Five Years After 68-13, Philly Finished 30-52: A Warning…

By the 76ers Nightly Desk · Monday, October 12

Philadelphia's history includes three championships and five different MVP winners, but also a 30-52 collapse five years removed from a title and no Finals trip since a 2001 loss to the Lakers. This preseason's 38-point loss at Boston and a star traded for a star this summer both have exact precedents in that same history.

76ers Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

How fast can an expensive roster like this one actually fall apart?

Ask the 1971-72 Sixers. Five years after the 1967 title team went 68-13 with Chamberlain, Cunningham and Greer, that roster finished 30-52 and missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. A 114-100 win at Chicago on October 12, 1971, came early that same season, before the collapse. Last season's group went 45-37 with a -0.1 net rating. History says contention here has no warranty.

Why does a 38-point preseason loss at Boston sting more than it should?

Because this rivalry predates expansion teams by decades. The Celtics eliminated the Nationals and 76ers in the division finals repeatedly through the 1950s and 1960s, including a quadruple-overtime game in 1953 that remains the longest in NBA history, and the series still stings from Charles Barkley's rookie season Eastern Conference finals loss. The 106-144 defeat at Boston on October 10 is just the newest chapter of the league's oldest script against this franchise.

Is trading away a star for another star anything new for this team?

Not even close. After the 1967-68 season, Philadelphia sent Chamberlain to the Lakers for Archie Clark, Darrall Imhoff and Jerry Chambers, a swap that gutted the roster that had just gone 68-13. This summer's trade sent George plus two first-round and two second-round picks to Boston for Brown instead, a bet the other direction: give up draft capital, keep buying stars. Philadelphia's management has rebuilt around one name before.

With five different 76ers MVPs, why hasn't this era broken through?

Because an MVP trophy here has rarely lined up with a banner. Of the franchise's five different MVP winners — Chamberlain, Erving, Malone, Iverson and Embiid — only Chamberlain's 1967 season and Malone's 1983 season ended in a title; Iverson's 2001 MVP year ended in a five-game Finals loss to the Lakers instead. Embiid's 2023 MVP season hasn't produced a Finals trip either, and last season's 45-37 finish didn't change that math.

The verdictThis is a franchise that has traded its biggest star before, lost the tight ones to Boston for seventy years, and watched MVP seasons end empty more often than not. A 1-2 preseason and a 38-point loss at Boston prove nothing by themselves, but the history here says this group has no cushion if the fall starts.

Has a 76ers team ever collapsed this fast after being this good?

Yes. Five years after the 68-13 team of 1967, Philadelphia finished 30-52 in 1971-72, missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

How many championships has the 76ers franchise won, and when?

Three: 1955 as the Syracuse Nationals, and 1967 and 1983 as the Philadelphia 76ers.