July 16, 2024

The top 5 offenses and defenses in Sixers history

With big seasons from Wilt Chamberlain to Joel Embiid and everyone in between, we rank the best of the best when it comes to Sixers offenses and defenses.

By Shamus Clancy
PhillyVoice Staff

Charles Fox/SIPA USA

Dikembe Mutombo and Allen Iverson made 2001 a year to remember for Sixers fans.

Wilt Chamberlain. Julius Erving. Moses Malones. Charles Barkley. Sixers history is filled with some of the biggest names to ever pick up a basketball. In an ongoing series here at PhillyVoice, we are ranking the five best Sixers offenses and defenses ever.

Our sports staff took time to research and rank their picks for the top units. Below is a look at the averaged out ranking order of our selections for the five best offenses in Sixers franchise history:

1. 1983 Sixers

65-17, Won NBA Finals | 5th in Offensive Rating | 2-All NBA Players | Moses Malone MVP

"Fo-Fo-Fo" actually went "Fo-Fi-Fo" as the Sixers went 12-1 on the way to a championship, sweeping a Lakers team in the Finals that had beaten them just a year prior. Moses Malone's arrival in Philadelphia was that of a savior and he made good on that promise immediately, capturing the league's MVP award and averaging 25.8 points and 18.0 rebounds per game in the Finals. After three Finals losses in Philly, Julius Erving finally had his first NBA ring, too.

2. 1978 Sixers

55-27, Lost in Conference Finals | 1st in Offensive Rating | Julius Erving First-Team All-NBA

The Sixers were a dominant offensive force, nearly having three players averaging 20 points per game:

Player	PPG
Julius Erving	20.6
George McGinnis	20.3
Doug Collins	19.7

That's before even getting to the crafty scoring of World B. Free and the work that Caldwell Jones did to tie it all together. Especially for younger Sixers fans, George McGinnis is perhaps the most underrated player in franchise history, essentially posting a 20-10-4-2 stat line this season.

3. 1967 Sixers

68-13, NBA Champions | 1st in Offensive Rating | Wilt Chamberlain MVP | 2 All-NBA Players

After losses to their bitter rivals in Boston in the Division Finals the previous two seasons, Wilt Chamberlain finally bested Bill Russell, carrying the Sixers to the NBA Finals, where they took down the Warriors in six games. Look at these points per game numbers:

Player	PPG
Wilt Chamberlain	24.1
Hal Greer	22.1
Chet Walker	19.3
Billy Cunningham	18.5

Wilt averaged 24.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game for good measure, too.

4. 1990 Sixers

53-29, lost 2nd Round | 2nd in Offensive Rating | Charles Barkley 2nd in MVP Voting

Charles Barkley won MVP honors in Phoenix in 1993, but he should've won his first MVP award this season. He lost out to some guy named Earvin. Barkley averaged 25.2 points per game while shooting a staggering 60.0 percent from the field. As for the non-Barkley Sixers, Hersey Hawkins 18.5 points per night efficiently under the watchful eyes of head coach Jim Lynam. Barkley spent his prime in a league that Michael Jordan owned, denying him of that elusive ring, as the Sixers fell to Jordan's Bulls in five games in the second round.

5. 1985 Sixers

58-24, Lost Conference Finals | 4th in Offensive Rating | Moses Malone First-Team All-NBA

A rookie Charles Barkley mixed with that '83 championship core made for a nice mix of youth and experience. This is a hell of a starting five:

Player (Age)	PPG	RPG	APG
Moses Malone (29)	24.6	13.1	1.6
Charles Barkley (21)	14.0	8.6	1.9
Julius Erving (34)	20.0	5.3	3.0
Andrew Toney (27)	17.8	2.5	5.2
Mo Cheeks (28)	13.1	2.8	6.4

Unfortunately for the Sixers, the '83 championship would be their lone one of this era, as this team fell yet again to the Celtics in the playoffs that spring.

The next three...

Team	Offensive Ranking	Notes
2023 Sixers	4th	Embiid MVP
1989 Sixers	3rd	Barkley 6th in MVP voting
2001 Sixers	13th	Allen Iverson MVP

Shamus' individual rankings: '78, '83, '90, '67, '85

And now, time for the five best defenses in Sixers history:

1. 1980 Sixers

59-23, Lost NBA Finals | 1st in Defensive Rating | Bobby Jones First-Team All-Defense

Bobby Jones was the proto-Draymond Green defender as a forward who could do it all. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award did not exist yet, but Jones coulda/shoulda/woulda been that guy for this campaign. Big man Caldwell Jones was a force as well. This team rode a wave to the Finals, defeating the Celtics in five games to advance that far, but ran into a rookie Magic Johnson and the Lakers in the championship round. As documented in HBO's "Winning Time," the Sixers fell to Los Angeles with Johnson masquerading at the center position. Still, this team could put the clamps on anyone and that requisite athleticism to succeed in the modern game despite the generational divide.

2. 2001 Sixers

56-26, Lost NBA Finals | 5th in Defensive Rating | Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the Year

The 2001 Sixers, on a casual level, are thought of as an offensive team because of Allen Iverson's MVP year and scoring bonanza in Game 1 of the Finals, but this squad was all about defense. Mutumbo won Defensive Player of the Year honors after being brought over in a midseason trade with the hopes of him being a championship anchor in an inevitable matchup with Shaquille O'Neal in the Finals. He's the big name, but role players gritted it out, too. Aaron McKie was the perfect guard pairing with Iverson as he could defend 1s and 2s. Also, don't ever forget about George Lynch.

3. 1981 Sixers

62-20, Lost Conference Finals | 2nd in Defensive Rating | 2 All-Defensive Players

For the '81 team, the Sixers' five best players were all in the top 11 of individual defensive rating:

Player	D-Rating	Rank
Julius Erving	96.7	4th
Caldwell Jones	97.3	5th
Darryl Dawkins	98.0	6th
Bobby Jones	98.5	9th
Mo Cheeks	98.6	11th

Not too shabby!

4. 1983 Sixers

65-17, Won NBA Finals | 5th in Defensive Rating | 3 All-Defensive Players

Moses Malone's scoring gets all the attention, but he was an elite rebounder as well. Bobby Jones, of course, was in the mix here too, winning Sixth Man of the Year honors (the first ever to do so) while taking on any possible defensive assignment. Mo Cheeks' work at guard made for a whopping three First-Team All-D selections between Cheeks, Malone and Jones. Oh, yeah, they won the NBA Finals as well.

5. 2021 Sixers

49-23, Lost 2nd Round | 2nd in Defensive Rating | 3 All-Defensive Players

Ben Simmons was at his peak as a defender, finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Rudy Gobert, a total robbery. Joel Embiid and Matisse Thybulle were Second-Team All-Defensive selections as well. This defense was high on athleticism, suffocating opponents, at least until that eventual second-round burnout commenced...