1967 Philadelphia 76ers

Alex Hannum took over from Dolph Schayes and changed what the team asked of Wilt Chamberlain. Instead of chasing scoring titles, Chamberlain set up teammates and anchored the defense. The 76ers opened 46-4, still the best 50-game start in league history, and finished 68-13.

Chamberlain averaged around 24 points, led the league in rebounding, and made 68 percent of his shots while handing out nearly eight assists a game. Hal Greer scored about 22 a night and Chet Walker gave them a steady 19. Billy Cunningham, the sixth man, poured in close to 18 off the bench, which gave Hannum a second wave most teams could not match.

The playoffs ran through Boston. The Celtics had won the title nine of the previous ten years, but Philadelphia took the Eastern Division finals four games to one. In the NBA Finals the 76ers handled the San Francisco Warriors in six.

There was no Finals MVP award yet, so Chamberlain's regular-season MVP had to stand in for it. The 1966-67 76ers were later voted one of the greatest teams in league history, and the franchise would not win another title until 1983.

The league was smaller than it is today, but the 1967 playoffs still required beating the best teams in the division and then the other side of the bracket. Title paths from this era are shorter on paper than a modern run, yet the Finals still decided the champion.

The starting five was Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, Billy Cunningham, and Wali Jones. Alex Hannum coached the group with Luke Jackson as the primary bench scorer.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Larry Costello (veteran guard who later coached the 1971 champion Bucks); Dave Gambee (frontcourt reserve); Matt Guokas (rookie out of Saint Joseph's).

The 1967 playoffs ran through divisional rounds before the Finals. The Philadelphia 76ers still needed four series wins in many years, but the league had fewer teams than the 30-franchise map used today.

The Philadelphia 76ers share a lineage with other banners from 1955, 1983. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers went 68-13, the best regular-season record the league had seen, then beat the San Francisco Warriors in six for the title. Wilt Chamberlain spent the year passing and defending as much as scoring, leading the NBA in rebounding while shooting 68 percent from the floor. The loudest statement came in the division finals, where Philadelphia ended Boston's run of eight straight championships.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Philadelphia 76ers titles, use the franchise hub linked below.