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  • Rare Wilt Chamberlain rookie uniform could fetch millions at auction — and might still be a bargain

    Rare Wilt Chamberlain rookie uniform could fetch millions at auction — and might still be a bargain

    Wilt Chamberlain isn’t just a legendary name in Philadelphia sports history — he’s a legendary name throughout all of sports history.

    So it’s no surprise that a uniform bearing Chamberlain’s No. 13, from the season he shot to NBA stardom, is among the most sought after collectors’ items in sports. Chamberlain’s 1959-60 Philadelphia Warriors uniform, which he wore during his historic rookie season, is headlining Heritage Auctions’ “Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction.” Bidding was at $862,500 as of late Friday afternoon — and is expected to go much higher.

    During the 1959-60 season, the 7-foot-1 Chamberlain set the NBA’s single-season scoring and rebounding records, which were surpassed by Chamberlain later in his career. In his debut NBA campaign, he recorded 2,104 total points and 2,149 total rebounds — or 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game — and became the first of just two players to win league MVP and rookie of the year in the same season.

    According to Chris Ivy, the Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage, bidding for his uniform is estimated to exceed $3 million. The auction will close Feb. 28.

    The Wilt Chamberlain rookie uniform up for auction at Heritage Auctions has been photo-matched to six games from the 1959-60 season.

    The Warriors uniform was photo-matched to six games from Chamberlain’s rookie season. The item’s age and its notability as Chamberlain’s first uniform make it of significant interest to collectors. It’s also exceedingly rare to have full uniforms from that era.

    “At the time, these uniforms didn’t have any intrinsic value,” Ivy said. “Most of them were just worn until they were tossed or donated to another team. So this uniform was able to survive the decades. It was in Wilt Chamberlain’s personal collection, and he eventually sold it to a collector several decades ago. Now, we’re happy to have the opportunity to present it to the collecting community.”

    In 1954, a tiny town handed Wilt Chamberlain one of his three high school losses. This signed syllabus shows he never forgot it.

    Ivy compared the sale of Chamberlain’s jersey to that of current Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg, which Sotheby’s privately sold this month for $1 million. While Flagg’s career is just getting started, Chamberlain’s enduring presence in NBA record books increases the value of his uniform to collectors.

    “Cooper Flagg has the potential to be an NBA great, but Wilt’s career is over,” Ivy said. “We know that he had the best rookie season of all time. We know that he was one of the greatest players that ever stepped foot on court. And so, if you extrapolate from that Cooper Flagg price, this uniform should be worth $10 million. I don’t think it’s going to hit that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did eventually.”

    Chamberlain’s uniform isn’t the only item with Philly ties at Heritage’s Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction. The event also features a LeRoy Neiman painting of Joe Frazier taking on Muhammad Ali in the “Thrilla in Manilla” and a rare 1909 baseball card featuring Hall of Fame Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Eddie Plank.

  • Tyrese Maxey finished a highlight-reel dunk over Anthony Edwards. VJ Edgecombe was not impressed.

    Tyrese Maxey finished a highlight-reel dunk over Anthony Edwards. VJ Edgecombe was not impressed.

    Tyrese Maxey dunked over Anthony Edwards Sunday night and had everybody talking, as the 76ers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 135-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

    No, Edwards wasn’t looking at him the whole way. But the play still ended in a great highlight clip for Maxey against one of the league’s best players.

    The left-handed dunk has become one of his go-tos — he made a similar play in Thursday’s loss to the Hawks. Maybe that’s part of the reason rookie VJ Edgecombe had a higher standard when ranking just how good the dunk was.

    “I’d give him a six out of 10,” Edgecombe said. “I’ve seen better. Six out of 10, not really impressed. In the moment I was, but looking back I’m not really impressed.”

    Maxey, hearing about Edgecombe’s take, was in disbelief.

    “That was a good dunk,” Maxey said. “Six out of 10? He can’t even dunk on people. He gave me a six out of 10?”

