A dynasty, interrupted: the 1983-84 Philadelphia 76ers had one title in hand and hoped for many more. Their Hall of Fame talent stretched only so far, and the championship run never happened

IN RECENT NBA HISTORY, CHAMPIONSHIPS come in bunches. But great teams don't always repeat. And some of the best failed to capture even a second straight title.

The 1982-83 76ers featured Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Bobby Jones, Andrew Toney, and Maurice Cheeks. Even though that core won only a single rifle, on their 20th anniversary they deserve special recognition.

"It was an incredible team," former Atlanta Hawks great Dominique Wilkins says. "That was one of the best teams in history--legend after legend after legend."

The Sixers rolled to a 65-17 regular season record. Then they breezed through the playoffs, losing just a single game.

Until two seasons ago, those Sixers had the best playoff winning percentage ever (.923) with their blistering 12-1 record (the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers went 15-1 to edge them out). No other teams have gone through a postseason with only a single loss. Unlike the Lakers, who provided some brief drama by losing Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals at home (to the 76ers, coincidentally), Billy Cunningham's club never faced a series deficit. Their lone loss came when they held a 3-0 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals.

For that one season, the Sixers stood alone. Already possessing substantial talent, they added the 6'10" Malone for the 1982-83 season. Malone had won the MVP the previous season with the Houston Rockets, averaging 31.1 points and a league-leading 14.7 rebounds in 1981-82. One year before that, Malone had carried the Rockets to the NBA Finals.

Malone was a perfect fit in Philly, where Darryl Dawkins and Caldwell Jones had previously shared the center spot. To coexist with Erving and Toney, Malone cut back on his shot attempts but still scored 24.5 ppg. He grabbed 15.3 rebounds, leading the league for the third of five straight seasons.

Malone won his second straight MVP in 1982-83, and his third overall. He remains one of three players to capture the award with two different teams (along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain). However, Malone won his awards in consecutive seasons with different clubs--no one else has ever done that.

"Let's not make believe," said Cunningham shortly after the title. "The difference was Moses. He gave us the consistency inside that the Lakers had always gotten from Abdul-Jabbar. We got that and more from Moses."

One year earlier, the Sixers lost the 1982 NBA Finals to these Lakers in six games. This time around, they swept L.A. by an average 10-point margin. "One of our motivations was that we had come so close the previous year," Cunningham says. "So we were driven--with Moses' addition--to achieve that goal."

During the regular season, Philadelphia destroyed opponents by 7.7 ppg, posting the Eastern Conference's best record by nine games.

"Obviously, it was a very talented team," says Cunningham, a Hall-of-Famer himself in his playing days. "It was also truly a team where everybody accepted and enjoyed their role.

"Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones were concerned about scoring points only when necessary. Marc Iavaroni had a role to play, as did Andrew Toney and Clint Richardson. They all blended together and they liked each other. They played off each other so well, and complemented one another."

That team could also burn you outside with Toney, Cheeks, and Richardson. Dr. J was the game's premier slasher then, and he possessed a deadly midrange game. Cheeks orchestrated the offense. He shot an absurdly high field goal percentage (.542) for a point guard, played tenacious defense, and ran the break.

Jones had the size, jumping ability, and speed to man either forward slot. The 6'9" defensive stopper made the All-Defensive First Team along with Cheeks and Malone. Only one club since then (the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls) has placed three players on the First Team.

The Sixers reached the Finals three other limes during this era. Each time they fell in a six-game series. In 1976-77, Bill Walton's Portland Trail Blazers knocked them off. The Lakers took the honors in 1979-80 and 1981-82.

The team's run consisted of two different groups, bridged by Erving, and both loaded with stars. The Doctor joined Doug Collins and George McGinnis in the 1976-77 season. The latter two stars had departed by the time Malone joined the lineup.

All that talent produced just one championship. It seems impossible to believe, but if you examine their situation more closely, it makes more sense.

"A lot of other teams were good, too," Wilkins says. "You had Boston and Detroit in the East, and out West you had the Lakers. They had Kareem, Magic, Jamaal Wilkes, Norm Nixon, and James Worthy. They had a bunch of great players as well. It was just a tough era for any one team to dominate."

Unfortunately, Philadelphia shared its division with the mighty Celtics. Boston won championships in 1980-81, 1983-84, and 1985-86. From 1979-80 through 1986-87, either the Sixers or Celts made the NBA Finals every year.

