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:
We look back at Samuel Dalembert’s time with the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2000s.
To pass the time until the 2021-22 season begins for the Philadelphia 76ers, we look back at some of the bigger players in the franchise’s recent history.
In this edition, we continue our focus on the 2000s and one of the team’s stars during the decade. While the Sixers were not exactly a powerhouse in the 2000s decade, they were still a fun team to watch as they used a lot of youth to be able to run up and down the floor.
This edition focuses on the big man of the team, Samuel Dalembert. Philadelphia selected the versatile big man out of Seton Hall with the 26th pick in the 2001 NBA draft. After he missed his second season due to a knee injury, Dalembert became the team’s regular starting center in the 2003-04 season.
Dalembert played eight seasons with the Sixers and he averaged 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks across that time. He provided the team with tough defense around the basket and became a legitimate shot-blocking threat from the weak side which gave the perimeter defenders the leeway to make mistakes knowing he was back there to clean most of them up.
Dalembert’s best season was 2007-08 when he averaged 10.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks and helped the Sixers charge into the playoffs. He followed that by averaging 9.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks against a tough Detroit Pistons team in that postseason.
Dalembert was never an All-Star or anything like that, but he was a very solid center. He knew his role and he played it to a T meaning all he had to was rebound, block shots, and run the floor when the time called for it.
We wind the clocks back to 2008 when Philadelphia 76ers big man Samuel Dalembert broke out against the Detroit Pistons.
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The Philadelphia 76ers returned home to the Wachovia Center with a 1-1 series split with the heavily favored Detroit Pistons looking to take advantage of their newfound home-court advantage.
The young and athletic Sixers used the passion of the Philadelphia crowd in order to get out to a slim halftime lead and they then played with more urgency in the third quarter to really break it open. They outscored Detroit 26-15 in the third and then 25-20 in the fourth in order to win it 95-75.
The Sixers got a big-time game out of big man Samuel Dalembert who went toe-to-toe with Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess. He did not back down going off for 22 points and 16 rebounds while Wallace and McDyess combined for four points and eight rebounds.
The win gave Philadelphia the advantage they needed, but then Detroit kicked it into high gear and they won three in a row. The Sixers were eliminated in six games, but they gave the veteran and battle-tested Pistons all they could handle in an entertaining playoff series. [lawrence-related id=38744,38731,38732]
We rewind the clocks back to the 2001 NBA Draft when the Philadelphia 76ers selected Samuel Dalembert.
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The 2000-01 season was a magical one for the Philadelphia 76ers. They made a run to the NBA Finals, took Game 1 of that series from the Los Angeles Lakers, and Allen Iverson took home league MVP honors.
That work led them to have the 26th pick in the draft and at the time, they did not have any immediate needs. So they took a long and wiry center out Seton Hall in Samuel Dalembert.
Dalmebery averaged 1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in his rookie season as he played mostly in garbage time. The Sixers had proven big men like Dikembe Mutombo and Derrick Coleman ahead of him at the time. He then missed the entirety of the 2002-03 season with a knee injury.
He then blossomed in the 2003-04 season as he established himself as a rim protector and a reliable option for Philadelphia. He averaged 2.3 blocks that season and he became the regular starter for them at center and he became a key contributor for a few playoff teams in 2005, 2008, and 2009.
Dalembert was sent to the Sacramento Kings in the 2010 offseason in exchange for Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni and he spent his final seasons in the NBA being a journeyman. He played for the Houston Rockets, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Dallas Mavericks, and then he finished up with the New York Knicks in 2015. He averaged 7.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks for his career. [lawrence-related id=38183,38180,38169]
On this day in Philadelphia 76ers history, Samuel Dalembert fueled the Sixers to a big playoff win.
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.
This one takes us back 12 years to the “Run with Us” squad that surprisingly held the home-court advantage against the heavily favored Detroit Pistons in Round 1. They shocked the Pistons on the road in Game 1 and the series was 1-1 shifting over to the Wachovia Center. With an opportunity to take control of the series in front of their rabid fan base, the Sixers did not disappoint. However, it was not the usual suspects of that team that led the way.
April 25, 2008
The Sixers were not supposed to be in this position. They were a young team that was relying on their athleticism to scratch and claw their way to victories while the Pistons were led by a core that had won a championship in 2004. Instead of guys like Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace making an impact, it was Samuel Dalembert of all people.