    Maxey and Edgecombe each took a look at video replays of the dunk before coming to a final decision.

    “From my angle, I was impressed at the beginning,” Edgecombe said. “But from other angles, I was not.”

    “Tough critic,” Maxey said, shaking his head.

    But the dunk was just the highlight of a stellar, 39-point performance from Maxey, where he went 16-for-28 from the field in just 35 minutes.

  • Tyrese Maxey scores 39 and 76ers hit 21 3-pointers in 135-108 win over Timberwolves

    Tyrese Maxey scores 39 and 76ers hit 21 3-pointers in 135-108 win over Timberwolves

    MINNEAPOLIS — Tyrese Maxey had 39 points and eight assists, VJ Edgecombe made a career-high six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-108 on Sunday night to snap a four-game losing streak — all by double figures.

    Maxey made 16 of 28 shots from the field and hit four of Philadelphia’s 21 3-pointers. Quentin Grimes had 19 points, which included five 3s, and seven assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 points and four steals.

    Coming off a 126-111 defeat Saturday night at New Orleans, the Sixers were again without center Joel Embiid, who missed his third straight game since the All-Star break due to right shin soreness. Embiid also sat out three of the last five games going into the break with soreness in his right knee.

    Minnesota had its three-game win streak snapped. Anthony Edwards scored 19 of his 28 points in the first half for the Timberwolves. Jaden McDaniels added 19 and Julius Randle scored 18.

    Naz Ried (shoulder soreness) did not play for Minnesota, and Rudy Gobert served a one-game suspension for accumulating too many flagrant fouls. Gobert, the four-time NBA defensive player of the year, will be suspended two games for each additional flagrant foul this season.

    Joan Beringer, a 6-foot-11 center, made his first career start for the Timberwolves. Picked No. 17 overall in the 2025 draft, Beringer had two points and three fouls in five first-half minutes. Ayo Dosunmu started the third quarter in Beringer’s place and finished with 12 points.

    Grimes hit a 3-pointer and then found a cutting Adem Bona for a dunk before Maxey drained a fadeaway jumper and a 3 to cap a 10-2 run that made it 35-26 at the end of the first quarter. Philadelphia led the rest of the way.

  • Sixers rookie Johni Broome suffers torn meniscus in Blue Coats game

    Sixers rookie Johni Broome suffers torn meniscus in Blue Coats game

    Rookie big man Johni Broome suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee during the third quarter of the Delaware Blue Coats’ loss to the Maine Celtics on Saturday, the 76ers said Sunday afternoon.

    Broome “will consult with medical professionals to determine the next steps of his treatment plan,” the team said in a news release.

    “Obviously pretty serious injury,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Sunday during his pregame news conference in Minneapolis. “I don’t think they’re 100% ready on the next steps quite yet, but he’s going to be out a considerable amount of time. Probably for the remainder of the season, I would think.”

    Broome, the Sixers’ second-round pick in last summer’s draft, had appeared in 11 NBA games and averaged 0.9 points and 1.5 rebounds in five minutes. He had gotten more experience in the G League, where he scored a team-high 27 points in 23 minutes Saturday before the injury. He had a 50-point, 17-rebound game for the Blue Coats last month.

    A 6-foot-10, 235-pound frontcourt player, Broome was an All-American last season at Auburn and the winner of the Karl Malone Award given to men’s college basketball’s best power forward.

  • The Sixers know they are at an inflection point following a dreadful loss to the Pelicans

    The Sixers know they are at an inflection point following a dreadful loss to the Pelicans

    NEW ORLEANS — Bryce McGowens extended his right arm for the “ice in his veins” celebration directly in front of the 76ers’ bench after draining a corner three-pointer as part of the Pelicans’ long-range onslaught.

    New Orleans looked like the playoff contender with fresh legs Saturday night at the Smoothie King Center, not the Western Conference bottom-dweller playing short-handed on the second night of a back-to-back. The Pelicans bulldozed the Sixers in the second half of an eventual 126-111 result, handing them their fourth consecutive loss and perhaps their most troubling defeat of the season.

