1986–87 Philadelphia 76ers season

1986–87 Philadelphia 76ers season
Julius Erving's final season
Head coach	Matt Guokas
Arena	The Spectrum
Results
Record	45–37 (.549)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East First Round (eliminated 2-3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1986-87 NBA season was the 76ers 38th season in the NBA and 24th season in Philadelphia. In the 1986 Draft, the Sixers made two trades that would cloud the franchise for over a decade. The Sixers traded the Number 1 overall pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers (who used this selection to draft Brad Daugherty), for Roy Hinson and cash, then traded Moses Malone, Terry Catledge, and two first round draft picks to the Washington Bullets for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson.

Brad Daugherty would have multiple All-Star selections with the Cavs, while Hinson was dealt away after having a short, unremarkable career (less than 1 and 1/2 years) in Philadelphia. Malone would go to the 1987 NBA All Star game, and Jeff Ruland played in a total of 5 games that season, before sustaining an injury that would keep him out of the NBA until a short stint with the Sixers in the 1992 season.

These two trades were so devastating in that, with the exception of the 2001 season in which they won the Eastern Conference Championship, they have been not been considered an elite franchise since, after being one for a period from 1977 to that point. They have won just two division titles since (1990, 2001), and these were the only two seasons in which the team registered more than 50 regular season wins (53, 1990; 56, 2001).

The Sixers would finish nine games worse than the previous season at 45-37, and lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Milwaukee Bucks. This would be the 16th and final season for Julius Erving, who in his last regular season home game, became just the third player in ABA-NBA history to score over 30,000 points for a career. Each road city had a farewell ceremony to honor him.

Draft picks

Main article: 1986 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	44	David Wingate	SG/SF	United States	Georgetown
3	56	Keith Colbert		United States	Virginia Polytech
3	67	Ron Rowan	SF	United States	St. John's
4	90	Wes Stallings		United States	East Tennessee State
5	113	Kevin Holmes		United States	DePaul
6	136	Andre McCloud		United States	Seton Hall
7	159	Dan Palombizio		United States	Ball State

Roster

1986–87 Philadelphia 76ers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From F 34 Barkley, Charles 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 252 lb (114 kg) 1963–02–20 Auburn G 10 Cheeks, Maurice 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956–09–08 West Texas A&M G 14 Colter, Steve 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1962–07–24 New Mexico State F 6 Erving, Julius 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-02-22 UMass F 21 Green, Kenny 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1964–10–11 Wake Forest F 23 Hinson, Roy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1961–05–02 Rutgers C 40 McCormick, Tim 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1956–01–16 Michigan C 31 McNamara, Mark 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1959–06–08 California F 4 Robinson, Cliff 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1960–03–13 Southern California C 43 Ruland, Jeff 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1962–07–10 Iona G 22 Toney, Andrew 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1957-11-23 Louisiana–Lafayette F 20 Vranes, Danny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1958–10–29 Utah G/F 25 Wingate, David 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown	Head coach Matt Guokas Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Boston Celtics	59	23	.720	–
2	y-Atlanta Hawks	57	25	.695	2
3	x-Detroit Pistons	52	30	.634	7
4	x-Milwaukee Bucks	50	32	.610	9
5	x-Philadelphia 76ers	45	37	.549	14
6	x-Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	17
7	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	18
8	x-Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	19
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	31	51	.378	28
10	New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	35
11	New York Knicks	24	58	.293	35

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

East First Round

(4) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (5) Philadelphia 76ers: Bucks win series 3-2

• Game 1 @ The MECCA, Milwaukee (April 24): Milwaukee 107, Philadelphia 104
• Game 2 @ The MECCA, Milwaukee (April 26): Philadelphia 125, Milwaukee 122
• Game 3 @ The Spectrum, Philadelphia (April 29): Milwaukee 121, Philadelphia 120
• Game 4 @ The Spectrum, Philadelphia (May 1): Philadelphia 124, Milwaukee 118
• Game 5 @ The MECCA, Milwaukee (May 3): Milwaukee 102, Philadelphia 89

Last Playoff Meeting: 1986 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Milwaukee won 4-3)

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Awards and records

• Charles Barkley, All-NBA Second Team
• Maurice Cheeks, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

See also

• 1986-87 NBA season