Celebration of Sixers 1982-83 championship team merges past with present

Wearing a sharp gray plaid suit and brimmed hat, Julius Erving stood at center court inside the Wells Fargo Center Monday night and expressed appreciation that he and the 1982-83 76ers were honored on a milestone anniversary of their NBA title.

Then, the revered Hall of Famer presented a challenge to the current Sixers, “to make it happen, because 40 years is way too long” between championships in franchise history.

The celebration was a highlight of an otherwise forgettable night for the Sixers, who were uncharacteristically clunky offensively in a double-overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls to snap their eight-game winning streak. Yet the day’s merging of past and present arrived at a fitting time, about a month before the current team with its own championship aspirations begins its quest in the playoffs.

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“Connecting teams and the history, I think, is really important,” coach Doc Rivers said. “Those guys, just seeing them together … you can just see how they walk around and help each other up out of chairs.

“It’s like a blood transfusion. Those guys will be connected for the rest of their lives, and it was good for our guys to see that connection and what happens when you do get it done.”

There’s a reason Dr. J offered such a public declaration. He believes these Sixers — who are 48-23 and in third place in a competitive top of the Eastern Conference — have “the best shot that I’ve seen in recent years” to climb the NBA’s mountaintop. Or at least their most realistic opportunity since the “miracle” shot Kawhi Leonard hit in Toronto in 2019.

Erving said Joel Embiid is “definitely worthy” of winning the Most Valuable Player award. He called Tyrese Maxey a “dynamo,” and commended the way James Harden has altered his game to be more of a facilitator while still capable of taking over games with his scoring.

Bobby Jones — another Hall of Famer who was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year that title season — has also been following this season’s team closely, and naturally lauded role players such as P.J. Tucker, Georges Niang, and Danuel House Jr. along with the team’s overall uptick in toughness and ability to close games.

“This team, they seem to be really resilient,” Erving said. “They are definitely dynamic in terms of having a blend of weapons. … I just like that there’s a chemistry there, and there’s an undeniable desire to want to win, to want to succeed.”

The 1982-83 version of the Sixers first gathered Sunday night for some “real quality time,” Erving said. Then, they visited Monday’s shootaround at the practice facility in Camden, which Rivers said he would have canceled during this grueling, road-heavy stretch run under any other circumstances.

“I thought it was important,” Rivers said.

Rivers had the 1982-83 players introduce themselves and explain their role on the championship team. After converging for a group photo, players and staff from both eras naturally dispersed into more private conversations.

“The biggest thing I took out of it is they talked about their togetherness, that they had each other’s back no matter what,” Niang said. “We are kind of growing and molding into that. It’s something that you can’t really see, but you feel as a team.

“So when they bring that up and talk about togetherness and that’s what brought them an NBA championship, that definitely gives me a good feeling of, ‘OK, we’re heading in the right direction.’”

Rivers joked that Cheeks, the point guard and former coach whom Rivers called his favorite player on that 1982-83 team, was still invited to shootaround — even though he is currently an assistant on the Bulls’ staff. Instead, when Cheeks stepped onto the Wells Fargo Center floor about two hours before Monday’s tipoff, Sixers head athletic trainer Kevin Johnson, director of player logistics Allen Lumpkin, and director of equipment operations Dan Rosci immediately flagged him down.

Coach Billy Cunningham’s daughters, Stephanie and Heather, rang the bell before starting-lineup introductions. Highlights of the 1982-83 team, complete with era-specific music, rolled during first-half timeouts.

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Then came the halftime ceremony that Erving expected to be “very emotional.”

Public address announcer Matt Cord introduced team representatives one-by-one, including general manager Pat Williams and strength and conditioning coach John Kilbourne, before moving on to reserve players, such as Clemon Johnson and Clint Richardson.

Then, a recording of the legendary Dave Zinkoff introduced the starting lineup. Hall of Famer Moses Malone, who died in 2015, was represented by his sons, Micah and Moses, Jr. Andrew Toney, whose relationship with the organization is fractured because of its handling of his career-ending foot injuries, did not attend — though Rivers used his pregame news conference to say, “We’ve got to [get] Andrew Toney back here. It’s important. I really believe that.” Cheeks ducked out of the Bulls’ locker room to share the court with his former teammates.

Then, Erving took the microphone to address the crowd.

“It is such an honor to stand here and represent this group of people,” Erving said, “who have been so instrumental in making the last 40 years of my life very special.”

When the lights came back up, Irene Cara’s song “What a Feeling” blared through the building. Forty years ago, that tune became the Sixers’ championship anthem.

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Now, Erving has challenged these Sixers to reach the same heights.

“I think they can receive a little bit of inspiration from us being here,” Erving said, “and confirm in their own minds that we care about them. And the others who have played for Philadelphia over the years who are not here, or maybe were not part of championship teams, still pull for them in the shadows.”