1981–82 Philadelphia 76ers season

1981–82 Philadelphia 76ers season
Conference Champions
Head coach	Billy Cunningham
General manager	Pat Williams
Arena	The Spectrum
Results
Record	58–24 (.707)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (Eliminated 2-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	PRISM Network, WPHL
Radio	WFLN

The 1981-82 NBA season was the 76ers 33rd season in the NBA and 19th season in Philadelphia. They would finish with a record of 58-24. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they eliminated the Boston Celtics 4-3, to earn a trip to the NBA Finals for the 3rd time in 6 years. In the deciding 7th game, with under a minute and a Sixers victory well secured, the fans at the Boston Garden chanted "Beat LA" to the Sixers, one of pro basketballs most enduring moments. However the Los Angeles Lakers would win the Championship 4-2. The Lakers won game one by going on an incredible 40-9 scoring spurt in the second half. The home team would win each of the remaining five contests.

A ticket for an October 1981 pre-season game between the 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks.

Draft picks

Main article: 1981 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	22	Franklin Edwards	PG	United States	Cleveland State
2	46	Vernon Smith		United States	Texas A&M
3	68	Ernest Graham		United States	Maryland
4	92	Rynn Wright		United States	Texas A&M
5	114	Steve Craig		United States	Brigham Young
6	138	Michael Thomas		United States	North Park
7	160	John Crawford		United States	Kansas
8	183	Frank Gilroy		United States	St. John's
9	202	Ron Wister		United States	Temple
10	223	Pete Mullenberg		United States	Delaware

Roster

Philadelphia 76ers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From F 42 Bantom, Mike 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1951–12–03 Saint Joseph's G 10 Cheeks, Maurice 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956–09–08 West Texas A&M F 25 Cureton, Earl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957-09-03 Detroit C 53 Dawkins, Darryl 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1957-01-11 Evans High School G 14 Edwards, Franklin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1959-02-02 Cleveland State F 6 Erving, Julius 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-02-22 UMass G 9 Hollins, Lionel 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1953–10–19 Arizona State F 18 Johnson, Ollie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1949-05-11 Temple F 24 Jones, Bobby 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951–12–18 North Carolina C 11 Jones, Caldwell 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 1950–08–04 Albany State G 4 Richardson, Clint 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1956–08–07 Seattle F 23 Mix, Steve 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1947–12–30 Toledo G 22 Toney, Andrew 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1957–11–23 Louisiana–Lafayette	Head coach Billy Cunningham Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	63	19	.768	–	35–6	28–13	20–4
x-Philadelphia 76ers	58	24	.707	5.0	32–9	26–15	16–8
x-New Jersey Nets	44	38	.537	19.0	25–16	19–22	12–12
x-Washington Bullets	43	39	.524	20.0	22–19	21–20	7–17
New York Knicks	33	49	.402	30.0	19–22	14–27	5–19

Playoffs

East First Round

(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks: 76ers win series 2-0

• Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 111, Atlanta 76
• Game 2 @ Atlanta: Philadelphia 98, Atlanta 95

East Conference Semifinals

(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers: 76ers win series 4-2

• Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 125, Milwaukee 122
• Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 120, Milwaukee 108
• Game 3 @ Milwaukee: Milwaukee 92, Philadelphia 91
• Game 4 @ Milwaukee: Philadelphia 100, Milwaukee 93
• Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Milwaukee 110, Philadelphia 98
• Game 6 @ Milwaukee: Philadelphia 102, Milwaukee 90

East Conference Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers: 76ers win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 121, Philadelphia 81
• Game 2 @ Boston: Philadelphia 121, Boston 113
• Game 3 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 99, Boston 97
• Game 4 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 119, Boston 94
• Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 114, Philadelphia 85
• Game 6 @ Philadelphia: Boston 88, Philadelphia 75
• Game 7 @ Boston: Philadelphia 120, Boston 106

NBA Finals

(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (1) Los Angeles Lakers: Lakers win series 4-2

• Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Los Angeles 124, Philadelphia 117
• Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 110, Los Angeles 94
• Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 129, Philadelphia 108
• Game 4 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 111, Philadelphia 101
• Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 135, Los Angeles 102
• Game 6 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 114, Philadelphia 104

Awards and records

• Julius Erving, All-NBA First Team
• Bobby Jones, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Caldwell Jones, NBA All-Defensive First Team

References

• Philadelphia 76ers on Basketball Reference