    That puts the 30-26 Sixers at an inflection point, and they know it.

    Daryl Morey said the Sixers ‘sold high’ on Jared McCain. Now, McCain is thriving while the Sixers stumble.

    Coach Nick Nurse initially called it the “toughest moment of the season, for sure. All year. Without question” during his postgame news conference. And though the visitors’ locker room was not overly tense, panicked, or dejected, veteran wing Kelly Oubre Jr. also offered a blunt assessment of the state of his team and this suddenly teetering season with 26 regular-season games to play.

    “I don’t think anything’s funny right now. I don’t think anything is fun,” said Oubre, the New Orleans native who scored 25 points Saturday. “I just hope that we get mad. I think we’ll play better if we’re mad. We’ll play better if we’re desperate.

    “I think we’re a little too entitled right now. Teams aren’t going to roll over and let us win any of those games. … We’ve got to whoop them the same way people come into our house and whoop us.”

    Perhaps most frustrating for the Sixers is that this skid comes on the heels of what Nurse believes was his team’s best stretch this season — even after starting wing Paul George was abruptly suspended for 25 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.

    Pelicans center DeAndre Jordan (center right) holds back Sixers forward Dominick Barlow during a scuffle on Saturday in New Orleans.

    The Sixers headed West on Feb. 1 for a five-game road trip and won three of their first four matchups. Starting forward Dominick Barlow said “the vibes were great” throughout that jaunt, even with the trade deadline — and the emotional departure of second-year guard Jared McCain — plopped in the middle.

    But after a Feb. 8 victory at the Phoenix Suns, the Sixers were blown out at the Portland Trail Blazers and at home against the rival New York Knicks. In their first game after the All-Star break, the Sixers lost to an Atlanta Hawks team that has overhauled its roster and is fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament. Then came Saturday’s defeat to a Pelicans team that entered the game with a 15-42 record, at a rest disadvantage — and set to start veteran center DeAndre Jordan, who had not played since Oct. 29, in a jumbo lineup.

    About 90 minutes before tipoff, Nurse vocalized the Sixers’ need to halt this “hiccup.” He also was honest about his team’s inconsistency throughout the season, saying that “we can play at the highest levels. We can play at the lowest levels” regardless of opponent.

    At 76 years old, Julius Erving reflects on his beloved Sixers’ career and new stage of life

    “It wouldn’t matter where we were or who we were playing,” Nurse said. “ … We’ve got to get ourselves corrected.”

    It would be easy to blame this slide solely on the absence of former MVP Joel Embiid, who has missed all four games with knee and shin issues after a dominant month-plus stretch. These Sixers have resembled the team that rapidly torpedoed when Embiid and George were sidelined for the bulk of last season, with All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey manufacturing points (and playing tons of minutes) but struggling with efficiency while getting swarmed defensively. Maxey totaled 27 points, seven assists, and five steals Saturday, but went 2-of-11 from three-point range and 9-of-23 overall from the floor.

    And Saturday night, the 2025-26 Sixers’ most glaring problem arose again.

    Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points against the Pelicans, but went 2-of-11 from three-point range and 9-of-23 overall from the floor.

    They surrendered 40 points during a dreadful third quarter, swiftly reversing an 11-point advantage early in the frame into an eight-point hole. That deficit continued to balloon to 21 points in the final period, thanks to the Pelicans’ 12-of-20 three-point barrage after the break. The Sixers made only three of their 24 long-range attempts in the second half, providing New Orleans with consistent opportunities to push the ball off misses, penetrate the lane, and kick out to open shooters.

    “We just didn’t make any of them, and they made them all,” Nurse said, “It really flipped the game really quickly, and we just could never really get back on track.”

