Billy Cunningham and the 1967 NBA Championship

[@iggyvonkoopa]

billy cunningham the legend and my favorite player and coach of all time. Fun Fact we went to the same church together and got to say hi a couple of times

[@pjtheory]

The 1966-1967 Sixers were 46-4 after 50 games, they ended the season with a then NBA record 68 wins, and they had 6 players average over 12 points a game. One could argue that Wilt Chamberlain had the greatest playoff run in NBA history. In 15 playoff games, Wilt averaged 21.7 points, 29.1 rebounds, 9.0 assists, and 9.2 blocked shots.

[@stephcurrytheg.o.a.t]

Where u get the block stats from

[@pjtheory]

@@stephcurrytheg.o.a.t I obtained blocked shot statistics from the 76ers playoff run from 76er team statistician Harvey Pollack, newspaper reports, AP, UPI, and from books/magazine articles.

[@casualfandestroyer2503]

@@pjtheory 1967 - Wilt's Sixers won the championship after he stopped jacking up shots to win scoring titles. Wilt NEVER won a championship in a scoring title season, or as the number 1 scorer in the Finals (Number 5 option in 1967, Number 3 option in 1972). The only time Wilt was the number 1 scoring option in the Finals (1964), his team lost in 5 games. In the 1967 Finals Wilt's 15.0 ppg in the 4 wins Wilt = 23.0 ppg in the 2 losses Conclusion: Wilt's teams can ONLY win if he does not take over the scoring load. Wilt's 7 years of scoring titles only cost his teams.

[@pjtheory]

@@casualfandestroyer2503 Not only is your conclusion based on selective data, it is devoid of context, and is a classic case of confirmation bias. In his first 7 seasons, Wilt was the most dominant offensive force in NBA history because that was the only way in which his teams could compete for an NBA title. For example, Wilt's scoring exploits were the main reason why the 1962 Warriors and 1965 76ers took the heavily favored defending champion Celtics to the brink in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the 1962 ECF, the teams split the first 4 games...in the Warriors 2 wins, Wilt scored 42 and 41 points whereas he "only" scored 33 and 35 point in the 2 losses. To add further context to these 4 games... Game 1 33 PTS 31 REBS 13-25 from the field Game 2 42 PTS 37 REBS 16-31 from the field Game 3 35 PTS 29 REBS 14-32 from the field Game 4 41 PTS 34 REBS 15-29 from the field ...in the Warriors Game 2 and 4 wins over the defending champion Celtics, Wilt not only scored more points than in the team's 2 losses, but he had a higher FG percentage AND he had more rebounds. In Game 7 at the Boston Garden, Chamberlain scored the Warrior's last 5 points to tie the game at 107 with seconds to go in the contest. Sam Jones then hit a jump shot to win the game with 2 seconds left on the clock. If Wilt had given up the scoring load and decided to pass off to teammates who collectively shot .332 from the field in the 1962 playoffs, the Celtics would have swept the Warriors in 4 games. Period. Speaking of the 1962 playoffs, in the deciding Game 5 of the 1962 Eastern Divisional Playoffs, Wilt scored 56 points in a 121-104 victory over the Nationals. In the 1965 ECF, Chamberlain became the ONLY player in NBA history to record a 30-30 (e.g., 30.1 points, 31.4 rebounds) in a playoff series. Similar to the 1962 ECF, Wilt's scoring was a major factor in his team playing the defending champion Celtics in Game 7 at the Boston Garden. Similar to Game 7 of the 1962 ECF, Chamberlain scored all of his team's points (e.g., 6 points) in the final minutes of the game before John Havlicek secured a 1 point win by stealing an inbounds pass from Hal Greer. Similar to the 1962 playoffs, if Chamberlain had given up the scoring load and decided to pass off to teammates who collectively shot .352 from the field in the 1965 playoffs, the Celtics would have either swept or have beaten the 76ers in 5 games. In the last 7 years of his career, Wilt didn't have to score 30-50 a game for his teams to compete for an NBA title, so he became a 15-25 point scorer who was now free to be the greatest defending and passing 7 foot center in NBA history.

[@casualfandestroyer2503]

@@pjtheory Wilt's defending champ and number 1 seed Sixers are up 3-1 on the AGING Celtics. What happens? Wilt loses the 3-1 lead as the Celtics won 3 straight, including 2 on Wilt's home court, and Bill puts the clamps on Wilt as he only drops 14 in Game 7. Once again is Wilt outscored by Sam Jones 22 to 14 for their 3rd consecutive Game 7 meeting - when it actually matters. And Russell coached the winning team as well. The worst part about Game 7 of 1968? Wilt shot 6-15 (40%) at the FT line, and the Celtics only won by 4 points with Wilt's 9 missed free throws. Wilt's "wilting" when it mattered is the reason Wilt lost, not his teammates. Wilt FT in the NBA Finals = 124/326, a 38% shooter.Wilt lost 4 game 7s to Russell by a combined 9 points. Once again, imagine how many close games in the Finals Wilt's bricking cost him?

[@artbeitchman9399]

Life long 76ers fan, that team was my favorite of all time, any sport!

[@lionelwitherspoon5410]

gest team ever, only lost 13 games

[@Amick44]

They just may be. If not, they're pretty close. Billy C was the 6th man! And later an MVP. 76ers were that powerful!

[@tman651]

👍

[@stever1791]

Billy C was one of the bes coaches ever in the NBA- and yet this crappy league didn't have him on the top 15 coaches ever. Yea right . Steve kerr and some others like Doc Rivers ( Stinks ) The league is racist thats for sure

[@stever1791]

@Jorge Monsalve Yes he is. But he's all in for the new WOKE AMERICA. He disliked all the good things President Trump did for this country - Just to hold onto his job - just like Pop did in . Steve Kerr dad was a war hero, his son is a BUM

[@stever1791]

your correct We Don't Need the nba to tell us anything

[@casualfandestroyer2503]

1967 - Wilt's Sixers won the championship after he stopped jacking up shots to win scoring titles. Wilt NEVER won a championship in a scoring title season, or as the number 1 scorer in the Finals (Number 5 option in 1967, Number 3 option in 1972). The only time Wilt was the number 1 scoring option in the Finals (1964), his team lost in 5 games. In the 1967 Finals Wilt's 15.0 ppg in the 4 wins Wilt = 23.0 ppg in the 2 losses Conclusion: Wilt's teams can ONLY win if he does not take over the scoring load. Wilt's 7 years of scoring titles only cost his teams.

[@ryan10491]

You sound really ignorant. he played with a lot of bad players

[@casualfandestroyer2503]

@@ryan10491 LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@stever1791]

When Wilt doesn't score that many points , IT MEANS THE OTHER PLAYERS ARE SCORING AND SHOOTING THE BALL BETTER THAN USUAL !!!! SO WILT WILL PASS THEM THE BALL IN HOPES THEIR % IS GOOD. IT TAKES THE BIG BURDEN OFF WILT TO HAVE TO DO ALL THE SCORING

[@stever1791]

AND WILT IS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME !!!!!!

[@Amick44]

@@stever1791 by some measures he is. So too are Jordan and Russell.