1983 Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia had reached the Finals three times in six years and lost every time. So the front office traded for Moses Malone before the season, pairing the league's best rebounder with Erving. The result was a 65-17 team that finished first in the league in point differential by a wide margin.

Malone led the team at 24.5 points and 15.3 rebounds and won his second straight MVP. Erving scored 21.4 a game at age 32. Maurice Cheeks ran the offense and locked down opposing guards, Andrew Toney was the scoring threat known as the Boston Strangler for his torment of the Celtics, and Bobby Jones won Sixth Man of the Year.

Asked before the playoffs how Philadelphia would fare, Malone said fo', fo', fo', meaning three four-game sweeps. They nearly delivered, going 12-1 and losing only one game, to Milwaukee in the conference finals. The Finals were a sweep of the Lakers, with Malone dominating the glass and taking Finals MVP.

It was the franchise's first title since 1967 and remains its most recent. Erving, who had won two ABA championships earlier, finally had the NBA crown that had eluded him.

The starting five was Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, and Moses Malone. Billy Cunningham coached the group with Clint Richardson as the primary bench scorer.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Marc Iavaroni (starting power forward).

By 1983 the NBA had expanded nationwide and the Finals were a national television event. The Philadelphia 76ers title run still required winning the East or West bracket, then taking the championship round.

The Philadelphia 76ers share a lineage with other banners from 1955, 1967. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers went 65-17 and rolled through the playoffs, losing only one game on the way to the title. Moses Malone won both the regular-season and Finals MVP awards and famously predicted a sweep with the word fo'. They swept the Lakers in the Finals to make it close to true. Julius Erving finally got his NBA ring.

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.