The Philadelphia 76ers, referred to most commonly as “the Sixers,” is an American Pro basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers play their home games in the Wells Fargo Center, a venue that opened in 1996 that also serves as the home of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. The Sixers play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, a division they share with the Boston Celtics.
The team is one of the oldest franchises in the league. The 76ers were founded in 1946 as the Syracuse Nationals — and they are only one of eight teams out of 23 that managed to survive the NBA’s first ten years. Dolph Schayes was one of top playing talents of the Syracuse era for the franchise. The Nationals relocated to Philadelphia in 1963 and rebranded as the 76ers. With a sixty-year history in Philadelphia, there are few fans that will remember the 76ers’ time as the Nationals in modern times.
In addition to Schayes, the franchise has numerous distinguished players. Maurice Cheeks, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, and Allen Iverson are among the retired greats that played for the franchise. Furthemore, Charles Barkley, affectionately nickamed Sir Charles, enjoyed a long and successful tenure in Philadephia from 1984 to 1992. It was during this era that many thought that Philadelphia might compete for an NBA title, however, Barkley’s tenure was not accompanied by a championship.
Since their original establishment, the 76ers have won the NBA championship three times. Firstly, they won in 1955 as the Syracuse Nationals. Their second championship came in 1967 and the third in 1983. Julius Erving was an impactful player during these championships.
However, since then, they have only ever made the NBA Finals once, in 2001, when they lost to the LA Lakers. The 76ers haves also won 5 Conference Titles – 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983 and 2001. Also, they have claimed 12 division titles.
Interesting Fact
Despite winning in a 6-game nail-biter against the Atlanta Hawks, Embiid felt that the refereeing was so one-sided he lost his cool and started a scuffle with John Collins, an Atlanta player. This cost Embiid a $35,000 fine.
The best player for the 2000/01 Philadelphia 76ers was Allen Iverson. However, the team made the finals, in part, because of the strong play of their hard-working center, Todd MacCulloch. MacCulloch’s career would be cut short due to a neuromuscular condition with his feet. He played his last game in the 2002/03 NBA season, retiring at the age of 27.
Philadelphia 76ers 2021 NBA Draft Picks
The Sixers are now in a win-now mode so it’s unlikely that the draft picks will make the startling lineup soon – or even rotation minutes.
The first-round draft was pick number 28 – Jade Springer, a 6ft 4 Combo Guard from Tennessee. He is barely 19 years old and although has a lowish point per game average at college football – 12.5, he is a good fit for the team and has demonstrated a strong level of play at basketball. He also showed improvement throughout the year.
They also drafted Filip Petrusev a 6 ft 11 center from Gonzaga and KK Mega Basket in Serbiaa’s Adriatic League with their second-round pick number 50. The 21-year-old was the 2019 West Coast Conference player of the year. The Sixers president and team see him as more of a sidebar sixers for now. He is more of a long term player and will probably start overseas before moving to the team later on.
Finally, on Thursday’s NBA draft they picked Charles Bassey, a 6 ft 11 Center from Western Kentucky with the number 53 overall pick. He will more than likely make the team in the upcoming season as there may well be room on the team for a backup or third center.
The Philadelphia 76ers and the 2023 NBA Draft
Heading into the 2023/24 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers remain one of the teams in the NBA that are trying to “win now” (as opposed to teams that are rebuilding). However, even with a solid lineup, there’s definitely no harm in adding a strong rookie to an NBA roster. Unfortunately for the 76ers, they did not have any picks for the 2023 NBA Draft. The 76ers gave up their first-round pick in a trade. Furthermore, they don’t have a second-round pick due to NBA violations regarding free agents.
Philadelphia 76ers: Management and Coaching
Ownership: Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (Josh Harris and David Blitzer)
CEO: Tad Brown
President: Daryl Morey
General Manager: Elton Brand
Head Coach: Nick Nurse
The 76ers hired Doc Rivers in 2020 as their new Head Coach. In November of that year, Daryl Morey joined the franchise as the new President of Basketball Operations. The 76ers then clinched the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and won the division title – for the first time in 20 years.
However, the team has yet to make it bad to the NBA Finals. With Joel Embiid, their seven-foot center, getting toward the end of his prime, the feeling in Philadelphia is that the club has to win soon — or they may enter another rebuild without anything significant to show for Embiid’s tenure. Doc Rivers, heading into the 2023/24 NBA season, is out as the head coach and Nick Nurse is in. Nurse, previously with the Toronto Raptors, won an NBA title as head coach of the franchise during the pandemic. The Raptors defeated the 76ers en route to to their title run in a memorable fashion (at the buzzer — in game seven).
Current Philadelphia 76ers Players Under Contract
- Joel Embiid (Center, 29 years old). Contract expires in 2027.
- Tobias Harris (Power Forward, 30 years old). Contract expires in 2024.
- James Harden (Shooting Guard, 33 years old). Contract expires in 2024.
- P.J. Tucker (Power Forward, 38 years old). Contract expires in 2025.
- Tyrese Maxey (Point Guard, 22 years old). Contract expires in 2024.