    The Sixers exited the All-Star break with a strength of schedule that ranked 23rd out of the NBA’s 30 teams, according to Tankathon. That theoretically should prove beneficial in the Eastern Conference postseason race, where the Sixers entered Sunday in danger of slipping into play-in territory. They were percentage points ahead of the seventh-place Miami Heat (31-27), and a half-game up on the eighth-place Orlando Magic (29-26).

    Sielski: Dr. J, the first dunk contest, and the dawn of a new era for the Sixers and the NBA

    Following Wednesday’s practice, Maxey emphasized that the regular season’s home stretch is when playoff teams “take advantage of whoever they’re playing against.”

    “If it’s a team that’s at the bottom of the standings,” Maxey added, “playoff teams normally go out there and handle their business professionally. … It’s time to buckle down. It’s time to go out here and increase our seed, increase the way we’re playing and figure it out, and get ready for this postseason run.”

    After Saturday’s failure in that exact scenario, Maxey understood why a reporter circled those words back to him. He stressed that the Sixers must stick together and are the only ones who “can climb ourselves out” of this four-game slump. Barlow cautioned against overreacting, yet acknowledged that “getting a win after each loss becomes harder and harder.” Nurse audibly exhaled as he left the room housing his postgame news conference.

    Sixers coach Nick Nurse talks to referee Danielle Scott during Saturday’s loss to the Pelicans.

    The beauty (and curse) of the NBA schedule? The Sixers play again Sunday night at the Minnesota Timberwolves, before a Tuesday game against an Indiana Pacers team with the worst record in the Eastern Conference (15-42).

    Oubre hopes that, for those matchups, his team plays mad.

    “Now is the time to not make any more excuses,” he said. “ … It’s just do-or-die time. It’s time for us to muscle up, put our hard hats on, and actually learn how to win NBA games — and do it efficiently and consistently.”

  • At 76 years old, Julius Erving reflects on his beloved Sixers’ career and new stage of life

    At 76 years old, Julius Erving reflects on his beloved Sixers’ career and new stage of life

    Julius Erving wakes up each morning and begins taking notes to prepare for the day.

    It is his way to, in his words, “put my focus on keeping the carrot out in front.

    “… and somewhere in there might be that best day [of my life].”

    Right now, there is a milestone birthday for “Dr. J” to celebrate. The ultimate 76er turned 76 years old on Sunday. The team recognized such symmetry throughout Thursday’s home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, illustrating the continued connection between Philly and one of its most revered athletes.

    “He’s got a lifetime membership here,” Clint Richardson, Erving’s former teammate, said from Xfinity Mobile Arena. “They just continue to acknowledge him. This place is very special to him. I know that.”

    Reflecting on the top 10 moments of Julius Erving’s career as he reaches 76 years old

    It is obvious why Erving’s transformational, Hall of Fame career remains so beloved in this city, where he spent all 11 of his NBA seasons. The eye-popping athleticism channeled into glorious dunks. The 1981 NBA MVP Award and five first-team All-NBA selections. The hip and classy persona. And, on his fourth trip to the NBA Finals, the 1983 title he finally helped bring to Philly.

    Beyond those accolades and highlights, though, Erving and Richardson recalled the pressure and responsibility “Doc” shouldered as the face of the NBA-ABA merger. He also went from being the bona fide leader of the New York Nets to sharing that responsibility with the Sixers alongside Doug Collins and George McGinnis.

    “Pat Williams clearly said, ‘I don’t need a guy who can score 30 points a game,’” Erving said of the Sixers general manager who acquired him. “Thirty points wasn’t a big deal for me, the way that I played. … I don’t talk about it a whole lot because you can’t change it. But the journey could have been different. The NBA was different.

    “I think I made a big sacrifice when I came to Philadelphia. And it paid off in the end because the seventh year, we won a championship. But I think we could have won it sooner.”

    Richardson, whom Erving calls his little brother, idolized him in college. Then becoming teammates, Richardson said, “was kind of mind-blowing.” Off the court, he came to know Erving as the man who lent him a car and welcomed him into his family.

