The Philadelphia 76ers is an American basketball team that currently plays in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1946 as the Syracuse Nationals, the 76ers have won three NBA championships and are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances, as of 2026.
1946–1963: Syracuse Nationals
In 1946, Italian immigrant Danny Biasone sent a $5,000 check to the National Basketball League offices in Chicago, and the Syracuse Nationals became the largely Midwest-based league's easternmost team, based in the upstate New York city of Syracuse. The Syracuse Nationals began to play in the NBL in the same year professional basketball was finally gaining some legitimacy with the rival Basketball Association of America that was based in large cities like New York and Philadelphia. Playing largely against teams based in small Midwestern towns, the Nationals put together a 21–23 record, finishing in 4th place. In the playoffs, the Nats were beaten by the fellow upstate neighbor Rochester Royals in 4 games.
In their second season, 1947–48, the Nationals struggled to 5th place with a 24–36 record. Still, the team made the playoffs, where they were swept by the Anderson Duffey Packers in 3 games.
Before the 1948–49 season, four teams left the NBL for the BAA as the foundation for a merger was laid. Staying in the NBL, the Nationals signed Al Cervi to be a player coach as Dolph Schayes made his professional debut, leading the Nats to their first winning record: 40–23. In the playoffs, the Nationals made quick work of the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, winning the series in two straight games. However, in the semifinals the Nats fell to the Anderson Duffey Packers for the second straight season in four games. In 1949, when the NBL and the Basketball Association of America merged into the NBA, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that were brought into the NBA.
Early NBA years: 1949–1963 The Nationals were an instant success in the NBA, winning the Eastern Division in the 1949–1950 season, with a league-best record of 51–13. In the playoffs, the Nationals swept the Philadelphia Warriors in 2 games, then beat big-city rival New York Knickerbockers in a three-game Eastern Finals. In the NBA Finals, the Nationals faced fellow NBL alums the Minneapolis Lakers. In Game 1, the Nats lost just their second home game of the season 68–66. The Nats fell behind 3 games to 1 before losing the series in 6.
Several teams left the NBA for the National Professional Basketball League before the 1950–1951 season, but the Nationals decided to stay put. In their second NBA season, the Nationals played mediocre basketball, finishing in 4th place with a record of 32–34. However, in the playoffs the Nats stunned the 1st place Philadelphia Warriors in 2 straight, taking Game 1 on the road in overtime 91–89. In the Eastern Finals the Nationals were beaten by the New York Knickerbockers in a hard-fought 5-game series, losing the finale by just 2 points.
Al Cervi, playing less and coaching more, emphasized a patient offense and a scrappy defense, which led the league in the 1951–1952 season by yielding a stingy 79.5 points per game as the Nationals won the Eastern Division with a solid 40–26 record. In the playoffs the Nats knocked off the Philadelphia Warriors again in a 3-game series. In the Eastern Finals the Nats fell to the New York Knickerbockers again, dropping the series in 4 games.
The Nationals would finish in 2nd place in a hard-fought 3-way battle for first place in the Eastern Division for the 1952–1953 season, with a record of 47–24. In the playoffs they dropped Game 1 to the Boston Celtics at home, 87–81. Needing a win in Boston to keep their hopes alive, the Nationals lost in quadruple OT 111–105, in what remains the longest playoff game in NBA history.
The Nationals acquired Alex Groza and Ralph Beard as the Indianapolis Olympians folded, leaving the NBA with just 9 teams for the 1953–1954 season. Once again the Nationals battled for the Division title, but fell 2 games short with a 42–30 record. In the playoffs, the Nats wonall 4 games of a round-robin tournament involving the 3 playoff teams from the East. In the Eastern Finals, the Nats beat the Boston Celtics in 2 straight games, but lost to the Minneapolis Lakers in a hard-fought 7-game series where the 2 teams alternated wins throughout.
With the NBA struggling financially and down to just 8 teams, Nationals owner during the 1954–1955 season Danny Biasone suggested the league limit the amount of time taken for a shot, thus speeding up a game that often ended with long periods of teams just holding the ball and playing keep away. Biasone and Nats general manager Leo Ferris calculated that a 24-second shot clock would allow at least 30 shots per quarter. The shot clock was an instant success; scoring per game rose an average of 14 points. In the first season of the shot clock, the Nats took first place in the East with a 43–29 record. After a first-round bye, the Nats beat the Boston Celtics in 4 games to reach the NBA Finals for the 2nd straight season. In the finals, the Nats got off to a fast start (led by forward Dolph Schayes) and took the first 2 games at home against the Fort Wayne Pistons. As the series moved to Fort Wayne, the Pistons returned to life, taking all 3 games to take a 3–2 series lead. Back in Syracuse for Game 6 on the Nats kept championship hopes alive by beating the Pistons 109–104 to force a 7th game at home. Game 7 was tight; George King sank a free throw to give the Nats a 92–91 lead in the final seconds, then stole an inbound pass to clinch the NBA Championship.