- De’Anthony Melton (Shooting Guard, 25 years old). Contract expires in 2024.
- Furkan Korkmaz (Shooting Guard, 25 years old). Contract expires in 2024.
- Jaden Springer (Point Guard, 20 years old). Contract expires in 2025.
- Danuel House Jr. (Small Forward, 30 years old). Contract expires in 2024.
Previous Philadelphia 76ers Draft Selections Since 2000
Year Round Pick Player Pos Age Pre-Draft Team
2023 NO PICKS
2022 1 23 David Roddy SF 21 Colorado State
2021 1 28 Jaden Springer SG 18 Tennessee
2020 1 21 Tyrese Maxey PG 20 Kentucky
2020 2 34 Theo Maledon PG 19 ASVEL Basket (France)
2020 2 36 Tyler Bey PF 22 Colorado
2020 2 49 Isaiah Joe SG 21 Arkansas
2020 2 58 Paul Reed Jr F 21 DePaul
2019 1 24 Ty Jerome PG 21 Virginia
2019 2 33 Carsen Edwards PG 21 Purdue
2019 2 34 Bruno Fernando C 20 Maryland
2019 2 42 Admiral Schofield SF 22 Tennessee
2019 2 54 Marial Shayok G 23 Iowa State
2018 1 10 Mikal Bridges SG 21 Villanova
2018 1 26 Landry Shamet PG 21 Wichita State
2018 2 38 Khyri Thomas SG 22 Creighton
2018 2 39 Isaac Bonga SG 18 Fraport Skyliners (Germany)
2018 2 56 Raymond Spalding PF 21 Louisvikke
2018 2 60 K. Antetokounmpo PF 20 Dayton
2017 1 1 Markelle Fultz PG 19 Washington
2017 2 36 Jonah Bolden SF 21 FMP Beograd
2017 2 39 Jawun Evans PG 20 Oklahoma State
2017 2 46 Sterling Brown G 22 Southern Methodist
2017 2 50 Mathias Lessort F 21 Nanterre 92
2016 1 1 Ben Simmons PF 19 LSU
2016 1 24 T. Luwawu-Cabarrot F 21 KK Mega Bemax
2016 1 26 Furkan Korkmaz SG 18 Anadolu Efes
2015 1 3 Jahlil Okafor C 19 Duke
2015 2 35 Willy Hernangomez C 21 Cajasol Seville
2015 2 37 Richaun Holmes F 21 Bowling Green
2015 2 47 Arturas Gudaitis C 22 Zalgiris
2015 2 58 JP Tokoto GF 21 North Carolina
2015 2 60 Luka Mitrovic PF 22 KK Crvena Zvezda
2014 1 3 Joel Embiid C 20 Kansas
2014 2 10 Elfrid Payton G 20 Louisiana
2014 2 32 KJ McDaniels GF 21 Clemson
2014 2 39 Jerami Grant F 20 Syracuse
2014 2 47 Russ Smith G 23 Louisville
2014 2 52 Vasilje Micic PG 20 KK Mega Bemax
2014 2 54 Nemaja Dangubic SF 21 KK Mega Bemax
2013 1 11 M Carter Williams PG 21 Syracuse
2013 2 35 Glen Rice GF 22 Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2013 2 42 Pierre Jackson PG 21 Baylor
2012 1 15 Maurice Harkless F 19 St John’s
2012 2 45 Justin Hamilton C 22 LSU
2012 2 54 Tornike Shengelia PF 20 Proximus Spirou Charleroi
2011 1 16 Nikola Vucevic PF 20 USC
2011 2 50 Lavoy Allen PF 22 Temple
2010 1 2 Evan Turner GF 21 Ohio State
2009 1 17 Jrue Holiday G 19 UCLA
2008 1 16 Marreese Speights C 20 Florida
2007 1 12 Thaddeus Young F 19 Georgia Tech
2007 1 21 Daequan Cook G 20 Ohio State
2007 1 30 Petteri Koponen G 19 Tapiolan Honka
2007 2 38 Kyrylo Fesenko C 20 BK Cherkassy
2006 1 13 Thabo Sefolosha GF 22 Edilnol Pallacanestro Biella
2005 2 45 Lou Williams G 18 South Gwinnett High School
2004 1 9 Andre Iguodala SF 20 Arizona
2003 2 50 Paccelis Morlende G 22 JDA Dijon Basket
2002 1 16 Jiri Welsch F 22 Union Olimpija
2002 2 44 Sam Clancy F 22 USC
2001 1 26 Samuel Dalembert C 20 Seton Hall
2001 2 26 Damone Brown F 21 Syracuse
2001 2 56 Alvin Jones PF 22 Georgia Tech
2000 1 20 Speedy Claxton G 22 Hofstra
2000 2 48 Mark Karcher F 21 Temple
Philadelphia 76ers Draft Picks FAQs
Why didn’t the Philadelphia 76ers have any draft picks in the 2023 NBA Draft?
They did not have any draft picks in the 2023 NBA Draft due to a combination of trades and sanctions. They traded their right to draft someone in the first round to get James Harden. They forfeited their second-round pick after negotiating with players before it such discussions were allowed.
