Tag: Moses Malone

Sixers have seven players show up on ESPN’s top 74 players list

The Philadelphia 76ers have seven players appear on ESPN’s top 74 players list.

The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the more historic franchises in the game. They have had Hall of Famers and all-time greats such as Wilt Chamberlain, Allen Iverson, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley, and other players come through and rock a Sixers jersey.

So, it’s only fair for them to have a high number of players on ESPN’s list of the top 74 players in NBA history.

According to HoopsHype, the Sixers have seven players on the list which puts them at 10th in the NBA just behind the Brooklyn Nets and the Chicago Bulls who have eight players each:

10. SIXERS
Seven players combining for 2,937 games played with the team

Players: Julius Erving, Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Wilt Chamberlain, Dikembe Mutombo and Bob McAdoo.

Philadelphia has two young All-Stars who, with a little more work, can eventually end up on an all-time list. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are two of the bright stars this league has to offer and they can make some noise as long as they can continue to move forward. [lawrence-related id=32277,32267,31579]

Rockets rank No. 3 among all teams on list of all-time NBA greats

Only the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers had more players than Houston on ESPN’s new list of the Top 74 players in NBA history.

Led by Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon at No. 12, the Houston Rockets have the third-most players of any team on ESPN’s new list of the Top 74 NBA players of all-time, as decided by a media panel.

Other Rockets standouts with high placements include Moses Malone, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook. The former league MVPs came in at No. 18, No. 32, and No. 42 on the list, respectively.

Other players on the ESPN list to have played in Houston included Tracy McGrady, Elvin Hayes, Dikembe Mutombo, Clyde Drexler, Chris Paul, Charles Barkley, Rick Barry, and Scottie Pippen.

In all, of the 74 players ranked by ESPN, 12 had played for the Rockets at some point in their career. Only the Celtics and Lakers, with 17 players each, had more representation on the list.

As determined by games played with the franchise, the Rockets came in fourth with a combined 4,162 games among those 12 players. That total trailed the Celtics (9,080), Lakers (8,376), and the San Antonio Spurs, who had 6,506 games played among their 11 listed players.

By either metric, the Rockets were in the top four of the league’s 30 teams when it comes to starpower. Check out the HoopsHype story for the full rundown of where each team stacks up.

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Sixers history: Moses Malone leads way for 2-0 lead vs. Lakers in 1983

On this day in Philadelphia 76ers history, they took a 2-0 lead in the 1983 NBA Finals.

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.

For this edition, we take this back to the 1983 NBA Finals with the Sixers locked in a battle with the Los Angeles Lakers. Philadelphia was looking to continue their dominant postseason after blowing through the New York Knicks and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference portion of the playoffs and then taking Game 1 with the Lakers. They were looking to take a 2-0 lead before the scene shifted to Los Angeles so this was a big game for Philadelphia.

May 26, 1983

The Lakers were a star-studded group led by the great Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar while also having solid role players such as Jamaal Wilkes and Bob McAdoo. However, Philadelphia was on a mission and all of those stars that the Lakers possessed did not bother the Sixers one bit.

Moses Malone went right to work in the paint scoring 24 points with 12 rebounds while Maurice Cheeks had 19 points with eight assists and Andrew Toney had 19 points. Julius Erving had 14 points and seven rebounds and Bobby Jones added another 14 off the bench and the Sixers came away with 103-93 win to take a 2-0 series lead. Philadelphia had all of the control as the series shifted to Southern California.

The Sixers took care of business at home, but things would be much tougher on the road. Philadelphia may have all of the momentum and the lead, but the Lakers did knock off the Sixers just the season before. Philadelphia needs to keep its focus in Game 3. [lawrence-related id=31530,31524,31516]

Sixers history: Moses Malone lifts Sixers past Bucks to NBA Finals in 1983

On this day in Philadelphia 76ers history, the Sixers knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks in 1983.

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 take this edition of the history lesson back to 1983 to the Sixers battling the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1983 Eastern Conference Finals. Philadelphia big man Moses Malone did announce that the Sixers would go “Fo’ Fo’ Fo'” on their way to winning a championship. That went out the window when they fell to the Bucks in Game 4 while going for the sweep, but they still had a chance to eliminate Milwaukee in the next game.

May 18, 1983

The Bucks would not go down without a fight. They proved that in Game 4 when they battled to come away with a victory. Marques Johnson and Junior Bridgeman had a helluva game for the Bucks, but Philadelphia was just too much in this one.

Andrew Toney dropped 30 points and seven assists to lead the Sixers while Malone had 28 points and 17 rebounds and Julius Erving had 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 115-103 win. It allowed the Sixers to move on to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive season.