    Former Sixers star Julius Erving delivers a slam dunk at the NBA All-Star Game in Milwaukee in 1977.

    But road trips with Erving were “like being with Mick Jagger.”

    “Traveling with Julius, it was like traveling with the Rolling Stones,” Richardson said. “Every night. Everywhere we went.”

    That gravitas holds long into retirement, with everyday folks and celebrities alike.

    Erving said he does not mind being approached in the airport for conversations he describes as typically “pleasant” and “joyful.” He still is a compelling media and entertainment subject, with the Prime Video docuseries Soul Power about the ABA, in which he is prominently featured, premiering earlier this month.

    And at last weekend’s NBA All-Star Game in suburban Los Angeles, Erving sat courtside with Barack and Michelle Obama. It was the third time he had met the former president, Erving said, including at a planned White House visit and an impromptu crossing of paths on a Washington golf course.

    Barack Obama talks to Julius Erving during the NBA All-Star basketball game on Feb. 15.

    “He told me about growing up in Hawaii and admiring my style of basketball,” Erving said. “The things that I brought to the game. That I was a contributor, not a taker. And that helped to inspire him because he was still in high school.

    “It was quite a thing to hear from someone who is as accomplished as he is and loved and admired as he is.”

    Erving’s public life still regularly brings him to Sixers home games. He said his palms no longer begin sweating when a matchup gets tight and that he can now view the action as more of an outside critic. Though he calls interactions with the current iteration of the Sixers “sporadic,” he has formed a friendship with coach Nick Nurse and has participated in some of the coach’s foundation events in his home state of Iowa.

    “He’s a super gracious person,” Nurse said.

    And Erving’s nonbasketball life? He said that is “on the rebound.”

    “I’m happy about that,” Erving said. “And deserving.”

    Julius Erving’s place in the NBA’s rise, and the importance of the dunk, should not be forgotten

    He publicly shared some of the more vulnerable experiences — including his infidelity and the accidental drowning of his son, Cory — in his 2013 autobiography he said was written to be passed along to future generations of family. There are other private moments that Richardson knows about Erving that he said he will “go to my grave with. I don’t even share with my family.”

    “I sense him being a little bit more guarded,” Richardson said. “When I see him doing that, that lets me know that I need to be a little bit more guarded, too.”

    Last year, Erving had a “big” party in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for his 75th birthday, the more commonly celebrated milestone. This year, he wanted to keep the hoopla a bit quieter. But he understands this age’s endearing parallel with his NBA franchise.

    Former Sixers Julius Erving waves to fans before ringing the ceremonial liberty bell before the Sixers play the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.

    So he rang the bell before Thursday’s game and received a custom portrait during a first-half timeout. Later, he was up in a suite with a cake with candles shaped like the number 76, before the home crowd was encouraged to sing along to “Happy Birthday.”

    Yet about an hour before those festivities began, Erving dipped into a quiet, back-of-house room. He held a notebook while reminiscing about his legendary career with the Sixers and this stage of his life.

    That is where he can keep writing each morning, while looking forward to 76 and beyond.

    “I want to put my focus on keeping the carrot out in front,” Erving said, “and tomorrow being the best day of my life.”

  • Daryl Morey said the Sixers ‘sold high’ on Jared McCain. Now, McCain is thriving while the Sixers stumble.

    Daryl Morey said the Sixers ‘sold high’ on Jared McCain. Now, McCain is thriving while the Sixers stumble.

    The Sixers dropped their fourth consecutive game in a 126-111 loss to the Pelicans, who sit in the basement of the Western Conference, torpedoed by a bad third quarter and an atrocious shooting percentage from three.

    The team shot 26% from three-point range, making just 12 of 46 attempts, led by the struggles of Tyrese Maxey, who went 2-for-11.

    In February, Maxey has shot 31% from three-point range, and Kelly Oubre Jr. hasn’t been much better, shooting 33% from behind the arc. Without Joel Embiid and Paul George, the Sixers have even fewer offensive options to rely on.

