It has been a few weeks since the last installment of our GOAT pyramid series, but we are finally able to get back on track. This time around, we will be covering one of the oldest and most well-respected organizations in NBA history, the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers debuted as a franchise way back in the 1949-50 season under the Syracuse Nationals name. The team would be known as the Nationals until 1963-64, when they moved to Philadelphia and became the 76ers.
During their existence, the 76ers have won a total of five Eastern Conference championships as well as three NBA championships in 1955, 1967, and 1983. Some of the most legendary names in NBA history have been a part of building the 76ers over the last 73 seasons and have been immortalized as franchise icons forever. For those of you who are unfamiliar with how these GOAT pyramids work, you can get an idea from all of the previous franchises we have covered below:
– The Los Angeles Lakers All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Chicago Bulls All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Golden State Warriors All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Boston Celtics All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Detroit Pistons All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Miami Heat All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Houston Rockets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Brooklyn Nets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The New York Knicks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Milwaukee Bucks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Denver Nuggets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
Now, it is important to remember that if you feel a player has been left out or not in the right position, these pyramids are about as subjective as it gets, and we would love to hear your opinion. These players in 76ers history will be placed into tiers based on their stats, achievements, and impact on the franchise as a whole. Their roles in telling the history of the franchise are as important as any other criteria I mentioned, so that is important to keep in the back of your mind.
With all of that being said, this is the Philadelphia 76ers’ all-time GOAT pyramid.
Tier 5
Ben Simmons, Red Kerr, Fred Carter, George McGinnis, Samuel Dalembert, Paul Seymour, Jrue Holiday
There are some relatively unknown players who occupy Tier 5 for the 76ers’ GOAT pyramid, starting with our most controversial selection, Ben Simmons. Things ended pretty ugly between Simmons and the 76ers, with both parties, plus the fans turning on each other in a very public manner. Still, Simmons was an All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Philadelphia. Simmons earned three All-Star selections with the team and won a steals title in 2020. He averaged 15.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 7.7 APG, and 1.7 SPG in four years with Philadelphia after he was their first overall pick in 2016.
Red Kerr is our first Syracuse Nationals player to appear on the pyramid, but certainly won’t be the last. Kerr played 11 seasons with the Nationals and was a key member of the 1955 championship team as a rookie. He averaged 13.8 PPG and 10.7 RPG on the 1955 playoff run. Kerr would also earn three All-Star appearances in his 11 seasons with Syracuse and averaged 12.7 PPG and 10.9 RPG in his career with the franchise.
Fred Carter played with the 76ers from 1972 to 1977. Carter averaged 20.0 PPG or better with the Sixers from 1973 thru 1975 and led them to the playoffs one time in 1976. Overall, Carter averaged 18.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 4.2 APG in parts of six seasons, with the team shooting 43.1% from the field.
George McGinnis played only three seasons with the 76ers after the NBA-ABA merger and two of them would be All-Star seasons. McGinnis would average over 20.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG in each season he spent with the Sixers and 21.6 PPG over the course of his time there. He would be a key member of their Eastern Conference championship team in 1977 as well when he averaged 14.2 PPG and 10.4 RPG in 19 playoff games.
Samuel Dalembert played eight seasons with the 76ers from 2002 thru 2010, missing one full season due to a knee injury in 2003. Dalembert was a consistent interior presence for the 2000s Sixers, who were always competitive, led by Allen Iverson. Dalembert did a tremendous job in the middle for Philadelphia, playing in all 82 games four times and averaging 8.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.9 BPG over the course of his tenure with the team.
Paul Seymour is another Syracuse nationals player who spent 11 seasons with the team from 1950 thru 1960. Seymour was another member of the 1955 NBA championship team and a three-time All-Star. On their 1955 championship runs, Seymour averaged 12.5 PPG and 6.8 APG as their starting shooting guard.
