It’s been 43 years since the Philadelphia 76ers won an NBA championship.
As a refresher, that team was positively loaded. It put “Big 3s” and the “Heatles” to shame.
Mo Cheeks, an eventual Hall of Famer, was the head of the snake as the starting point guard. Andrew Toney, who might’ve been on a HOF path if not for poorly-handled foot injuries, shared the backcourt. While Marc Iavaroni started, Hall of Famer Bobby Jones came off the bench as a defensive maven. Of course, the Good Doctor, Julius Erving,
was manning the small forward spot.
Despite Dr. J’s individual accolades, the Larry O’Brien trophy still eluded him and the organization. They lost in the Finals three times and the Eastern Conference Finals twice. They needed something to get them over the top to defeat the rival Boston Celtics and Showtime Los Angeles Lakers.
Big man Moses Malone was coming off his second MVP award while a member of the Houston Rockets. The Sixers pulled off a sign-and-trade to acquire the Chairman of the Boards, and the rest is history. Malone spent only three seasons in Philadelphia (we can all disregard his age-38 season in 1993-94) yet has his No. 2 hanging in the rafters and is considered a legend around these parts.
LeBron James, who turns 42 in December, was born a year and half after Erving and company finally broke through. Imagine for a second if James, arguably the greatest player in basketball history, chose to play in the City of Brotherly Love and was able to deliver this franchise its fourth title?
Forget about GOAT. James would be worshipped here. He’d be a god — a deity held in the highest regard. While “Go Birds” is one of our greetings and “Red Octobers” have become the norm, Philly is still a basketball town. The presence of James and his ability to aid in a championship would simply bring that out.
If you watched the Home Run Derby on Monday night, you saw what Philly is all about. The fans booed every player competing against Kyle Schwarber, including the St. Louis Cardinals’ Jordan Walker, who won the event. Even Walker himself respected the energy from the crowd — as did his family, who were in attendance.
All that love for a guy in Schwarber, who was not a homegrown talent yet is adored here. Think about Bryce Harper, who unfortunately was bounced in the first round. Philly hated Harper with the fire of thousand suns when he was a Washington National. Did you see the reception he got Monday night? Every player should dream about that kind of environment — even one as decorated as LeBron.
Allow yourself to dream for a moment. Picture opening night down in South Philly. The starting five that takes the floor that night: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, James and Joel Embiid. That’s the best starting five in the NBA. Hell, that rivals the 1983 squad for one of the greatest five-man groups of all time. (Maybe the team can ask Matt Cord back for one night?)
But truly, that’s not all. President of basketball operations Mike Gansey retooled a weak bench. Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and Ariel Hukporti replace Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes and Andre Drummond. Labaron Philon Jr. is a gifted rookie who could still have a role on a star-studded team. And don’t forget about guys like Justin Edwards, Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona. They’ve helped the Sixers win games in the past and will now be asked to take on more appropriate roles.
This is a golden opportunity to win. If James can guide the Sixers to a title, he will be the first player to win four rings with four different franchises. You want to stand alone in history? That’s surely one way to do it.
And it will be a great theme for the documentary.
It was 43 years ago when Moses parted the postseason seas and led the Sixers to the promised land.
While royalty wasn’t popular in Philly back in 1776, if The King wins here, the entire city would be his throne.
