1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers season | |
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NBA Champions
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Conference Champions
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Division Champions
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Third NBA Championship | |
Head coach | Billy Cunningham |
General manager | Pat Williams |
Arena | The Spectrum |
Results | |
Record | 65–17 (.793) |
Place |
Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern) |
Playoff finish |
NBA Champions (Defeated Lakers 4-0) |
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com |
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Local media | |
Television | PRISM Network, WPHL |
Radio | WFIL |
The 1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 37th season of the franchise (going back to their days as the Syracuse Nationals) and their 20th season in Philadelphia.
Harold Katz bought the 76ers in 1982. On his watch, the final piece of the championship puzzle was completed before the 1982–83 season when they acquired free-agent center Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade for Caldwell Jones. Led by Hall of Famer Julius Erving and All-Stars Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones they dominated the regular season, starting the season with 49 wins against 7 losses and winning 65 games in what is still the second most winning year in franchise history.
Erving led as the team captain and was named the NBA All Star Game MVP, while Malone was named league MVP, and when reporters asked how the playoffs would run, he answered, "four, four, four"—in other words, predicting that the Sixers would need to win four games in each of the three playoff series to win the title. Malone, speaking in a non-rhotic accent, pronounced the boast "fo', fo', fo'."
However, the Sixers backed up Malone's boast. They made a mockery of the Eastern Conference playoffs, first sweeping the New York Knicks and then beating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. The Sixers went on to win their third NBA championship with a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, who had defeated them the season before. Malone was named the playoffs' MVP.