If you look back at NBA history, you can see many franchises that have either rebranded, relocated, or both over the years.
The Minneapolis Lakers eventually became the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia Warriors became the Golden State Warriors, and the Vancouver Grizzlies eventually became the Memphis Grizzlies.
Another franchise that went through both a name change and relocation was the Syracuse Nationals, which you may know better as the Philadelphia 76ers.
On this day in 1962, the Philadelphia 76ers were officially born when Irv Kosloff and Ike Richman bought the Syracuse Nationals and then moved the franchise to the city of brotherly love.
Richman was a well-known attorney in Philadelphia and he was Wilt Chamberlain’s attorney who negotiated the future Hall of Famer’s first contract with the Philadelphia Warriors before buying the Nationals with Kosloff.
The move from Syracuse to Philadelphia made sense not only because the team’s new owners were based in the area, but also because the Philadelphia Warriors had moved statewide to San Francisco after the 1961-62 season, opening the door to the Philadelphia 76ers born.
In its first eight seasons as the 76ers, this franchise made the playoffs eight straight years and won the 1967 NBA championship with Hall-of-Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Hal Greer.
Today, the Philadelphia 76ers are among the league’s most storied franchises, having been in operation since 1949 when they were the Syracuse Nationals in the early days of the NBA.
All-Stars Joel Embiid and James Harden now lead what many consider an Eastern Conference championship contender, but the Sixers have had their fair share of playoff struggles lately.
After missing the playoffs for five straight seasons, the 76ers have now failed to make the Eastern Conference Finals, despite winning a playoff series in four of the last five seasons.
In fact, the Philadelphia 76ers haven’t made it to the Eastern Conference Finals since Allen Iverson led them to the 2001 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
After a 51-win season, the 76ers’ players, coaches, executives and fans believe the upcoming 2022-23 season is theirs. Time will tell if the Philadelphia 76ers can win their fourth NBA championship, which would be the sixth-highest by any franchise in league history.
