A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Roy Rubin, Kevin Loughery |
| Owners | Irv Kosloff |
| Arena | The Spectrum |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–73 (.110) |
| Place | Division: 4th (Atlantic) Conference: 8th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | WTAF-TV |
| Radio | WCAU |
The 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers season was their 24th season in the NBA and tenth in Philadelphia. Coming off a 30–52 record in the previous season, the 76ers lost their first 15 games of the season and a few months later, went on a then-record 20-game losing streak in a single season (now since broken by the 2023–24 Detroit Pistons in terms of single-season records).
Their record following the 20 game losing streak was 4–58, and the team at that point had just lost 34 of 35 games. The 76ers finished the season with a 9–73 record, earning the nickname from the skeptical Philadelphia media of the "Nine and 73-ers." The 76ers finished an NBA-record 59 games behind the Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics. These 9 wins by this 1972–73 squad is tied for the 4th fewest in NBA history (behind only the 6 games won by the Providence Steamrollers in the 48-game 1947–48 BAA season back when the NBA was named the Basketball Association of America, the 7 games won by the Charlotte Bobcats in the lockout-shortened 66-game 2011–12 season and the 8 games won by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the lockout-shortened 50-game 1998–99 season,[1] as well as tying the Los Angeles Clippers in the same lockout-shortened 50-game 1998–99 season).
The 73 losses, although threatened many times (including by the 2015–16 Sixers, who themselves lost 72 that season), remains the all-time low-water mark for any NBA franchise in an 82-game non-lockout season. The 76ers .110 winning percentage was the all-time worst mark in the NBA until the 2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats finished with a .106 winning percentage, whilst their −12.1 points per game point differential has been underdone only by the 2011–12 Bobcats (−13.9 points per game) and the 1992–93 Dallas Mavericks (−15.2 points per game).[2] Only six seasons earlier, the 76ers had set the NBA record for most wins in a season and the highest winning percentage.
Offseason
The Sixers ownership offered the head coaching job to Marquette University head coach Al McGuire, and former University of Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp, who was seventy years old at the time. Both refused the job.[3] Only Hal Greer remained on the roster from the 1966–1967 NBA Championship Team. The 1972–73 season would be his last in the NBA.
1972 NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Fred Boyd | (G) |  United States
|
Oregon State |
| 3 | Charlie Tharpe | United States
|
Belhaven | ||
| 4 | Marshall Wingate | United States
|
Niagara | ||
| 5 | Joe Bynes | United States
|
Arkansas AM&N | ||
| 6 | John Glover | United States
|
Wiley | ||
| 7 | Curtis Pritchett | United States
|
St. Augustine | ||
| 8 | Jim Kopp | United States
|
Rockhurst | ||
| 9 | Rod Murray | United States
|
Cal State-Los Angeles | ||
| 10 | Gary Watson | United States
|
Wisconsin |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Season
By the start of the 1972–73 season, most of the core of the 76ers 1966-67 championship team was gone. In the 1972 offseason, coach Jack Ramsay left to coach the Buffalo Braves, while a court order allowed All-Star forward Billy Cunningham to bolt to the ABA.[5] Only Hal Greer, who was 36 years old, remained. Poor trades and draft selections over the years left the team with only a few quality players.[6]
The 76ers finished the 1971–72 season with a 30–52 record and could not find a coach for the upcoming season. In desperation, management placed an ad in The Philadelphia Inquirer for a head coach. A friend of Irv Kosloff recommended Roy Rubin, the head coach at LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds. While Rubin had 11 years coaching in college basketball, he had no professional or major college experience to draw on.[6][7]
The Sixers, whose roster included the likes of Manny Leaks, Jeff Halliburton, Mike Price, John Q. Trapp and Dave Sorenson, started the season 0–15 and later lost 20 consecutive games.[8] Players criticized Rubin for his sloppy practices and the lack of meaningful comments during time-outs and breaks. Dave Wohl, who was traded to Portland, called Rubin a ‘con man’.[7] With the club record at 4–47, Rubin was fired and replaced by Sixers player Kevin Loughery. The team's performance improved slightly, going 5–26 with a .161 winning percentage, compared with Rubin's .078 mark.[8]
In their 1st win of the season (a 114–112 victory over Houston), coach Rubin actually injured himself by pulling a leg muscle.[3] The top statistical leaders were Fred Carter (who led the team with 20 points per game), Tom Van Arsdale (with 17.7 points per game), and Leroy Ellis (with 13.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game).
As bad as their season was, it would have been far worse if not for a 5–2 run the team put together in the last two weeks of February 1973. By Valentine's Day 1973 the 76ers' record stood at 4–58 or a .065 winning percentage which actually put on a pace to finish with an unimaginable 5–77 record. However, the team surprisingly won 5 of their next 7 games against some of the best competition in the league. 3 of those 5 wins came against teams that would eventually win fifty or more games that year – Baltimore, the 60-win Milwaukee Bucks and the 57–25 eventual NBA Champion New York Knicks. They improved to 9–60 and actually doubled their winning percentage (up from .065 to .130 during that run.) However, the 76ers lost their remaining 13 games to finish 9–73. Before the 1972–73 season the previous mark for fewest wins in an 82-game schedule was 15, and no subsequent NBA team won fewer than 22 until the 1980 Detroit Pistons who finished 16–66.
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Boston Celtics | 68 | 14 | .829 | – | 33–6 | 32–8 | 3–0 | 18–4 |
| x-New York Knicks | 57 | 25 | .695 | 11 | 35–6 | 21–18 | 1–1 | 16–6 |
| Buffalo Braves | 21 | 61 | .256 | 47 | 14–27 | 6–31 | 1–3 | 8–14 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 9 | 73 | .110 | 59 | 5–26 | 2–36 | 2–11 | 2–20 |
| # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 68 | 14 | .829 |
| 2 | x-New York Knicks | 57 | 25 | .695 |
| 3 | y-Baltimore Bullets | 52 | 30 | .634 |
| 4 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 46 | 36 | .561 |
| 5 | Houston Rockets | 33 | 49 | .402 |
| 6 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 32 | 50 | .390 |
| 7 | Buffalo Braves | 21 | 61 | .256 |
| 8 | Philadelphia 76ers | 9 | 73 | .110 |
Record vs. opponents
| 1972–73 NBA Records | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | BAL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CLE | DET | GSW | HOU | KCO | LAL | MIL | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SEA |
| Atlanta | — | 3–4 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 |
| Baltimore | 4–3 | — | 1–5 | 5–1 | 0–4 | 8–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 |
| Boston | 5–1 | 5–1 | — | 7–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–4 | 7–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 |
| Buffalo | 1–5 | 1–5 | 0–7 | — | 2–2 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–6 | 7–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Chicago | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 5–2 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 5–1 |
| Cleveland | 4–3 | 0–8 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=1972–73_Philadelphia_76ers_season||||||