The final member of Tier 5 is Jrue Holiday, who appeared as an All-Star a little over 10 years ago with the 76ers. Holiday began his career with Philadelphia in 2009-10 and played through 2013. In his final season with the team, he earned his first All-Star selection with 17.7 PPG, 8.0 APG, and 1.6 SPG. Holiday would go 10 seasons without another All-Star nod until 2023 with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Tier 4
Bobby Jones, Larry Costello, Andrew Toney, Andre Iguodala, Doug Collins, Darryl Dawkins, Hersey Hawkins
Tier 4 gets started with Philadelphia legend Bobby Jones. After two years in the ABA, Jones would play eight out of his 10 seasons in the NBA with the 76ers, earning two All-Star appearances and an NBA championship in 1983. Jones would average 10.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.2 SPG, and 1.1 BPG in his time with the Sixers in his career, with seven selections to the All-Defensive team in eight years.
Larry Costello is our next Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers player to make our GOAT pyramid. Costello played with the Nationals and Sixers for 10 seasons in his career and averaged 12.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 4.7 APG over that time. Costello would not win an NBA championship until 1967 with the team, his second to last season in the NBA. Costello would also earn six All-Star appearances and make one All-NBA Second Team in his career with the Sixers.
Andrew Toney would have a short eight-year NBA career, all of which would be spent with the 76ers. In just his third season, Toney would become an All-Star for the first time averaging 19.7 PPG en route to an NBA championship. Toney would add 18.8 PPG and 4.6 APG on that playoff run. He would add another All-Star selection in 1984 and averaged 15.9 PPG and 4.2 APG during his NBA career.
It seems like forever ago that Andre Iguodala played with the Philadelphia 76ers. Iguodala got his start with Philadelphia in 2004-05, where he would stay for the next eight seasons. He averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.9 APG, and 1.7 SPG over that time. In 2012, Iguodala would earn the only All-Star selection of his career, with the 76ers averaging 12.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.5 APG, and 1.7 SPG. He would add two All-Defensive Team selections to his resume with the team as well.
Doug Collins is probably most well-known for his time as an NBA Head Coach rather than his playing career, but he could definitely play some ball. Collins would play his entire eight-year career with the 76ers from 1974 thru 1981. Collins would make four All-Star teams in his career from 1976 thru 1979, averaging 19.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.4 SPG over that stretch. His 22.4 PPG in the 1977 playoffs is a big reason why the Sixers were able to advance to the NBA Finals.
Darryl Dawkins, aka “Chocolate Thunder” is the next player up on Tier 4. Dawkins began his career with the team in 1975-76 and would play there through the 1981-82 season. During that seven-year stretch, he would average 11.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 1.4 BPG while helping them reach the NBA playoffs six times and the NBA Finals when he was a rookie.
The final member of Tier 4 is Hersey Hawkins, who was another staple of the team from 1989 thru 1993. In his five seasons in Philadelphia, Hawkins averaged 19.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, and 1.8 SPG, with one All-Star appearance in 1991. During that All-Star season, Hawkins averaged 22.1 PPG and 2.2 SPG for the 44-38 76ers. Even though his time in Philly was short, Hawkins is still a beloved legend in their history.
Tier 3
Dolph Schayes, Hal Greer, Maurice Cheeks, Chet Walker, Billy Cunningham
As we enter Tier 3, we get into the real legends who helped mold this franchise. Kicking things off on this tier is none other than Syracuse Nationals legend Dolph Schayes. He would play 15 years in the NBA, all with the Nationals and Sixers. Schayes would lead them to their first NBA title with 19.0 PPG and 12.8 RPG in the 1955 playoffs en route to the championship. Schayes would also earn 12 All-Star selections and 12 All-NBA Team selections, along with a rebounding title in 1951.
Hal Greer is perhaps the best guard in 76ers history that nobody talks about. Greer would play his entire 15-year career with the Nationals and 76ers as well with 10 straight All-Star selections from 1961 thru 1970. Greer was instrumental in the Sixers’ capturing the 1967 NBA championship, and even with Wilt, the team doesn’t win without Greer. He would average 19.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 4.0 APG for his career with the team and earned seven All-NBA Team selections and the 1968 All-Star Game MVP.