It set the Sixers up with a rematch in the Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia would have to bring their A-game in order to bring a title to the City of Brotherly Love. [lawrence-related id=31178,31171,31166]

ESPN’s Jay Bilas ranks 1983 champion Sixers as 4th greatest team ever

The 1983 NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers are ranked as the fourth-best team in NBA history.

In honor of “The Last Dance” which is a documentary highlighting the amazing career of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, there is a debate going on where everybody is ranking the top five teams in this history of the game.

The 1995-96 Bulls went on to win 72 games and it was also the beginning of another 3-peat. Obviously, a lot of people are going to have that Chicago team at the top of their list, but what about the other four spots?

ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas made his list and he had the 1983 champion Philadelphia 76ers ranked as the fourth-best team on his list. They were up there with the Boston Celtics teams led by Larry Bird plus two different Los Angeles Lakers teams. ESPN’s graphic says the 1992-93 Sixers so forgive their typo.

The 1983 Sixers were led by some of the best players in franchise history in Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Andrew Toney. The team was so dominant that they only lost one game throughout the playoffs on their way to an NBA title. They swept the New York Knicks, then beat the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, and then swept the Lakers in the Finals. [lawrence-related id=31160,31155,31138]

ESPN ranks Rockets’ James Harden as No. 32 player in NBA history

ESPN released its 11-to-40 spots on Tuesday. Other Houston legends to make the cut include Hakeem Olajuwon (12) and Moses Malone (18).

A new poll by an ESPN media panel of the top 74 players in NBA history ranks Houston Rockets star James Harden at No. 32 overall. A day earlier, the same panel ranked co-star Russell Westbrook at No. 42.

An eight-time NBA All-Star and the league’s 2017-18 MVP, Harden has averaged 25.1 points (44.2% FG), 6.3 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game over his 11 professional seasons in Houston and Oklahoma City.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who currently covers Harden and the Rockets, summarized where Harden ranks in history (as of 2020):

Harden has developed into the ultimate offensive weapon of the analytics era, owning three scoring titles and an assists title. His step-back jumper has become one of the most potent signature shots in NBA history, allowing him to be a historic volume 3-point shooter who gets the rest of his points in the paint and at the free-throw line. His 2018-19 season was the most efficient (.616 true shooting percentage) ever for a player who averaged more than 35 points per game.

ESPN’s updated ranking on Tuesday features players in the 11-40 range of the all-time list. Other NBA players in that tier to have played in Houston were No. 40 Chris Paul; No. 23 Charles Barkley; No. 21 Scottie Pippen; No. 18 Moses Malone; and No. 12 Hakeem Olajuwon.

On Monday, the same ESPN panel released its 41-74 list. In addition to Westbrook at No. 42, those with Houston Rockets ties included No. 73 Dikembe Mutombo; No. 57 Clyde Drexler; No. 52 Tracy McGrady; No. 44 Elvin Hayes; and No. 43 Rick Barry.

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4 Philadelphia 76ers legends ranked as top 30 players in NBA history

Some Philadelphia 76ers greats have been ranked in the top 30 players of all time.

The NBA season is on hold right now, so now is the time for rankings in the history of the game. ESPN has been releasing the top 74 players in league history and Tuesday was players ranked 40-11 before they release the top 10 later this week.

Four Philadelphia 76ers legends popped up on this edition started by Allen Iverson who was ranked 29th in the history of the game:

Often labeled the best pound-for-pound player in NBA history, Iverson was an icon. The 6-foot point guard led the league in scoring four times and capped off a magical MVP campaign in 2000-01 with the Sixers by leading them to the Finals in just his fifth year in the league. His 48 points in Game 1 to beat the Shaq-Kobe Lakers in overtime will forever be the NBA’s David and Goliath moment.

Followed by Iverson was the great Charles Barkley who was ranked 23rd on the list:

The Hall of Fame forward carved out a niche on the floor by being a double-double machine. Barkley earned the 1992-93 MVP award while leading Phoenix to the NBA Finals, and he won gold medals for Team USA in ’92 and ’96 Olympics. He won the rebounding title for Philadelphia in 1986-87, despite generously being listed at 6-6. Off the floor, the affable Barkley became arguably the most popular basketball analyst ever while working for TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”

We then moved into the top 20 and spotted the man who won the Finals MVP award for the last Sixers team in 1983, Moses Malone:

Malone was one of the original preps-to-pros players, joining the ABA as a teenager. He was a dominant scorer and rebounder who was peerless on the offensive glass, averaging 6.1 offensive boards during an eight-year span where he led the NBA in boards six times. Malone was a three-time NBA MVP, including in the 1982-83 season, when he also was Finals MVP for the Sixers and won his only championship ring.