The Nationals struggled during the 1955–1956 season, needing a tiebreaker over the New York Knickerbockers to avoid finishing in last place and make the playoffs with a 35–37 record. In the playoffs, the Nats stunned the Boston Celtics, winning the first round series in 3 games by taking the final 2 games. In the Eastern Finals, the Nationals pushed the Philadelphia Warriors to a decisive 5th game, but ended their reign as champions with a 109–104 loss.
The Nationals started the 1956–1957 season slowly. Coach Al Cervi was fired and replaced by Paul Seymour, who led the Nats to rebound and finish in 2nd place with a record of 38–34. In the playoffs, the Nats knocked off the defending champion Philadelphia Warriors in two, but were then swept in three by the eventual champions, the Boston Celtics.
Fort Wayne and Rochester had moved on to Detroit and Cincinnati for the 1957–1958 season, leaving the Syracuse Nationals as the last small-town team in the big-city NBA. Still, the Nats finished in 2nd place with a 41–31 record. In the playoffs, the Nationals fell in the first round, a 3-game series against the Philadelphia Warriors.
Despite a mediocre 35–37 record for the 1958–1959 season, the Nationals finished in 3rd place. In the playoffs, the Nationals swept the New York Knickerbockers in 2 to reach the Eastern Finals, where they played hard against the eventual champion Boston Celtics before falling by 5 points in Game 7.
Playing in a league now dominated by superstars like Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors and Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks, the Nationals posted a solid 45–30 record in the 1959–1960 regular season, good for 3rd place. In the playoffs, the Nats swept Chamberlain and the Warriors in five, then lost to Russell and the Celtics 3–1 in the Eastern Division finals.
When the Lakers moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles before the 1960–1961 season, the Syracuse Nationals became the last old NBL team still playing in their original city in the NBA. The Nationals would make the playoffs again by finishing in 3rd place with a 38–41 record. In the playoffs, the Nationals stunned the Philadelphia Warriors in 3 straight games, but in the Eastern Finals were knocked off once again by the eventual champion Boston Celtics in 5 games.
Dolph Schayes missed 24 games during the 1961–1962 season and failed to lead the team in scoring for the first time in 14 years, as Hal Greer leds the way with 22.8 ppg. The Nats finished in 3rd place again with a 41–39 record. In the playoffs, the Nats dropped their first 2 games to the Philadelphia Warriors on the road. Facing elimination, the Nats won the next 2 games to force a 5th game in Philadelphia, which they lost, 121–104.
The aging Nationals were expected to fade in the 1962–1963 season, but the scrappy play of Johnny Kerr led them to a 2nd-place finish and a record of 48–32. In the playoffs, the Nationals got off to a 2-1 series lead over the Cincinnati Royals, but then lost 2 straight, including the decisive 5th game at home in overtime, 131–127.
Move to Philadelphia The playoff overtime loss on March 26, 1963, would prove to be the last game for the Syracuse Nationals, as investors Irv Kosloff and Ike Richman purchased the team from Danny Biasone moving the team to Philadelphia, filling the void left by the Warriors. While many early NBA teams had been based in medium-sized cities, Syracuse was the last such city left in the league by 1963. By then, however, it was apparent that central New York was no longer large enough to support the Nats. The NBA thus returned to Philadelphia one year after the Warriors had left for San Francisco. A contest was held to decide on a new name for the team. The winning name, chosen by Walter Stalberg, was the "76ers". Newspaper writers liked the name because it was easily shortened to "Sixers" in headlines. The shorter name was quickly accepted by the team for marketing purposes, and for most of the last 60 years "76ers" and "Sixers" have been officially interchangeable.
For their first four years in Philadelphia, the 76ers played mostly at the Philadelphia Arena and Civic Center-Convention Hall, with an occasional game at The Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania. Schayes was named head coach, a post he held for four years (the first as player-coach).
1964–1967: The Wilt Chamberlain era
In the 1964–65 season, the 76ers acquired the legendary Wilt Chamberlain from the Warriors; Chamberlain had been a high school legend at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia and began his career with the Warriors while they still played in Philadelphia. The 76ers would push the Celtics to seven games in the semifinals, with the 76ers trailing 110–109 in Game 7. After Hal Greer's pass was stolen by John Havlicek—an infamous blow to 76ers fans, rubbed in by fabled Celtics announcer Johnny Most when he yelled into the microphone "Havlicek stole the ball!"—the Celtics went on to beat the Los Angeles Lakers and win the NBA Championship.
On December 3, 1965, amid a game at the Boston Garden, co-owner Ike Richman suffered a heart attack and died courtside. The 76ers finished the 1965–66 season with the best record in the NBA, behind Chamberlain's league leading 33.5 points per game and 24.6 rebounds per game. They were quickly dispatched, however, by the Celtics in five games during the Eastern Division Finals.
1966–67 season