen’s field goal percentage in November is the highest for any Nets player in a single month.
Mason Plumlee previously held the record with his 68.9% mark in January of 2015. Prior to Plumlee, Darryl Dawkins had been the record holder. He set it at 65.4% in January of 1984, then broke the record again in November of 1985.