Dalembert was terrific all night long scoring 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting with 16 rebounds and two blocks in a 95-75 thrashing of the Pistons to take a 2-1 series lead. For comparison, Wallace only had two points on 1-for-6 shooting as Dalembert was much more active without the ball. Philadelphia held Detroit to 40.9% shooting on the night and 3-for-15 from deep while also forcing 23 turnovers.
Dalembert and the rest of the team received from praise from coach Maurice Cheeks as he told reporters postgame:
It didn’t look like we had any jitters at all…The reason we were able to get out and run was because everyone was so active on the defensive end.
The way the Sixers won did seem to wake up the sleeping giant that is the Pistons as they then went on to win three straight to eliminate Philadelphia. However, on this night, the fans in Philadelphia could enjoy the fact that they made the big, bad Pistons sweat. [lawrence-related id=29987,29988,29978]
We are moving on to jersey numbers as we rank the top 5 Philadelphia 76ers to ever wear the number 1 jersey.
What’s in a uniform number? Sometimes a number can have a special meaning such as how many players were picked before him in the draft. It could have a meaning from a player’s childhood days. Or in the memory of a fallen friend or family member.
Whatever the case could be, there are a lot of uniform numbers out there and we are going to rank the guys who wore each jersey number in Philadelphia 76ers history. We start with the number 1 as there are 15 players in franchise history who wore the number. We are going to rank the top five.
The list will be based on criteria such as longevity with the team, individual statistics, and team success. With that said, let’s get into this list!
In this 2001 re-draft, the Philadelphia 76ers end up with DeSagana Diop instead of Samuel Dalembert.
With the NBA in this infinite quarantine right now, we are all looking for things to pass the time until basketball can return to our lives. So, we are looking at the drafts from the past for the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the 2001 draft the Sixers ended up with Seton Hall big man Samuel Dalembert with the 26th overall pick and he was a staple for the Sixers in their lineup for a long time. He averaged 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks with the Sixers and he was a main piece on a few playoff teams.
As Bleacher Report does a full re-draft for 2001, they had Dalembert going in the lottery at 13 to the Houston Rockets. So, for the Sixers, they had them selecting DeSagana Diop who came out of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.
B/R wrote:
Diop comes off the board as the final 2001 pick to play at least 10 seasons, but as his career average of 2.0 points per game reveals, he didn’t last that long because he could score. The 7-footer finished second in the league among qualified players with a 7.4 block percentage in 2005-06, and his career rate of 5.7 percent is tops among players picked in 2001.
In real life, Diop was selected eighth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He lasted 12 seasons in the league and he was even the starting center for the Dallas Mavericks when they reached the NBA Finals in 2006. As B/R mentioned, he only averaged 2.0 points in his career. He lasted as long as he did due to his defense and rebounding.
Would Diop have fit with the Sixers in 2001? Maybe. He essentially was a beefier Dalembert, but Dalembert had a bit more of an offensive game and he could shoot free throws much better. Either way, Dalembert was the more talented player and the Sixers ended up with the better player. Diop would have just done all of the dirty work for them. [lawrence-related id=29297,29291,29284]
This day in Philadelphia 76ers history takes us back to Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert having solid games.
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.
This edition takes us back to the “Run with Us” version of the Sixers as they continued down their surprising path to the playoffs. The Sixers were hosting the vaunted Detroit Pistons in an April matchup that was much bigger for Philadelphia than it was for Detroit. While the Sixers had already clinched a playoff spot, they had to try and get a solid seed while the Pistons were just warming up for the postseason.
April 9, 2008
The Pistons had already earned the 2 seed in the East and they were down a starter in Richard Hamilton and the four starters who did play did not play their regular minutes. This was an opportunity for the Sixers to get the job done and keep their hot streak going.
Andre Iguodala had 25 points, six assists, five rebounds, and five steals, Samuel Dalembert had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Willie Green had 15 points. It all resulted in 101-94 win over the Pistons that allowed Philadelphia to move into the 6 seed and they had won their 22nd game in their last 30.
Despite all of that, the Sixers had lost three in a row coming into this one. Afterward, Iguodala told reporters:
It’s always good to bounce back from a loss. We were a little emotional coming into the Atlanta game after finding out we made it to the playoffs. I still felt like we should have won that game, but it’s still good to get the win tonight.
The Sixers would finish up the 2007-08 season with a 40-42 record and head into the playoffs as the 7 seed. They would take on these Pistons in Round 1 and they would win Game 1 on the road and then blowout Detroit in Game 3 before the Pistons regrouped and won three straight to eliminate the Sixers. [lawrence-related id=29108,29091,29081]
