1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers season

1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers season
NBA champions
Division champions
Head coach Alex Hannum
Arena Philadelphia Arena and Civic Center-Convention Hall
Results
Record 68–13 (.840)
Place Division: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish NBA Champions
(Defeated Warriors, 4–2)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television WFIL-TV
Radio WCAU

The 1966–67 season of the Philadelphia 76ers was their 14th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and their fourth 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.

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

During the off-season, the 76ers dismissed coach Dolph Schayes of Syracuse Nationals fame. Alex Hannum, the former 1950s power forward, who was the last man to coach a winner past Boston, 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 eight assists per game set a record for centers and made him third in the NBA overall, while scoring 24 per game and again leading the NBA in rebounds and blocked shots. Shooting less, he made a league-record 68% of his shots; his 875 free throw attempts, another league record, offset his 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, and Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham, both with 19 points. The four players combined 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 (tied in 2016). They finished the season at 68–13, the best record in league history at the time. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the Royals in four games, then in the Eastern Conference Finals defeated the Boston Celtics, a team who had won eight consecutive titles, and nine out of the last ten, four games to one. In the finals they defeated the San Francisco Warriors, four games to two.[1]

Offseason

NBA Draft

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

Roster

1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers roster
PlayersCoaches
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 30 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 23 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 35 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
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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