Doc Rivers is nothing but proud of his current Philadelphia 76ers team to have that significant connection with the franchise’s 1982-83 championship team.
Philadelphia celebrated Monday the 40th anniversary of their 1983 championship team, as they conducted a halftime ceremony in a matchup against the Chicago Bulls to honor their glory days. The present 76ers wore special “Fo’ Fo’ Fo’” warm-up shirts to pay homage to the late great Moses Malone’s golden prediction of the club’s golden run for the mentioned season.
“Connecting teams with their history I think is so important,” Rivers said, courtesy of Bob Grotz of The Reporter. “Just seeing those guys together walking around, how they help each other … how they help each other up out of chairs.
“Those guys will be connected the rest of their lives. And it was good for our guys to see that connection and what happens.”
The Sixers’ 1982-83 team is widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Led by Malone, Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, and Bobby Jones, they stormed the league that year and collected 65 regular season wins.
They went on to pulverize their competition in the playoffs, losing by just one game on their title run. They took sweet revenge and embarrassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-game sweep to clinch that elusive championship.
Their 12-1 playoff record stands as the third-best in the association’s playoff history, trailing just the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors (16-1) and the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers (15-1).
After 40 years, the current 76ers team has a robust chance to make their own legacy and follow the “Fo’ Fo’ Fo’” squad’s footsteps. Led by Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey, they are poised to deliver a potential championship rally with the entire city of Philly backing them up.
For now, the Sixers will seek to reach their initial goal of attaining a higher seeding for the postseason as they face the Bulls again on Wednesday.