Topping this portion of the list was the face of the franchise, Julius Erving, who came in ranked 15th in NBA history:

As the premier above-the-rim player of his era, Dr. J’s legend would probably be even greater had he not spent the first five years of his career in the ABA. Erving was named NBA MVP in 1981 and won the championship in 1983 — who could forget his “rock the baby” dunk against the Lakers that season, serving as a prelude to his Finals win? His career NBA averages of 22 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks tell the story of his all-around game.

There is no denying that the Sixers have had some great talents and they have not even ranked Wilt Chamberlain yet. The only possible issue is that Iverson could have been ranked higher, but nonetheless, 29 is a solid ranking. [lawrence-related id=30882,30872,30863]

Sixers throwback: Moses Malone has 30 and 17 in Game 2 win over Knicks

This Philadelphia 76ers throwback takes us back to Moses Malone against the New York Knicks.

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 take you back to the 1983 playoffs as the Sixers were getting ready to go on a deep run into the playoffs. This throwback moment is Game 2 of Round 1 with the New York Knicks. After taking Game 1, the Sixers were looking for a 2-0 series lead before the scene shifted to Madison Square Garden and Philadelphia wanted to take care of business at home.

April 27, 1983

The Spectrum was going crazy. There was a special feel around this Sixers team, after coming up short so many times in the past. They had a perfect complement to Julius Erving in the form of Moses Malone as well as guys like Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney. The big challenge in front of them was the Knicks who were led by Bernard King and Truck Robinson.

Malone did not care about any of that as he was a monster down low. He disregarded any Knicks defenders and he dropped 30 points and 17 rebounds along with four steals and three blocks. Along with Malone’s efforts, Cheeks had 26 points, six assists, and six rebounds with four steals, and Erving had 20 points and seven rebounds.

The Sixers would then go on to win Game 3 and sweep New York right out of the playoffs. Obviously, everybody knows what happened next, but we’ll save that for another time. [lawrence-related id=30098,30091,30084]

VOTE: What was the best individual season in Houston Rockets history?

Houston’s three MVPs in James Harden, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Moses Malone are among the top candidates. Which season is best, though?

First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone

Over their 53 years in existence, the Rockets are among the NBA’s most successful franchises by nearly any metric.

Houston ranks in the league’s all-time Top 10 in wins and winning percentage by franchise. They’ve won the NBA Finals on multiple occasions (1994, 1995) and the Western Conference four different times, along with seven division titles and 33 total playoff appearances.

Individual greatness has largely driven their team success. The Rockets have had three players win MVP in a Houston uniform (Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, James Harden), and they’ve had 62 total All-Star selections. They have six retired numbers, with Olajuwon and Malone joined by Calvin Murphy, Rudy Tomjanovich, Clyde Drexler, and Yao Ming.

All are among the 12 Hall of Famers to have played for the Rockets, and recent stars such as Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard will further add to that list in the years ahead. But of all those NBA legends, who has had the greatest individual season of all? Rockets Wire aims to answer that question, with your help.

Methodology: In an effort to be as neutral as possible, the 16 seedings are ranked by Win Shares, as listed on Basketball Reference. These Win Shares are based on statistics during each regular season, rather than the playoffs. However, if you’d like to add playoff performance in that year to your criteria, that’s absolutely your prerogative! The suspended 2019-20 season is not included, as we hope it resumes at some point.

Without further delay, let the balloting begin. First-round voting will continue until Wednesday night. Vote early and often!

First round: 2014-15 James Harden vs. 2004-05 Tracy McGrady

No. 1 seed: 2014-15 James Harden: 27.4 points (44.0% FG, 37.5% 3-pointers), 7.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 steals per game

Harden’s 2014-15 season is perhaps best remembered for how he picked up the slack for issues around him. Co-star Dwight Howard missed 41 games in the regular season, and starters Pat Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas each had their seasons end early due to injury. Veteran castoffs like Pablo Prigioni and Jason Terry were thrust into key roles.

Nonetheless, largely due to Harden’s leadership, the often shorthanded Rockets still went 56-26 in the regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in the West. They won Houston’s first division title in 21 years, and then advanced in the playoffs to the franchise’s first Western Conference Finals in 18 years. Harden posted 4.2 defensive win shares that year, which remains the most of his career, and his 61.8% true shooting percentage is the second-highest of Harden’s eight seasons in Houston.

After the 2014-15 season concluded, “The Beard” was voted by fellow NBA players as the league’s MVP.

Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

No. 16 seed: 2004-05 Tracy McGrady: 25.7 points (43.1% FG, 32.6% 3-pointers), 6.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.7 steals per game

Considering that back and knee issues limited McGrady’s prime, it probably isn’t a surprise that McGrady’s best year in Houston was his first one. McGrady’s 78 games played were by far the most of any of his six seasons played in Houston, and his scoring average and efficiency marks were at or near the top of his Houston tenure, too.

