1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers season

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. The 76ers entered the season as runner-ups in the 1982 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
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 at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WPHL-TV PRISM
Radio	WIP

Harold Katz bought the franchise 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, joining an already stacked roster led by Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones, as well as All-Star Andrew Toney. They went on to dominate the regular season, ending the year with a 65–17 record in what is still their second highest winning season in franchise history.

Erving was the team captain and was named the NBA All Star Game MVP, while Malone was named the league's MVP. When reporters asked how the playoffs would run, he answered, "four, four, four", predicting that the Sixers would need to only play four games in each of the three playoff series to win the title.

The Sixers backed up Malone's boast, breezing through the Eastern Conference playoffs, sweeping the New York Knicks in the Semifinals, then beating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the Conference Finals. They went on to win their third NBA championship with a four-game sweep of the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who had defeated them the season before. Malone was named the Finals MVP, and his prediction turned out to be only one game off, as some used the adapted phrase "fo', fi', fo'" reflecting their one playoff loss to the Bucks.

Regarded as one of the greatest teams in history, their 12–1 playoff record still ranks as the third-best in league history after the 2016–17 Warriors, who went 16–1, and the 2000–01 Lakers, who went 15–1 en route to the NBA title coincidentally beating the 76ers in the finals. The Philadelphia-based group Pieces of a Dream had a minor hit in 1983 with the R&B song "Fo-Fi-Fo", which title was prompted by Malone's quip.

As of 2024, this remains the third and last NBA championship in 76ers franchise history, though they made their above-mentioned NBA Finals appearance in 2001, losing to the Lakers.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	22	Mark McNamara	C/F	United States	California
2	36	J.J. Anderson	SF	United States	Bradley
2	45	Russ Schoene	PF	United States	Tennessee-Chattanooga
3	68	Dale Solomon		United States	Virginia Tech
4	91	Bruce Atkins		United States	Duquesne
5	114	Donald Mason		United States	Fresno State
6	137	Kevin Boyle		United States	Iowa
7	160	Keith Hilliard		United States	Southwest Missouri State
8	183	Donald Seals		United States	Jackson State
9	204	George Melton		United States	Cheyney (PA)
10	224	Randy Burkert		United States	Drexel

Roster

Philadelphia 76ers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 10 Cheeks, Maurice 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956-09-08 West Texas A&M F 25 Cureton, Earl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957-09-03 Detroit Mercy G 14 Edwards, Franklin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1959-02-02 Cleveland State F 6 Erving, Julius 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-02-22 UMass PF 8 Iavaroni, Marc 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1956-09-15 Virginia C 45 Johnson, Clemon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1956–09–12 Florida A&M SF 33 Johnson, Reggie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1957–06–25 Tennessee F 24 Jones, Bobby 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-12-18 North Carolina C 2 Malone, Moses 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1955-03-23 Petersburg High School C 31 McNamara, Mark 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1959-06-08 California G 4 Richardson, Clint 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1956-08-07 Seattle G 22 Toney, Andrew 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1957-11-23 Louisiana

Head coach Billy Cunningham Assistant coach(es) Matt Guokas Jack McMahon Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Philadelphia 76ers	65	17	.793	–	35–6	30–11	15–9
x-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	9	33–8	23–18	14–10
x-New Jersey Nets	49	33	.598	16	30–11	19–22	11–13
x-New York Knicks	44	38	.537	21	26–15	18–23	10–14
Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	23	27–14	15–26	10–14

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Philadelphia 76ers	65	17	.793	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	51	31	.622	14
3	x-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	9
4	x-New Jersey Nets	49	33	.598	16
5	x-New York Knicks	44	38	.537	21
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	22
7	Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	23
8	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	28
9	Chicago Bulls	28	54	.341	37
10	Cleveland Cavaliers	23	59	.280	42
11	Indiana Pacers	20	62	.244	45

