For a once proud Sixers team that saw Wilt Chamberlain, Dr. Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Charles Barkley wear its colors in the 1980s and 1990s, the 2000s will likely be a decade to forget.
Besides one NBA Finals appearance and one MVP who the city will likely never forget, the other Sixers have done nothing to inspire the memories of greatness past.
The Sixers started off the decade promisingly enough, with Allen Iverson winning the league's MVP award in the 2000-01 season as he singlehandedly brought the team into the NBA Finals (where they were promptly met by the buzzsaw that was the Showtime Lakers).
But the wheels for the team came off soon after that, and the New Jersey Nets replaced the Sixers as the cream of the Atlantic Division crop for the next few years.
Meanwhile, former GM Billy King busied himself by straddling the Sixers with bloated contracts to underachieving players all decade (a 6-year, $58 million extension to Sammy Dalembert comes to mind). His affinity for burning money on crappy players left the Sixers in an unenviable position, as they struggled to turn mediocre talent into playoff teams.
The Sixers managed to serve as first round playoff knockout ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Bryan Toporek
The Top 10 Philadelphia 76ers of the Decade
December 27th, 2009 by Bryan Toporek Leave a reply »
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