Philadelphia had lost to Los Angeles in the 1980 and 1982 Finals before adding Moses Malone for another championship push. Their January meeting carried the tension of a likely Finals preview between the reigning champions and the team most determined to replace them.

The game matched Julius Erving and Moses Malone against Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the defending champion Lakers.
Philadelphia had added Malone specifically to overcome Los Angeles after losing two of the previous three Finals to the Lakers.

Game recap hidden

The matchup stays visible. Outcome details stay tucked away.

NBA1982-83 Regular Season

LakersVERSUS76ers

1982-83 Regular Season · Jan 5, 1983

The defending champion Lakers visited an ascendant Philadelphia team in an overtime showcase between elite contenders.

4.72Fan rating

YouTube highlightsWatch the game’s best moments▶

Season1982–83→

Game lineups

Starting fives

Verified starters

Home starting five

Philadelphia 76ers

StarterATAndrew Toney

StarterBJBobby Jones

StarterCRClint Richardson

StarterECEarl Cureton

StarterFEFranklin Edwards

Away starting five

Los Angeles Lakers

StarterBMBob McAdoo

StarterEJEddie Jordan

StarterJWJamaal Wilkes

StarterJWJames Worthy

StarterKRKurt Rambis

The five starters come from each team’s saved NBA box-score order. Exact positions are omitted because this archive does not reliably provide them.

Before the game

Spoiler-free context

The game matched Julius Erving and Moses Malone against Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the defending champion Lakers.
Philadelphia had added Malone specifically to overcome Los Angeles after losing two of the previous three Finals to the Lakers.

Game recap hidden

The matchup stays visible. Outcome details stay tucked away.

LakersVERSUS76ers

Starting fives

Before the game

Reviews

Related games

More winner-take-all games

LakersVERSUS76ers

Starting fives

Before the game

Reviews

Related games

More winner-take-all games