The 76ers won the Atlantic Division just once in this time frame (Boston and Philadelphia fled in 1980-81, but the Celtics won the tiebreaker). In all eight of these seasons the clubs finished 1-2 in the division, and usually in the conference as well.

The two juggernauts met in four Eastern Conference finals showdowns during this stretch, winning two series apiece. How closely matched were the Sixers and Celts? In 24 playoff games, they both captured 12.

The Lakers held an advantage over the Eastern Conference heavyweights. They had less competition out West through most of the '80s, which meant Philly and Boston had to knock off two great teams to earn a championship ting. Magic, Kareem, and the gang only had to beat one such club.

But it wasn't the Celtics or the Lakers that prevented a 76ers repeat in the 1984 playoffs. A far less-heralded squad took the honors. The New Jersey Nets shocked them 3-2 in the opening round. How rare was the Nets' series win? They failed to win another until Jason Kidd came along.

That Nets team had some good players with Buck Williams, Otis Birdsong, and Micheal Ray Richardson. Dawkins, liberated from inflated expectations in Philly, turned in a fine season with New Jersey.

The teams split the first four games, with the visitor winning each time. Philly came home tied 2-2, hoping to put away the pesky Nets.

"In Game 5, we led by seven points at least midway through the fourth period. And it was like we ran into a wall," Cunningham says. "There was nothing there. We tried pushing all the buttons, but we weren't able to get ourselves through that series. That's not to take anything away from the Nets, because they played extremely well.

"We lost something after the All-Star Game that year and we never recaptured it. It was almost like mental fatigue. I wish I had an answer because we tried everything. We started out exceptionally well the first 30 to 40 games or so that year, and we never got it back."

The Sixers weren't the only defending champion that never found the answers. And nowadays, we almost expect teams to win at least two straight rifles. But it's not easy. Ask anyone wearing a championship ring.

To Repeat Is to Struggle

Eight NBA defending champs have finished with combined regular season
and playoff winning percentages of .800 or better. Yet only the three
teams highlighted below managed a repeat title:

                            Regular              Total
Team                        Season   Postseason  Record  Total Pct.

1995-96 Chicago Bulls        72-10      15-3     87-13      .870
1971-72 L.A. Lakers          69-13      12-3     81-16      .835
1996-97 Chicago Bulls        66-13      15-4     84-17      .832
1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers   68-13      11-4     79-17      .823
1985-86 Boston Celtics       67-15      15-3     82-18      .820
1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks      66-16      12-2     78-18      .813
1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers   65-17      12-1     77-18      .811
1686-87 L.A. Lakers          65-17      15-3     80-20      .8OO

The Fast Fall of Philadelphia's Dynasty

THE 1983-84 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS FINISHED 22 games over .500 at 52-30, but dropped two regular-season games against the New Jersey Nets, who had to hit a hot streak just to make it into the playoffs Those two losses, in February and April, proved to be a bad omen for the 76ers, who were upset by New Jersey in their first round playoff series.

An otherwise successful, solid season became a failure after three first-round playoff losses at home vs. the Nets. Superstar Moses Malone averaged 22.7 ppg and a league-best 13.4 rpg during the regular season, but former Sixer Darryl Dawkins outplayed him in the playoffs. The Nets got a boost with the return of Micheal Ray Richardson from his drug suspension, while 76ers' leader Julius Erving had lost his legs and looked tired.

Still, after going down 2-0 and rallying to win two straight in New Jersey, sending the series back to Philadelphia tied 2-2, Dr. J confidently predicted a Sixers series win. "They are not going to win [the series] in Philadelphia," Erving said. "You can mail in the stats."

The USPS did not deliver, and Erving capped a disappointing series with 6-of-16 shooting, 18 points, and four turnovers in Game 5. Meanwhile, Richardson scored 24 points to give New Jersey its first NBA playoff series victory ever.

FIRST ROUND, 1984 PLAYOFFS
New Jersey 3, Philadelphia 2
April 18 New Jersey 116, Philadelphia 101
April 20 New Jersey 116, Philadelphia 102
April 22 Philadelphia 108, New Jersey 100
April 24 Philadelphia 110, New Jersey 102
April 26 New Jersey 101, Philadelphia 98

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