Head coach Alex Hannum Television WFIL-TV | Record 68–13 (.840) | |
Arena Philadelphia Arena and Civic Center-Convention Hall Place Division: 1st (Eastern) Playoff finish NBA Champions
(Defeated Warriors, 4–2) | ||
The 1966–67 season of the Philadelphia 76ers was their 14th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and their fourth since moving from Syracuse. The season set a record in winning percentage and they won the NBA Finals for the franchise's second championship and first in Philadelphia. The team was later chosen as the greatest individual team in 1980 for the NBA 35th Anniversary Team.
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During the off-season, the 76ers dismissed coach Dolph Schayes of Syracuse Nationals fame. Alex Hannum, the former 1950s power forward, who was the last man to coach a winner past Boston, was the new coach. The 43-year-old Hannum looked like he could still play, and often ran with the club in practice.
Wilt Chamberlain's eight assists per game set a record for centers and made him third in the NBA overall, while scoring 24 per game and again leading the NBA in rebounds and blocked shots. Shooting less, he made a league-record 68% of his shots; his 875 free throw attempts, another league record, offset his percentage from the foul line.
The 76ers also had three other players around the 20-point-per-game mark that season in Hal Greer with 22 points, and Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham, both with 19 points. The four players combined won a then-league-record 68 games together under Hannum's watch. The team averaged a record 125 points per game, leading all teams in shooting accuracy.
The 76ers started the season at 46–4, which remains the best 50-game start in the NBA history (tied in 2016). They finished the season at 68–13, the best record in league history at the time. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the Royals in four games, then in the Eastern Conference Finals defeated the Boston Celtics, a team who had won eight consecutive titles, and nine out of the last ten, four games to one. In the finals they defeated the San Francisco Warriors, four games to two.
Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; PTS= Points; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; BLK= Blocks; STL= Steals;
NBA finals
76ers win series 4–2