The Philadelphia 76ers, rating 2.80 (since 1949-50) [1949-50 to 1962-63, Syracuse Nationals, rating 4.00] [1963-64 to 2009-10, Philadelphia 76ers, rating 2.45] These guys are what I call the franchise of "what might have been". Why? They've won three titles in eight tries right? That's more than most NBA franchises could ever hope for. But the reason for my bequeathing of such a title as this is that they could have won so many more titles if the Boston Celtics hadn't been standing in their way. You see, the Sixer-Nats had the misfortune of being good at the exact same time as Boston's best dynasties. They've been eliminated by the Celtics in the conference finals eight times, plus another three times in earlier rounds. Nobody has been eliminated by anyone more than the Sixer-Nats have by Boston. Since joining the league they ran off an NBA record 22 consecutive playoff appearances (1949-50 to 1970-71) under the likes of Dolph Schayes, Hal Greer, and briefly Wilt Chamberlain, winning two titles distantly apart before taking a bit of a hiatus and returning for a stretch run (1976-77 to 1985-86) with Dr J, Moses Malone, and Mo Cheeks to win one title in four trips to the finals. One might even argue that before the 80's Celtics were the Eastern Conference's dynasty, the Sixers were it first. But not many talk about that team now outside of Philly, and they haven't been the same since, pulling off one token appearance in the finals in 2001 because someone from the east had to be there. Aside from Boston constantly getting in their way, they've had some rivalry with the Lakers (losing five titles to them, but stealing one), the Knicks, the Bucks, and the Warriors (their Philly predecessors). Philly, of all the teams currently in the league, it is you who I most want to see returned to former glory (other than my own team, of course). Now, on to the 76ers top 10%: The Sixer-Nats have had no shortage of hall-of-famers, despite all their underachieving. They're lead by Dolph Schayes, whose exploits from the very beginning of the franchise haven't been matched since; Julius Erving, a gift from the ABA; Hal Greer, the anti-Jerry West; Wilt Chamberlain, one of the best ever; Allen Iverson, the only player in the modern era with the stones to lead the league in scoring while shooting 39.8% or worse in a season. I call it the school of "shoot first, ask questions later"; Mo Cheeks, the defensive specialist; Charles Barkey, Sir A-couple-years-too-late; and Red Kerr, the option at center before... well, Wilt. You make room for Wilt. All-76er Team C - Wilt Chamberlain F - Dolph Schayes F - Julius Erving G - Hal Greer G - Allen Iverson B - Maurice Cheeks B - Charles Barkley B - Red Kerr Top 10% out of 387, (current players noted with asterisk - *) 1. 168.063 Dolph Schayes 1949-50 to 1963-64 2. 147.246 Julius Erving 1976-77 to 1986-87 3. 141.147 Hal Greer 1958-59 to 1972-73 4. 119.022 Wilt Chamberlain 1964-65 to 1967-68 5. 118.892 Allen Iverson 1996-97 to 2006-07, 2009-10 - * 6. 105.070 Maurice Cheeks 1978-79 to 1988-89 7. 102.748 Charles Barkley 1984-85 to 1991-92 8. 100.200 Red Kerr 1954-55 to 1964-65 9. 96.733 Billy Cunningham 1965-66 to 1971-72, 1974-75 to 1975-76 10. 87.999 Larry Costello 1957-58 to 1964-65, 1966-67 to 1967-68 11. 87.696 Paul Seymour 1949-50 to 1959-60 12. 87.524 Bobby Jones 1978-79 to 1985-86 13. 85.154 Moses Malone 1982-83 to 1985-86, 1993-94 14. 80.740 Chet Walker 1962-63 to 1968-69 15. 68.163 Luke Jackson 1964-65 to 1971-72 16. 66.971 Steve Mix 1973-74 to 1981-82 17. 63.765 Andrew Toney 1980-81 to 1987-88 18. 62.485 Doug Collins 1973-74 to 1980-81 19. 61.485 George McGinnis 1975-76 to 1977-78 20. 60.165 Dave Gambee 1960-61 to 1966-67 21. 59.276 Caldwell Jones 1976-77 to 1981-82 22. 57.983 Al Bianchi 1956-57 to 1965-66 23. 56.238 Wali Jones 1965-66 to 1970-71, 1975-76 24. 55.689 Darryl Dawkins 1975-76 to 1981-82 25. 52.567 Bill Gabor 1949-50 to 1954-55 26. 52.108 Andre Iguodala 2004-05 to 2009-10 - * 27. 51.799 George King 1951-52 to 1955-56 28. 50.711 Clint Richardson 1979-80 to 1984-85 29. 50.215 Earl Lloyd 1952-53 to 1957-58 30. 49.767 Eric Snow 1997-98 to 2003-04 31. 48.862 Hersey Hawkins 1988-89 to 1992-93 32. 47.882 Red Rocha 1951-52 to 1952-53, 1954-55 to 1955-56 33. 45.982 Aaron McKie 1997-98 to 2004-05 34. 44.286 Ed Conlin 1955-56 to 1958-59 35. 44.147 Fred Carter 1971-72 to 1976-77 36. 43.968 Clarence Weatherspoon 1992-93 to 1997-98 37. 42.643 Henry Bibby 1976-77 to 1979-80 38. 42.562 Mike Gminski 1987-88 to 1990-91 39. 42.421 Archie Clark 1968-69 to 1971-72
