NBA franchise story

Philadelphia 76ers

From the Syracuse Nationals through Wilt, Dr. J, Moses, Barkley, Iverson and Embiid, Philadelphia history is a chain of overwhelming individual stars and uncompromising expectations.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every curated card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Philadelphia 76ers official team history ↗

The beginning

Franchise era

1949–50—1962–63

Dolph Schayes

Red Kerr

Larry Costello

A perennial contender wins in 1955

The Syracuse Nationals

Schayes made the Nationals one of the league's steadiest powers and led the 1955 championship before the move to Philadelphia.

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Chapter 01

1949–50—1962–63

Franchise era

1963–64—1967–68

Wilt Chamberlain

Hal Greer

Chet Walker

A record-setting team breaks Boston's run

Wilt and the 1967 masterpiece

The 68-win 76ers blended Chamberlain's dominance with elite shooting and ended the Celtics' eight-title streak.

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Chapter 02

1963–64—1967–68

Franchise era

1968–69—1975–76

Billy Cunningham

Fred Carter

Doug Collins

A championship core disappears

From contender to nine wins

Philadelphia slid from perennial relevance to the 9–73 low point, then began recovering around Collins.

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Chapter 03

1968–69—1975–76

Franchise era

1976–77—1986–87

Julius Erving

Moses Malone

Maurice Cheeks

Repeated Finals become the 1983 title

Dr. J, Moses and fo-fo-fo

Erving restored spectacle and contention; Malone's arrival completed a dominant 1983 championship team.

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Chapter 04

1976–77—1986–87

Franchise era

1987–88—1995–96

Charles Barkley

Hersey Hawkins

Johnny Dawkins

An MVP talent without a complete cast

The Barkley years

Barkley became a singular force, but Philadelphia's declining roster led to his trade and a full rebuild.

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Chapter 05

1987–88—1995–96

Franchise era

1996–97—2005–06

Allen Iverson

Dikembe Mutombo

Aaron McKie

Defiance, scoring and the 2001 Finals

Iverson

Iverson's fearlessness made him an MVP and cultural icon, carrying a defense-first supporting cast to the Finals.

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Chapter 06

1996–97—2005–06

Franchise era

2006–07—2012–13

Andre Iguodala

Jrue Holiday

Thaddeus Young

Competitive teams give way to a reset

Between franchise stars

Iguodala and Holiday led respectable playoff groups before Philadelphia chose a more radical long-term path.

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Chapter 07

2006–07—2012–13

Franchise era

2013–14—present

Joel Embiid

Ben Simmons

Tyrese Maxey

A painful rebuild finds an MVP

The Process and Embiid

Years of asset accumulation produced Embiid, whose dominance returned Philadelphia to annual contention while Maxey became the next homegrown pillar.

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Chapter 08

2013–14—present

Present day

The essential watchlist

Five Philadelphia 76ers games to start with.

Curated from the franchise’s defining eras, championship stakes and the games that still carry its story.

#01 · Regular Season

Celtics vs 76ers

Apr 15, 1965

#02 · NBA Finals

NBA Finals

1977

GAME6

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS

PHILADELPHIA76ERS

JUN 5, 1977

Trail Blazers vs 76ers

Jun 5, 1977

#03 · NBA Finals

Lakers vs 76ers

May 16, 1980

#04 · Eastern Conference Finals

Eastern ConferenceFinals

Celtics vs 76ers

May 3, 1981

#05 · NBA Finals

76ers vs Lakers

Jun 6, 2001

Season history

Past seasons

77 seasons · newest first

Game archive

Philadelphia 76ers games

6,605 total · loaded 10 at a time