Maurice Cheeks is another guard who is heavily underrated historically. Cheeks was a member of the Sixers for 11 seasons from 1979 thru 1989 and earned four All-Star appearances along the way. Cheeks was a defensive wizard averaging 2.3 SPG during his time with Philadelphia with five All-Defensive Team selections. He was a huge part of their 1983 NBA championship run when he averaged 16.3 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 2.0 SPG in those playoffs.
Chet Walker is well-known for his days as a Chicago Bulls but is also a big part of Philadelphia basketball history as well. Walker played with the Nationals and 76ers for the first seven seasons of his career from 1963 thru 1969. He earned three All-Star selections over that time and averaged 16.2 PPG and 7.9 RPG in his career with the team.
The final member of Tier 3, but certainly not the least talented, is Billy Cunningham. Other than two years in the ABA, Cunningham was a lifelong member of the Sixers who would also go on to become a coach within the organization as well. In nine seasons, Cunningham averaged 20.8 PPG and 10.1 RPG. He also earned four All-Star appearances and four All-NBA Team selections and was a key member of the 1967 NBA championship team. He averaged 15.0 PPG and 6.2 RPG during that playoff run to help them win the title.
Tier 2
Moses Malone, Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, Joel Embiid
The four members of Tier 2 all could have a case for Tier 1 if we took what they did simply at face value. Moses Malone has a serious argument for the Sixers’ GOAT due to his performance with the team during the 1980s. Malone would win both the MVP and Finals MVP awards in his first season with the team in 1983. In five seasons with the Sixers, he earned four All-Star and All-NBA Team selections while averaging 21.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG, and 1.3 BPG.
The next player up on Tier 2 inspired a generation of players during the 2000s. Allen Iverson was not only cool, but he was also extremely talented. He won four scoring titles with the 76ers during the 90s and 2000s, as well as a 2001 MVP award and led them to the 2001 NBA Finals. In 12 years with Philly, Iverson averaged 27.6 PPG and earned eight All-Star selections as well as seven All-NBA Team selections during that time.
Charles Barkley, as much as he ended up disliking Philadelphia, is another Sixers legend who fell just short of Tier 1. Barkley played eight seasons with the 76ers from 1985 thru 1992, where he averaged 23.3 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 1.7 SPG, and 1.0 BPG. Barkley was a six-time All-Star with the 76ers and led them to the NBA playoffs six times as well.
The final member of Tier 2 may be controversial, but an MVP award props him up quite a bit. Joel Embiid is as talented offensively as any big man who has played with the team over the last 30 years. Embiid has been in Philadelphia for seven seasons and has averaged 27.2 PPG, 11.2 RPG, and 1.7 BPG. Embiid was named the 2023 MVP after winning his second straight NBA scoring title averaging over 30.0 PPG. He has also earned six All-Star selections, five All-NBA Team selections, and three All-Defensive Team selections during his career.
Tier 1
Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving
It was probably the most difficult decision of the day to decide between Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving for the GOAT of the 76ers franchise. On the one hand, you have a statistically dominant NBA champion in Chamberlain, who averaged 27.6 PPG and 23.9 RPG in four seasons as a Sixer. He led the NBA in assists in 1967 as the team went on to win the NBA championship. He added four All-Star selections and four rebounding titles to his resume during this time as well.
Then there is the influential and miraculous Julius Erving. Dr. J would play 11 seasons with the 76ers, the entirety of his NBA career averaging 22.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.8 SPG, and 1.5 BPG. He was named the 1981 MVP with the Sixers and led them to four different NBA Finals appearances. They would finally win an NBA championship in 1983, with Erving dominating both sides of the basketball. Erving symbolized what it meant to be a Philadelphia basketball player and brought flair, power, speed, and precision to the game for 11 seasons after coming over from the ABA.
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