Record vs. opponents

1982-83 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–5	5–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	0–2	2–0	6–0	0–2	0–2	1–4	2–4	3–2	2–4	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–2
Boston	5–1	—	3–2	5–1	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	5–1	3–3	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
Chicago	1–5	2–3	—	5–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	4–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	1–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–5
Cleveland	0–6	1–5	1–5	—	2–0	0–2	1–5	2–0	2–0	5–1	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–6	1–5	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–2
Dallas	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	3–3	2–0	3–2	5–1	2–0	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	2–4	5–0	2–3	2–4	0–2
Denver	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	3–3	—	2–0	4–1	5–1	1–1	3–3	1–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–1	2–3	2–4	3–2	3–2	4–2	1–1
Detroit	3–3	3–3	4–2	5–1	0–2	0–2	—	2–0	2–0	4–2	0–2	0–2	3–3	3–2	1–5	0–6	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–2
Golden State	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3	1–4	0–2	—	3–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–4	1–4	3–3	3–3	3–2	2–0
Houston	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–5	0–2	2–3	—	2–0	1–5	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–5	0–5	1–5	2–3	1–4	0–6	1–1
Indiana	0–6	1–4	2–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–6	3–3	1–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–5
Kansas City	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	3–3	2–0	4–1	5–1	1–1	—	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–4	2–3	3–3	4–1	1–4	4–2	2–0
Los Angeles	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	5–1	5–0	2–0	4–1	—	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–4	5–1	5–1	4–1	1–1
Milwaukee	4–1	3–3	5–1	5–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	1–1	2–0	5–1	1–1	0–2	—	3–2	4–2	1–5	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
New Jersey	4–2	1–5	4–2	6–0	2–0	1–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	—	4–2	3–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2
New York	2–3	3–3	4–1	5–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–4	—	1–5	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–2
Philadelphia	4–2	3–3	5–1	5–0	2–0	2–0	6–0	2–0	2–0	4–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	3–3	5–1	—	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
Phoenix	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–4	1–1	4–2	5–0	1–1	4–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	—	5–1	3–2	4–2	5–1	5–0	0–2
Portland	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	1–1	4–2	5–0	2–0	3–2	3–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–5	—	2–3	5–1	3–3	3–2	1–1
San Antonio	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	4–2	1–1	4–1	5–1	2–0	3–3	4–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–3	3–2	—	4–1	1–4	5–1	2–0
San Diego	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–5	2–3	1–1	3–3	3–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–4	1–5	1–4	—	0–6	2–3	0–2
Seattle	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	3–3	4–1	1–1	4–1	1–5	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–3	4–1	6–0	—	5–0	1–1
Utah	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–2	2–4	2–0	2–3	6–0	0–2	2–4	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	2–3	1–5	3–2	0–5	—	0–2
Washington	2–4	3–3	5–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–3	0–2	1–1	5–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	3–3	2–4	2–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	—