    Former Sixers guard Jared McCain (right) has been on a tear for the Oklahoma City since leaving Philly.

    At the Feb. 5 trade deadline, the Sixers sent Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2026 first-round pick and three second-round picks. Daryl Morey asserted after the trade that he felt the Sixers “sold high” on McCain, who didn’t play a lot of minutes early in the season after missing the end of his rookie campaign with a meniscus tear in his knee and suffering a thumb injury in the summer.

    But McCain showed flashes just before the trade deadline that he could be a shooting threat, shooting 57.7% from three in his final six games with the Sixers. And since joining the Thunder, McCain has continued to steadily improve, shooting 45% from three in his first five games in Oklahoma City, including a 21-point performance Friday against the Nets with three made threes.

    “I’m very comfortable with everybody now. They welcomed me,” McCain told reporters after Friday’s game. “I’m just super thankful to be in this organization. It’s truly a blessing to come here and be able to have people who have succeeded at the highest level of basketball and still give me confidence and allow me to be myself. That’s what I feel like I’m at my best. The people around me, when I’m surrounded by good energy, it comes right back to me. So I’m just grateful to be here.”

    Time will tell whether Morey truly sold high on McCain, but right now, the Sixers are still searching for consistency and efficiency on offense without Embiid in the lineup.

  • Sixers drop fourth straight following road loss to lowly New Orleans Pelicans

    Sixers drop fourth straight following road loss to lowly New Orleans Pelicans

    Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr added 25, but the Sixers would ultimately lose their fourth straight game following a 126-111 loss on Saturday night.

    The Sixers still remain sixth in the Eastern Conference standings.

    Jordan Poole highlighted a 23-point performance with five three-pointers, as the Pelicans outscored Philadelphia 60-35 during the final 21 minutes.

    Zion Williamson added 21 points, Saddiq Bey had 20, and 17-year veteran center DeAndre Jordan grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked four shots.

    The Sixers led from late in the first quarter until the final two minutes of the third, and by as many as 11 points. But the Pelicans chipped away, and Jeremiah Fears’ free throws put New Orleans back in the lead at 91-89 in the third quarter.

    VJ Edgecombe scored 14 for Philadelphia, which shot 31.4% in the second half, missing 21 of 24 three-point attempts.

    Karlo Matkovic followed with a corner three and hit three free throws after being fouled on another deep shot. That gave him nine points — starting with his cutting dunk as he was fouled — during a 40-point period for the Pelicans.

    New Orleans surged to a 97-91 lead by the end of three quarters and opened the fourth quarter on a 23-8 run, capped by Poole’s three which made the score 120-99 with 5:20 left.

    New Orleans remained comfortably in front from there, with Poole’s virtually squelching any chance of a late Sixers comeback.

    The Sixers will look to rebound on a back-to-back to take on Minnesota on Sunday night (7 p.m., NBCSP).

  • Reflecting on the top 10 moments of Julius Erving’s career as he reaches 76 years old

    Reflecting on the top 10 moments of Julius Erving’s career as he reaches 76 years old

    Julius Erving, an all-time 76ers great whose No. 6 is retired by the franchise, will celebrate his 76th birthday on Sunday.

    As the basketball legend marks a milestone, here’s a look back at the 10 best moments of Erving’s career with the Sixers:

    The Doctor is in

    The Sixers acquired Erving from the New York Nets at the start of the 1976-77 NBA season, the first season after the league’s merger with the American Basketball Association was completed. The ABA’s Nets, one of four teams incorporated into the league, were forced to move on from Erving in order to pay the fees associated with entering the NBA.

    The Sixers paid the Nets $3 million to acquire Erving, who was already a three-time ABA MVP by the time he joined the Sixers. The forward was also a season removed from winning the 1976 ABA dunk contest with a legendary leap from the free throw line.