Led by McGrady, the Rockets improved by six games (45-37 to 51-31) in the Western Conference standings and moved up from the No. 7 seed to No. 5. They lost in seven games in the first round to rival Dallas.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

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Building the Philadelphia 76ers all-time team of franchise history

We are now building the all-time team in Philadelphia 76ers franchise history.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a franchise filled with success and a lot of history that the organization can be proud of. When one is tasked to put together an all-time team in Sixer history–meaning filling all 13 active spots on a roster–it’s a challenge.

To put together such a team, you have to go back and sift through a lot of history. We ranked the top five players at each position in the franchise’s history and we will be using those as a guide to help us with building this team.

With that said, let’s jump into it!

Point guard: Maurice Cheeks

Cheeks is the prototypical point guard. He is the quarterback of a gym offensively and he was terrific defensively as well. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists and steals and he was a 4-time All-Star in Philadelphia. He doesn’t need to score all that much, though he will if he has to, but as long as he’s setting up his teammates, then he will be content.

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Shooting guard: Allen Iverson

Now that the team has its pass-first point guard, it now needs its scoring machine next to him in the backcourt. Iverson was something special despite standing at just 6-feet tall. He led the league in scoring four times in Philadelphia and he is second in franchise history in points behind only Hal Greer. Cheeks and Iverson would be a scary backcourt.

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Small forward: Julius Erving

Was there any other real choice? The good doctor is Sixers basketball. He’s in the top 10 in franchise history in points, steals, assists, blocks, and rebounds and he averaged a cool 22.0 points and 6.7 rebounds with the Sixers. He led Philadelphia to a title in 1983.

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Power forward: Charles Barkley

Sir Charles would have actually been terrific in today’s era. He could truly play in any era as he was physical, he could shoot it a bit, and he was a beast on the glass. In terms of Sixers history, he’s fifth in franchise history in points and he’s third in rebounds.

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Center: Wilt Chamberlain

Chamberlain was incredible during his time with the Sixers. He won an MVP in all three of his full seasons in Philadelphia and he led the franchise to a title in 1967. There was no other legitimate option to choose here in the franchise’s history.

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Bench

Hal Greer

Every good team needs that microwave scorer off the bench and that’s what Greer can do. You don’t start him over Iverson, but to have him come off the bench and focus on what he does best, which is scoring, would be a nice addition to have. He is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer after all.

Moses Malone

This team would be invalid if Malone was not on it. He was the Finals MVP of the 1983 title team and he was the big piece that the team was missing in order to help Erving bring a title to Philadelphia. He was so sized and skilled at the position and he was such a good player in Sixers history.

Andrew Toney

Affectionately nicknamed “The Boston Strangler”, Toney was a nuisance for teams on either end of the floor to deal with. He was terrific on the offensive end as well as being one of the more elite defenders in the league at his position. He was an All-Star twice with the Sixers and was a key piece of the ’83 team.

Billy Cunningham

Cunningham was nicknamed “The Kangaroo Kid” as he was so energetic and he did what he had to in order to help the team win. Cunningham 20.8 points and 10.1 rebounds and he was an All-Star four times with the Sixers. He was also the perfect complement to Chamberlain and Greer on the team’s title-winning team in ’67.

Dolph Schayes

You have to dig deep into the annals of Sixers history to find Schayes’ contributions. He played for the Syracuse Nationals from 1949-1963 before the franchise became the Sixers and he played a final season in Philadelphia. He averaged 18.5 points and 12.1 rebounds while being named an All-Star 12 times. He also led the Nationals to a title in 1955.

Joel Embiid

Why not have one of the more dominant players in the game on the team? Embiid is in the middle of his fourth season in Philadelphia and he’s been named an All-Star three times while averaging 24.1 points and 11.5 rebounds along with 3.1 assists. He has done enough to warrant a spot here.

Ben Simmons

Likewise, Simmons has accomplished much in his short career so far. In three seasons, he has a Rookie of the Year award, two All-Star appearances, and he has garnered 28 triple-doubles which is good for second in franchise history behind only Chamberlain.

Andre Iguodala

To round out the roster, we are throwing in one of the more well-rounded players in the history of the franchise. Iguodala averaged 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while making an All-Star appearance in 2012 for the Sixers.

Coach: Larry Brown

Any good team needs a coach. The choice would have been Cunningham as he was actually the coach of the 1983 title team, but he is a player on this roster so we didn’t want to give him both duties. Brown compiled a 255-205 record in Philadelphia and he won the Coach of the Year award in 2001 when the Sixers reached the Finals. [lawrence-related id=29527,29519,29510]