Game log

1982–83 Game Log Total: 65–17 (Home: 35–6; Road: 30–11)
October: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road 1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 1 October 29 @ New York Knicks 104–89 Madison Square Garden 1–0 2 October 30 New Jersey Nets 110–99 The Spectrum 2–0
November: 11–3 (Home: 7–2; Road 4–1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 3 November 3 San Diego Clippers 130–111 The Spectrum 3–0 4 November 5 @ Detroit Pistons 120–109 Pontiac Silverdome 4–0 5 November 6 Boston Celtics 119–115 The Spectrum 5–0 6 November 10 Chicago Bulls 145–108 The Spectrum 6–0 7 November 12 Indiana Pacers 108–117 The Spectrum 6–1 8 November 13 @ New Jersey Nets 110–100 Brendan Byrne Arena 7–1 9 November 14 Washington Bullets 102–93 The Spectrum 8–1 10 November 17 Detroit Pistons 120–103 The Spectrum 9–1 11 November 19 Milwaukee Bucks 121–109 The Spectrum 10–1 12 November 23 Portland Trail Blazers 103–106 The Spectrum 10–2 13 November 24 @ Indiana Pacers 121–106 Market Square Arena 11–2 14 November 26 @ Cleveland Cavaliers 120–102 Richfield Coliseum 12–2 15 November 27 Utah Jazz 126–113 The Spectrum 13–2 16 November 30 @ Atlanta Hawks 97–111 The Omni 13–3
December: 11–2 (Home: 5–0; Road 6–2) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 17 December 2 @ Phoenix Suns 116–108 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14–3 18 December 3 @ San Diego Clippers 127–110 San Diego Sports Arena 15–3 19 December 5 @ Los Angeles Lakers 114–104 The Forum 16–3 20 December 8 Atlanta Hawks 132–85 The Spectrum 17–3 21 December 10 @ Boston Celtics 97–123 Boston Garden 17–4 22 December 11 Detroit Pistons 128–111 The Spectrum 18–4 23 December 15 Cleveland Cavaliers 99–93 The Spectrum 19–4 24 December 17 New York Knicks 109–95 The Spectrum 20–4 25 December 18 @ Washington Bullets 97–100 Capital Centre 20–5 26 December 21 Boston Celtics 122–105 The Spectrum 21–5 27 December 26 @ San Antonio Spurs 124–122 HemisFair Arena 22–5 28 December 28 @ Houston Rockets 104–93 The Summit 23–5 29 December 29 @ Dallas Mavericks 126–116 Reunion Arena 24–5
January: 14–1 (Home: 7–0; Road 7–1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 30 January 5 Los Angeles Lakers 122–120 The Spectrum 25–5 31 January 7 @ Washington Bullets 106–89 Capital Centre 26–5 32 January 8 Kansas City Kings 125–113 The Spectrum 27–5 33 January 11 @ Atlanta Hawks 109–99 The Omni 28–5 34 January 12 Milwaukee Bucks 122–121 The Spectrum 29–5 35 January 14 @ Detroit Pistons 115–105 Pontiac Silverdome 30–5 36 January 15 Indiana Pacers 114–105 The Spectrum 31–5 37 January 18 @ Cleveland Cavaliers 98–90 Richfield Coliseum 32–5 38 January 19 Chicago Bulls 126–106 The Spectrum 33–5 39 January 21 Seattle SuperSonics 130–117 The Spectrum 34–5 40 January 23 @ Milwaukee Bucks 96–107 MECCA Arena 34–6 41 January 25 @ Chicago Bulls 116–99 Chicago Stadium 35–6 42 January 26 Phoenix Suns 113–102 The Spectrum 36–6 43 January 28 @ Kansas City Kings 114–99 Kemper Arena 37–6 44 January 29 @ Utah Jazz 126–109 Salt Palace 38–6
February: 11–1 (Home: 7–0; Road 4–1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 45 February 1 @ Denver Nuggets 133–124 McNichols Sports Arena 39–6 46 February 3 @ Golden State Warriors 117–111 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 40–6 47 February 4 @ Portland Trail Blazers 109–115 Memorial Coliseum 40–7 48 February 6 @ Seattle SuperSonics 97–96 Kingdome 41–7 49 February 9 Atlanta Hawks 106–93 The Spectrum 42–7 50 February 10 @ Chicago Bulls 116–110 Chicago Stadium 43–7 51 February 16 Denver Nuggets 116–95 The Spectrum 44–7 52 February 18 Houston Rockets 127–98 The Spectrum 45–7 53 February 20 New York Knicks 104–89 The Spectrum 46–7 54 February 23 Dallas Mavericks 133–101 The Spectrum 47–7 55 February 25 Chicago Bulls 116–111 The Spectrum 48–7 56 February 27 Golden State Warriors 115–104 The Spectrum 49–7
March: 11–5 (Home: 6–1; Road 5–4) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 57 March 1 @ New York Knicks 106–94 Madison Square Garden 50–7 58 March 4 @ Boston Celtics 110–115 Boston Garden 50–8 59 March 6 @ New Jersey Nets 106–112 Brendan Byrne Arena 50–9 60 March 7 Detroit Pistons 123–114 The Spectrum 51–9 61 March 12 @ Washington Bullets 95–86 Capital Centre 52–9 62 March 13 Washington Bullets 97–93 The Spectrum 53–9 63 March 15 @ Indiana Pacers 132–128 Market Square Arena 54–9 64 March 16 Boston Celtics 105–100 The Spectrum 55–9 65 March 19 @ Milwaukee Bucks 105–97 MECCA Arena 56–9 66 March 20 @ Detroit Pistons 121–119 Pontiac Silverdome 57–9 67 March 22 @ New York Knicks 76–89 Madison Square Garden 57–10 68 March 23 Milwaukee Bucks 104–101 The Spectrum 58–10 69 March 25 New Jersey Nets 92–101 The Spectrum 58–11 70 March 27 Cleveland Cavaliers 94–80 The Spectrum 59–11 71 March 29 @ Chicago Bulls 95–97 Chicago Stadium 59–12 72 March 30 Atlanta Hawks 120–113 The Spectrum 60–12
April: 5–5 (Home: 2–3; Road 3–2) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 73 April 1 New Jersey Nets 104–111 The Spectrum 60–13 74 April 3 @ Cleveland Cavaliers 96–84 Richfield Coliseum 61–13 75 April 5 @ Milwaukee Bucks 116–108 MECCA Arena 62–13 76 April 6 San Antonio Spurs 109–112 The Spectrum 62–14 77 April 8 Indiana Pacers 126–118 The Spectrum 63–14 78 April 10 New York Knicks 113–97 The Spectrum 64–14 79 April 12 @ Atlanta Hawks 97–102 The Omni 64–15 80 April 13 Washington Bullets 76–95 The Spectrum 64–16 81 April 15 @ New Jersey Nets 100–98 Brendan Byrne Arena 65–16 82 April 17 @ Boston Celtics 101–114 Boston Garden 65–17
1982–83 Schedule