    All-Star MVP

    Erving got off to a good start in his first NBA season with the Sixers, averaging 19.9 points before the All-Star break in 1976-77. But that season’s All-Star Game in Milwaukee was a point of arrival for the former face of the ABA.

    Erving scored 30 points and nabbed 12 rebounds in 30 minutes, earning the game’s Most Valuable Player trophy despite the East losing to the West, 125-124. Erving, who was named an All-Star in each of his 18 ABA and NBA seasons, won the NBA’s All-Star MVP again in 1983.

    Finals slam

    Erving led the Sixers to the NBA Finals in his first season with the team, averaging 21.6 points and 8.5 rebounds in 1976-77. One of the high-flyer’s most memorable dunks came in Game 6 of the Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. In the second quarter, Erving dribbled through three Trail Blazer defenders, leapt toward the rim and threw down a right-handed jam over the outstretched arms of Bill Walton.

    Despite an NBA playoff career-high 40-point outing from Erving, Walton’s Blazers won Game 6, 109-107, to claim the 1977 NBA championship.

    Baseline scoop

    Walton wasn’t the only Hall of Fame center Erving antagonized in the NBA Finals. His iconic “baseline scoop” move against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980 Finals was a crafty way of getting around the shot-blocking ability of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

    In the fourth quarter of Game 4, Erving drove to the right side of the basket, leapt while underneath the backboard and tossed an underhanded shot that hit the left side of the backboard and rolled in.

    “I didn’t realize how long I had been in the air, but I knew I didn’t have any legs left and I didn’t have any hang time left, so I fell on the floor,” Erving said to ESPN in 2019. “Just another move.”

    The scoop was two Erving’s 23 points scored in Game 4, helping the Sixers to a 105-102 victory that evened the series at two games apiece. The Lakers won the series, 4-2.

    Most Valuable Doctor

    Erving won his lone NBA MVP award in the 1980-81 season. At the time, Erving was the second Sixer to win the league’s top individual honor alongside Wilt Chamberlain.

    Erving finished top-five in MVP voting five times as a Sixer, but the three-time ABA MVP only won the award once after the merger. Erving averaged 24.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists in the 1980-81 season. He led the Sixers to a 62-20 regular season record, tied for the NBA’s best with the Celtics. The Sixers lost the 1981 Eastern Conference finals to Boston, which would go on to win the title that season.

    Rock the baby

    Another iconic Erving dunk, the “rock the baby” slam, came against the Lakers at the Spectrum in January 1983. Erving picked up a loose ball along the sideline just past center court, drove toward the rim and cradled the ball with his right hand before bringing it up to the rim for a dunk over Michael Cooper.

    “I wanted this dunk to live on forever and to prove that people could fly,” Erving said to Sports Illustrated in 2023 on the slam’s 40th anniversary.

    The Sixers held on for a two point win in overtime against the Lakers in what turned out to be a preview of the 1983 Finals.

    Four, five, four

    Moses Malone was the Sixer that predicted a full sweep of the 1983 Playoffs — “four, four, four” — after the team earned the top seed with a 65-17 regular season record, but Erving helped his center’s postseason prediction (almost) come true as the Sixers marched to the third championship in franchise history.

    Erving and the Sixers were 12-1 in the playoffs, including a sweep of the defending champion Lakers in the 1983 Finals. The Sixers’ only loss was to the Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals. Erving averaged 18.4 points in the Sixers’ 13 playoff games, including a 21-point, six-assist performance to complete a sweep of the Lakers in Game 4.

    At the time, the Sixers were the only team to complete a postseason with one loss. The 2001 Lakers and 2017 Warriors are the only teams since to take only one loss in the postseason.

    Downing Dallas

    Erving sank two game-winning shots at the horn during the final stretch of the 1985-86 regular season, which was his penultimate NBA season. The first shot came in Dallas on Feb. 28, 1986.

