All the talk of the Phillies being in the world series and the Philly teams not being World Champs since 1983 got me thinking about the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers that won the NBA Finals in 1983.
I'd been a 76ers fan for many years and had been disappointed in 1982 when they got pushed around by the Lakers and lost in the NBA finals. I was excited about their chances in the 1982/1983 season and watched when I could during my 3rd year of University.
I'd been working at the Steel company Dofasco in Hamilton on co-op work terms, but they cancelled their co-op program in 1982. The summer term of 1983 I ended up working at General Foods in a small eastern Ontario town called Cobourg. I didn't know any of the other co-op students. They were in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. I was a programming nerd. I initially went out to the bars to watch the games. I ended up meeting most of the other co-ops. Turns out even Chemists like the Sixers.
After a 65-17 regular season the Sixers went into the playoffs expecting to win it all. They had a powerful starting five of Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney and Bobby Jones. Malone proved to be the catalyst that allowed the Sixers to get over the hump.
During the regular season Malone average 24 point and 15 rebounds. He carried that pace into the playoffs. Toney and Erving added to the firepower contributing 18 points per game in the post season. The Sixers reversed roles and dominated the Lakers during a 4 game sweep in the Finals. Moses Malone was named MVP.
Since then I've become disenchanted with the Sixers. I rooted for them through the Barkley years, but became a Toronto Raptor fan when they joined the NBA for the 1995-96 season.
1983 - Sixers World Champs
Posted on: November 2, 2008 3:57 pm
Edited on: November 5, 2008 11:31 pm
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TrueBlueFrank |
Posted on: March 9, 2009 2:06 pm
1983 - Sixers World ChampsGC you've brought up a sore subject. I was a teenager then, and could not believe a Lakers team get swept in a finals. After all the Lakers beat the 76ers in 1982 and also in 1980. We all thought in SoCal the 1983 loss to Philadelphia was a tough never really in any of the four games. The Finals loss the Lakers had didn't seem to affect them much the next year, reaching the finals again only to lose to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in seven games. But all I could remember about the 83 series, Norm Nixon got hurt early and the Lakers seem to be lost in every game at the point guard position. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with the loss of Nixon was lost on offense, he also seemed to be lost on defense and rebounding. Moses Malone dominated Kareem on both ends of the court. |
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