Playoffs

1983 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 24 New York W 112–102 Moses Malone (38) Moses Malone (17) Maurice Cheeks (10) The Spectrum 14,375 1–0 2 April 27 New York W 98–91 Moses Malone (30) Moses Malone (17) Maurice Cheeks (6) The Spectrum 15,829 2–0 3 April 30 @ New York W 107–105 Moses Malone (28) Moses Malone (14) Maurice Cheeks (7) Madison Square Garden 17,735 3–0 4 May 1 @ New York W 105–102 Moses Malone (29) Moses Malone (14) Maurice Cheeks (7) Madison Square Garden 15,457 4–0
Conference Finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 8 Milwaukee W 111–109 (OT) Maurice Cheeks (26) Moses Malone (12) Maurice Cheeks (7) The Spectrum 18,482 1–0 2 May 11 Milwaukee W 87–81 Moses Malone (26) Moses Malone (17) Cheeks, Toney (4) The Spectrum 18,482 2–0 3 May 14 @ Milwaukee W 104–96 Julius Erving (26) Moses Malone (14) Maurice Cheeks (9) MECCA Arena 11,052 3–0 4 May 15 @ Milwaukee L 94–100 Andrew Toney (24) Moses Malone (12) Maurice Cheeks (8) MECCA Arena 11,052 3–1 5 May 18 Milwaukee W 115–103 Andrew Toney (30) Moses Malone (17) Maurice Cheeks (8) The Spectrum 18,482 4–1
NBA Finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 22 Los Angeles W 113–107 Moses Malone (27) Moses Malone (18) Julius Erving (9) The Spectrum 18,482 1–0 2 May 26 Los Angeles W 103–93 Moses Malone (24) Moses Malone (12) Maurice Cheeks (8) The Spectrum 18,482 2–0 3 May 29 @ Los Angeles W 111–94 Moses Malone (28) Moses Malone (19) Moses Malone (6) The Forum 17,505 3–0 4 May 31 @ Los Angeles W 115–108 Moses Malone (24) Moses Malone (23) Andrew Toney (9) The Forum 17,505 4–0
1983 schedule

NBA Finals

The 1983 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1982–83 season.

The 76ers went on to capture their second NBA championship in Philadelphia, and the third as the 76ers/Nationals franchise as they swept the New York Knicks, and proceeded to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. They finally finished it off with a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, who had defeated them the season before, making this the only NBA championship not to be won by either the Lakers or the Boston Celtics from 1980 to 1988.

Said head coach Billy Cunningham, "The difference from last year was Moses." Malone was named MVP of the 1983 Finals, as well as league MVP for the third time in his career. The 76ers completed one of the most dominating playoff runs in league history with a 12–1 mark after league and NBA Finals MVP Moses promised "Fo', fo', fo" (as in "four, four, four" – four wins to win each playoff series). The 76ers were also led by Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones.

The 1983 NBA Finals was the last to end before June 1. This championship is especially noted because it would be the last major sports championship for the city of Philadelphia until the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. At the time, no other city with all four professional sports teams had a championship drought last as long as that from 1983 to 2008 (25 years). When the Flyers played for the 2010 Stanley Cup, The Ottawa Citizen reported that the main reason for that lengthy championship drought was because the only years the city's teams played for championships during that time were years presidents were inaugurated. The city's teams had lost championships during such years, beginning with the 76ers themselves in 1977. The exceptions were the Phillies in 1983 and the Flyers in 1987.

Following the 1983 NBA Finals, a video documentary called "That Championship Feeling" recaps the NBA Playoff action that year. Dick Stockton narrated the video, and Irene Cara's 1983 hit single "What A Feeling" is the official theme song for the video documentary. For the first time, NBA Entertainment used videotape instead of film for all the on-court and off-court footage.

Awards, records, and legacy

• Moses Malone, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
• Moses Malone, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Bobby Jones, NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award
• Moses Malone, All-NBA First Team
• Julius Erving, All-NBA First Team
• Bobby Jones, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Maurice Cheeks, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Moses Malone, NBA All-Defensive First Team

At the time, their 65–17 regular season record ranked as the fifth greatest regular season win total in NBA history. Previously, only the 1972 Lakers (69–13), 1967 Sixers (68–13), 1971 Bucks (66–16), and 1973 Celtics (68–14; who lost the Conference Finals) exceeded this win total.

In addition, their regular season winning percentage of .793 was only bettered by three teams before 1968 (the 1947 Washington Capitals of .817; 1950 Syracuse Nations of .797 and aforementioned 1967 Sixers of .840), when NBA teams played less than an 82-game regular season. Both the Capitols and the Nationals failed to win an NBA championship.

Their .8105 winning percentage, combined regular season and postseason (77–18) in 1983, has been topped since by just five teams, the 1986 Celtics (.820, also with 18 losses), 1996 and 97 Bulls (.870 and .832), 2016 Warriors (.830, with 18 losses as well as an NBA Finals loss), and 2017 Warriors (.838).

Through the first 66 regular season games, their record stood at 57–9. The 2016 Golden State Warriors started only 3 games better at 60–6 before breaking the regular season record with 73 wins.

Possessing an exceptionally talented roster and a brilliant coaching staff with Billy Cunningham, Matt Goukas, and Jack McMahon, the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers were one of the very best teams in NBA history.

References

• Philadelphia 76ers on Basketball Reference