    With two seconds remaining in a tie game, Erving inbounded the ball from the sideline to Maurice Cheeks. Cheeks passed it back to Erving, who launched a heave from beyond half court. The shot went in, and the Sixers won, 123-120.

    Beating Boston

    Erving’s next game winner came a little more than a month after his heroics in Dallas. Erving’s Sixers were down two to Larry Bird’s Celtics at the Spectrum on April 6, 1986.

    The Sixers fouled Bird with seven seconds remaining, sending the league’s best free throw shooter to the line with a chance to make Boston’s lead four. Bird missed both, leaving the door open for the Sixers to win the game, 95-94, on an Erving three-pointer as time expired.

    Jersey retirement

    After the Sixers’ opening game of the 1986-87 season, Erving announced he would retire at the end of the season. In total, Erving played 11 seasons for the Sixers and averaged 22 points over 836 games with the team.

    At the time of his retirement, Erving was the third-leading scorer in Sixers history, though he has since been passed by Allen Iverson. Erving is still the franchise’s all-time leader in blocked shots with 1,293 rejections in a Sixers uniform. The franchise retired his No. 6 jersey on April 18, 1988, in a ceremony at the Spectrum.

    Erving also had his No. 32 retired by the Nets in honor of his ABA career, making him one of 16 players in NBA history to have their jersey retired by multiple franchises. Erving was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

  • Sixers need to ‘blast ahead’ and play faster — with and without Joel Embiid in the lineup

    Sixers need to ‘blast ahead’ and play faster — with and without Joel Embiid in the lineup

    No one in the NBA has played more minutes than Tyrese Maxey this season.

    Without Joel Embiid in the lineup, even more of the Sixers’ offensive load lies on Maxey’s shoulders, and it’s leading to inefficiency in his shot-making.

    To play better with — and without — Embiid, coach Nick Nurse said he needs Maxey and the Sixers to play faster. Earlier this season, the Sixers played with “tremendous speed.” But as the season has progressed, they’ve moved away from that play style.

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    “I just talked to [Embiid] for a long time, and he said the same thing,” Nurse said. “[Embiid said], ‘They need to play faster, even when I’m out there. They wait for me too much. They need to blast ahead and take opportunities that are there, and if they’re not, I’ll get down there eventually to get into some of the halfcourt offensive stuff.’”

    On Thursday, Cameron Payne, playing in his first game back with the Sixers after starting the year with Serbian team KK Partizan, got the first minutes in relief of Maxey in the second quarter and again in the fourth. The Sixers lost Payne’s fourth-quarter minutes, 11-7, and Payne missed all three of his three-point attempts in his return to the NBA. But he dished out four quick assists in the second quarter and has familiarity with much of the roster.

    Payne played 31 games under Nurse after the Sixers acquired him at the trade deadline in 2024. While some things are similar to his last stint, Payne says there still are several new plays to learn, and he needed to get back into NBA shape after the time away from the league.

    “They play a lot faster,” Payne said. “I feel like we played fast when I was here, but they play a lot faster now.”

    Nurse hopes they’ll get even quicker. But to maintain that, Maxey and VJ Edgecombe especially need to have fresher legs. Edgecombe already has played more games this season than he did all of 2024-25 at Baylor.

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    Nurse said that Maxey and Edgecombe’s speed and athleticism are among their biggest strengths, and the Sixers need to leverage it even more to find success down the stretch. But if players like Payne are able to come in and become playmakers on offense, that can help buoy the team in tough minutes and give Maxey more rest opportunities.

    “I thought early in the year, our guards were creating offense for each other a lot more,” Nurse said. “Remember all the VJ to Tyrese, all the stuff with [Quentin Grimes], and that has gotten a little less.

    “But I think that’s what [Payne] did last night. He came in and just hit through, ran the screen roll, got in the paint, boom, it’s out. Or even just simple throw-aheads, catch-and-shoots. … That’s what we need, is more creation for others, more hitting the paint and not trying to play through the gauntlet and then hitting the paint and getting it out a little.”