The original Philadelphia 76ers were neither in Philadelphia nor called the 76ers. But the team did begin in a northeastern city and did have a patriotic name, the Syracuse Nationals. The Nats had been in the NBA since the league's first year of existence and came to the City of Brotherly Love in 1963, just after the Warriors had abandoned Philadelphia for San Francisco. Thus began the Philadelphia 76ers, an organization that has featured one of the best NBA teams ever to swagger onto the court (68-13 in 1966-67) and one of the worst to be blown off it (9-73 in 1972-73).
Along the way such figures as Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Charles Barkley have registered some of their finest seasons in a Philadelphia uniform. Other notables, such as Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham and Maurice Cheeks, have earned their reputations with the team as well. Philadelphia, one of the country's great basketball cities, and its 76ers are an important part of the league's history and of its future.
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Philadelphia 76ers
