1967–68 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1967–68 season of the Philadelphia 76ers was their 15th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and their 5th season since moving from Syracuse (as well as their 1st season at their new home in South Philadelphia, The Spectrum). The 76ers finished the regular season with a record of 62–20 & for the 3rd straight year, had the best record in the entire NBA.

1967–68 Philadelphia 76ers season
Division champions
Head coachAlex Hannum
General managerJack Ramsay
Owner(s)Irv Kosloff
ArenaThe Spectrum
Results
Record62–20 (.756)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishEast Finals
(Eliminated 3–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWPHL-TV
RadioWCAU

In the playoffs, they eliminated the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, 4 games to 2. The series win proved costly, as Billy Cunningham, their sixth man, injured his non-shooting wrist and was out for the remainder of the playoffs.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Sixers became the first team in NBA history to blow a 3–1 series lead and lost to the Boston Celtics in 7 games. What was so damaging about this series loss was that Games 5 and 7 were at the Spectrum, & although Cunningham was not available, the team had the services of forward Johnny Green, a 4 time NBA All-Star in the 1960s and 1970s, to replace #32.

After the season, head coach Alex Hannum resigned to take a position in the ABA, and Wilt Chamberlain was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers for guard Archie Clark, center Darrall Imhoff, and forward Jerry Chambers (who never played with the team).[1] Philadelphia would win only a single home playoff game from 1969 to 1971 (game 6, 1971 playoffs vs. Baltimore, going 0–7 for the remaining home games from 1969 to 1971). It would be 9 seasons until they won a single post-season series.[2]

Regular season

Season standings
Eastern Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Philadelphia 76ers 6220.756–27–826–129–029–11
x-Boston Celtics 5428.659828–921–165–324–16
x-New York Knicks 4339.5241920–1721–162–619–21
x-Detroit Pistons 4042.4882221–1112–237–815–25
Cincinnati Royals 3943.4762318–1213–238–818–22
Baltimore Bullets 3646.4392617–1912–237–415–25

Record vs. opponents
1967-68 NBA Records
Team BAL BOS CHI CIN DET LAL NYK PHI SDR SFW SEA STL
Baltimore —3–52–55–34–43–43–50–87–02–55–22–5
Boston 5–3—5–23–56–24–36–24–47–04–36–14–3
Chicago 5–22–5—5–23–41–72–51–64–42–63–51–7
Cincinnati 3–55–32–5—4–41–63–53–57–04–36–11–6
Detroit 4–42–64–34–4—2–54–41–75–24–36–14–3
Los Angeles 4–33–47–16–15–2—4–32–57–14–44–46–2
New York 5–32–65–25–34–43–4—3–56–15–24–31–6
Philadelphia 8–04–46–15–37–15–25–3—6–14–37–05–2
San Diego 0–70–74–40–72–51–71–61–6—2–63–51–7
San Francisco 5–23–46–23–43–44–42–53–46–2—7–11–7
Seattle 2–51–65–31–61–64–43–40–75–31–7—0–8
St. Louis 5–23–47–16–13–42–66–12–57–17–18–0—

Playoffs
1968 playoff game log
Division Semifinals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 March 22 New York W 118–110 Wilt Chamberlain (37) Wilt Chamberlain (29) Wilt Chamberlain (7) Spectrum
5,093		 1–0
2 March 23 @ New York L 117–128 Chamberlain, Greer (24) Wilt Chamberlain (17) Wilt Chamberlain (8) Madison Square Garden III
15,911		 1–1
3 March 27 New York W 138–132 (2OT) Chet Walker (32) Wilt Chamberlain (24) Wilt Chamberlain (8) Spectrum
6,951		 2–1
4 March 30 @ New York L 98–107 Wilt Chamberlain (23) Wilt Chamberlain (27) Hal Greer (6) Madison Square Garden III
18,262		 2–2
5 March 31 New York W 123–105 Hal Greer (38) Wilt Chamberlain (21) Chamberlain, Greer (7) Spectrum
6,979		 3–2
6 April 1 @ New York W 113–97 Hal Greer (35) Wilt Chamberlain (27) Hal Greer (4) Madison Square Garden III
18,014		 4–2
Division Finals: 3–4 (Home: 1–3; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 5 Boston L 118–127 Wilt Chamberlain (33) Wilt Chamberlain (25) Chamberlain, Jones (5) Spectrum
14,412		 0–1
2 April 10 @ Boston W 115–106 Wali Jones (24) Wilt Chamberlain (19) Wilt Chamberlain (8) Boston Garden
14,780		 1–1
3 April 11 Boston W 122–114 Hal Greer (31) Wilt Chamberlain (25) Hal Greer (9) Spectrum
15,102		 2–1
4 April 14 @ Boston W 110–105 Hal Greer (28) Wilt Chamberlain (16) Wilt Chamberlain (8) Boston Garden
10,503		 3–1
5 April 15 Boston L 104–122 Wilt Chamberlain (28) Wilt Chamberlain (30) Wilt Chamberlain (7) Spectrum
15,202		 3–2
6 April 17 @ Boston L 106–114 Hal Greer (40) Wilt Chamberlain (27) Wilt Chamberlain (8) Boston Garden
14,780		 3–3
7 April 19 Boston L 96–100 Hal Greer (22) Wilt Chamberlain (34) Chamberlain, Greer (5) Spectrum
15,202		 3–4
1968 schedule

Awards and honors

References
  1. Goldaper, Sam (July 10, 1968). "76ers, Citing Star's Demands, Confirm Chamberlain Trade". The New York Times.
  2. Numbelivable!, p.20, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
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