1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1966–67 season of the Philadelphia 76ers was their 14th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and their 4th since moving from Syracuse (as well as their final season at the Philadelphia Civic Center, before moving to the Spectrum in South Philadelphia the next season).

1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers season
NBA champions
Division champions
Head coachAlex Hannum
ArenaPhiladelphia Arena and Civic Center-Convention Hall
Results
Record68–13 (.840)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Warriors, 4–2)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWFIL-TV
RadioWCAU

This season set a record in winning percentage and they won the NBA Finals for the franchise's second championship and first in Philadelphia. This team was later chosen as the greatest individual team in 1980 for the NBA 35th Anniversary Team.

During the off-season, the 76ers dismissed head coach & former 76ers (Syracuse Nationals) player Dolph Schayes of fame. Alex Hannum, (a former 1950s power forward, who was the last man to coach a winner past the Boston Celtics) was the new coach. The 43-year-old Hannum looked like he could still play, and often ran with the club in practice.

Wilt Chamberlain's 8 assists per game set a record for centers and made him 3rd in the NBA overall while scoring 24 points per game and once again leading the NBA in rebounds and blocked shots (though not yet officially recorded). Shooting less, he made a league-record 68% of his shots; his 875 free throw attempts, another league record, offset his terrible percentage from the foul line.

The 76ers also had three other players around the 20-point-per-game mark that season in Hal Greer with 22 points & Chet Walker & Billy Cunningham with 19 points each. The four players combined (as well as the rest of the roster) won a then-league-record 68 games together under Hannum's watch. The team averaged a record 125 points per game, leading all teams in shooting accuracy.

The 76ers started the season at 46–4, which remains the best 50-game start in the NBA history (though tied in the Warriors 2015-16 season). They finished the season at 68–13, the best record in league history at the time. In the 1st round of the playoffs, they swept the Cincinnati Royals, then in the Eastern Conference Finals, defeated the Boston Celtics (a team that had won 8 consecutive titles & 9 out of the last 10) 4 games to 1. In the Finals, they defeated the San Francisco Warriors, 4 games to 2.[1]

In 1996, the 1966-67 76ers were named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History.

Offseason

NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 9 Matt Guokas (G/F)  United States St. Joseph's

Roster
Roster listing
1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
C 13 Chamberlain, Wilt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1936-08-21 Kansas
PG 21 Costello, Larry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1931-07-02 Niagara University
F 32 Cunningham, Billy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1943-06-03 North Carolina
F 20 Gambee, Dave 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1937-04-16 Oregon State
G 15 Greer, Hal 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1936-06-26 Marshall
SG 14 Guokas, Matt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1944-02-25 Saint Joseph's
F 54 Jackson, Luke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1941-10-31 Texas–Pan American
G 24 Jones, Wali 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1942-02-14 Villanova
PG 28 Melchionni, Bill 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1944-10-19 Villanova
F 25 Walker, Chet 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 212 lb (96 kg) 1940-02-22 Bradley
G 12 Weiss, Bob 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1942-05-07 Penn State
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Regular season

Season standings
Eastern Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Philadelphia 76ers 6813.840–28–226–814–328–8
x-Boston Celtics 6021.741827–425–118–630–6
x-Cincinnati Royals 3942.4812920–1112–247–714–22
x-New York Knicks 3645.4443220–159–247–611–25
Baltimore Bullets 2061.2474812–203–305–117–29

Record vs. opponents
1966-67 NBA Records
Team BAL BOS CHI CIN DET LAL NYK PHI SFW STL
Baltimore —1–83–63–62–72–72–71–82–74–5
Boston 8–1—8–18–16–35–49–05–46–35–4
Chicago 6–31–8—5–44–56–33–61–83–64–5
Cincinnati 6–31–84–5—7–23–66–31–85–46–3
Detroit 7–23–65–42–7—5–44–50–92–72–7
Los Angeles 7–24–53–66–34–5—4–51–83–64–5
New York 7–20–96–33–65–45–4—1–85–44–5
Philadelphia 8–14–58–18–19–08–18–1—7–28–1
San Francisco 7–23–66–34–57–26–34–52–7—5–4
St. Louis 5–44–55–43–67–25–45–41–84–5—

Game log
1966–67 Game log
October: 5–0 (Home: 4–0 ; Road: 1–0)
November: 15–2 (Home: 7–0 ; Road: 5–2 ; Neutral: 3–0)
December: 15–1 (Home: 6–0 ; Road: 7–1 ; Neutral: 2–0)
January: 12–3 (Home: 6–1 ; Road: 4–1 ; Neutral: 2–1)
February: 11–4 (Home: 2–0 ; Road: 4–3 ; Neutral: 5–1)
March: 10–3 (Home: 3–1 ; Road: 5–1 ; Neutral: 2–1)
Season schedule

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; PTS= Points; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; BLK= Blocks; STL= Steals;

Player GP PTS REB AST BLK STL

NBA finals
GameDateHome TeamResultRoad Team
Game 1April 14Philadelphia141–135San Francisco
Game 2April 16Philadelphia126–95San Francisco
Game 3April 18San Francisco130–124Philadelphia
Game 4April 20San Francisco108–122Philadelphia
Game 5April 23Philadelphia109–117San Francisco
Game 6April 24San Francisco122–125Philadelphia

76ers win series 4–2

Awards and Records

References
  1. Sachare, Alex (2008). "NBA Encyclopedia Playoff Edition: The Best Team Ever". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
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