# 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers season was their 24th season in the NBA and tenth in Philadelphia. Coming off a 30–52 record in the previous season, the 76ers lost their first 15 games of the season and a few months later, went on a then-record 20-game losing streak in a single season (now since broken by the 2023–24 Detroit Pistons in terms of single-season records).
Their record following the 20 game losing streak was 4–58, and the team at that point had just lost 34 of 35 games. The 76ers finished the season with a 9–73 record, earning the nickname from the skeptical Philadelphia media of the "Nine and 73-ers." The 76ers finished an NBA-record 59 games behind the Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics. These 9 wins by this 1972–73 squad is tied for the 4th fewest in NBA history (behind only the 6 games won by the Providence Steamrollers in the 48-game 1947–48 BAA season back when the NBA was named the Basketball Association of America, the 7 games won by the Charlotte Bobcats in the lockout-shortened 66-game 2011–12 season and the 8 games won by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the lockout-shortened 50-game 1998–99 season, as well as tying the Los Angeles Clippers in the same lockout-shortened 50-game 1998–99 season).
The 73 losses, although threatened many times (including by the 2015–16 Sixers, who themselves lost 72 that season), remains the all-time low-water mark for any NBA franchise in an 82-game non-lockout season. The 76ers .110 winning percentage was the all-time worst mark in the NBA until the 2011–12 Charlotte Bobcats finished with a .106 winning percentage, whilst their −12.1 points per game point differential has been underdone only by the 2011–12 Bobcats (−13.9 points per game) and the 1992–93 Dallas Mavericks (−15.2 points per game). Only six seasons earlier, the 76ers had set the NBA record for most wins in a season and the highest winning percentage.

## Offseason

The Sixers ownership offered the head coaching job to Marquette University head coach Al McGuire, and former University of Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp, who was seventy years old at the time. Both refused the job. Only Hal Greer remained on the roster from the 1966–1967 NBA Championship Team. The 1972–73 season would be his last in the NBA.

### 1972 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
| 1 | 5 | Fred Boyd | (G) | United States | Oregon State |
| 3 | | Charlie Tharpe | | United States | Belhaven |
| 4 | | Marshall Wingate | | United States | Niagara |
| 5 | | Joe Bynes | | United States | Arkansas AM&N |
| 6 | | John Glover | | United States | Wiley |
| 7 | | Curtis Pritchett | | United States | St. Augustine |
| 8 | | Jim Kopp | | United States | Rockhurst |
| 9 | | Rod Murray | | United States | Cal State-Los Angeles |
| 10 | | Gary Watson | | United States | Wisconsin |

## Season

By the start of the 1972–73 season, most of the core of the 76ers 1966-67 championship team was gone. In the 1972 offseason, coach Jack Ramsay left to coach the Buffalo Braves, while a court order allowed All-Star forward Billy Cunningham to bolt to the ABA. Only Hal Greer, who was 36 years old, remained. Poor trades and draft selections over the years left the team with only a few quality players.
The 76ers finished the 1971–72 season with a 30–52 record and could not find a coach for the upcoming season. In desperation, management placed an ad in The Philadelphia Inquirer for a head coach. A friend of Irv Kosloff recommended Roy Rubin, the head coach at LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds. While Rubin had 11 years coaching in college basketball, he had no professional or major college experience to draw on.
The Sixers, whose roster included the likes of Manny Leaks, Jeff Halliburton, Mike Price, John Q. Trapp and Dave Sorenson, started the season 0–15 and later lost 20 consecutive games. Players criticized Rubin for his sloppy practices and the lack of meaningful comments during time-outs and breaks. Dave Wohl, who was traded to Portland, called Rubin a ‘con man’. With the club record at 4–47, Rubin was fired and replaced by Sixers player Kevin Loughery. The team's performance improved slightly, going 5–26 with a .161 winning percentage, compared with Rubin's .078 mark.
In their 1st win of the season (a 114–112 victory over Houston), coach Rubin actually injured himself by pulling a leg muscle. The top statistical leaders were Fred Carter (who led the team with 20 points per game), Tom Van Arsdale (with 17.7 points per game), and Leroy Ellis (with 13.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game).
As bad as their season was, it would have been far worse if not for a 5–2 run the team put together in the last two weeks of February 1973. By Valentine's Day 1973 the 76ers' record stood at 4–58 or a .065 winning percentage which actually put on a pace to finish with an unimaginable 5–77 record. However, the team surprisingly won 5 of their next 7 games against some of the best competition in the league. 3 of those 5 wins came against teams that would eventually win fifty or more games that year – Baltimore, the 60-win Milwaukee Bucks and the 57–25 eventual NBA Champion New York Knicks. They improved to 9–60 and actually doubled their winning percentage (up from .065 to .130 during that run.) However, the 76ers lost their remaining 13 games to finish 9–73. Before the 1972–73 season the previous mark for fewest wins in an 82-game schedule was 15, and no subsequent NBA team won fewer than 22 until the 1980 Detroit Pistons who finished 16–66.

