The 1983 Philadephia 76ers: Bridesmaids No More
The 1983 Philadelphia 76ers were hungry for a championship. The Sixers had reached the Finals in 1977, 1980 and 1982 and come up short in six games each time, the last two at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers. 1981 was perhaps even more agonizing, because Philly blew a 3-1 series lead to Boston and cost themselves a Finals trip against a mediocre Houston Rockets team and an almost sure championship. That Rockets team had only center Moses Malone. The 76ers had vulnerabilities down low that were consistently exposed each spring. Malone was who the Sixers coveted as the 1982-83 season approached and they swung a deal to get him north.