### Season standings

| Atlantic Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| y-Boston Celtics | 68 | 14 | .829 | – | 33–6 | 32–8 | 3–0 | 18–4 |
| x-New York Knicks | 57 | 25 | .695 | 11 | 35–6 | 21–18 | 1–1 | 16–6 |
| Buffalo Braves | 21 | 61 | .256 | 47 | 14–27 | 6–31 | 1–3 | 8–14 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 9 | 73 | .110 | 59 | 5–26 | 2–36 | 2–11 | 2–20 |
| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 68 | 14 | .829 |
| 2 | x-New York Knicks | 57 | 25 | .695 |
| 3 | y-Baltimore Bullets | 52 | 30 | .634 |
| 4 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 46 | 36 | .561 |
| 5 | Houston Rockets | 33 | 49 | .402 |
| 6 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 32 | 50 | .390 |
| 7 | Buffalo Braves | 21 | 61 | .256 |
| 8 | Philadelphia 76ers | 9 | 73 | .110 |

### Record vs. opponents

1972–73 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BAL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CLE | DET | GSW | HOU | KCO | LAL | MIL | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SEA |
| Atlanta | — | 3–4 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 |
| Baltimore | 4–3 | — | 1–5 | 5–1 | 0–4 | 8–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 |
| Boston | 5–1 | 5–1 | — | 7–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–4 | 7–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 |
| Buffalo | 1–5 | 1–5 | 0–7 | — | 2–2 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–6 | 7–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Chicago | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 5–2 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 5–1 |
| Cleveland | 4–3 | 0–8 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–6 | 6–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 |
| Detroit | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | — | 2–4 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 2–5 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 2–4 |
| Golden State | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 4–2 | — | 3–1 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 4–3 |
| Houston | 4–4 | 2–5 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 0–4 | 3–4 | 3–1 | 1–3 | — | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Kansas City-Omaha | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–0 | — | 1–5 | 1–6 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 |
| Los Angeles | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 5–1 | — | 3–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 6–1 | 6–0 | 6–0 |
| Milwaukee | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 6–1 | 3–3 | — | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 5–1 |
| New York | 3–3 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 6–1 | 1–3 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | — | 6–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 |
| Philadelphia | 0–6 | 1–5 | 0–7 | 1–7 | 0–4 | 0–6 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–6 | — | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Phoenix | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–6 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 4–0 | — | 5–2 | 4–2 |
| Portland | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 0–6 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–5 | — | 3–4 |
| Seattle | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 1–5 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 4–3 | — |

### Anatomy of a demise

Two and a half months after Philadelphia's collapse against the Boston Celtics in the 1968 NBA Playoffs, Wilt Chamberlain was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In return, the Sixers received Darrall Imhoff, Archie Clark and Jerry Chambers.
The background of the deal can be traced back to Sixers owners Ike Richman and Irv Kosloff. Chamberlain indicated that Richman promised him part ownership of the club, but Richman died before the deal was completed. When Kosloff became sole owner, he refused to honor the agreement Chamberlain had reached with Richman. This infuriated Chamberlain, and he contemplated retirement or bolting to the ABA. Chamberlain then expressed a desire to play in Los Angeles and suggested a trade. On paper, the deal made some sense from the Sixers' perspective, since general manager Jack Ramsay was not willing to risk letting Chamberlain get away for nothing. In the long run, however, the Sixers didn't get nearly enough in return.
After the 1967–68 season, head coach Alex Hannum bolted to the ABA, and Ramsay named himself head coach. He decided that Clark, Imhoff and Chambers would be part of a smaller, quicker, fast-breaking team. This plan had never truly materialized. Imhoff spent only 2 seasons with the 76ers, Clark spent three, while Chambers never played for Philadelphia after spending two years in the military before being traded. Luke Jackson, Chamberlain's intended successor, suffered a major injury in the 1968–69 season and was never the same player after that. Chet Walker was dealt to the Chicago Bulls for Jim Washington, a role player.
Another contributing factor to the poor season was Philadelphia's first-round draft choices from 1967 through 1972. Selections such as Craig Raymond, Shaler Halimon, Bud Ogden, Harris Ahmad, Al Henry, Dana Lewis and Fred Boyd made no impact with the club, while Philadelphia passed on drafting future stars such as Nate Archibald and Calvin Murphy.
Ramsay did coax 55 victories out of the 1st 76ers team he coached in 1968–69. That number dipped into the 40s for the next 2 seasons, and sunk even further to 30 in 1971–72—the 1st time they had missed the playoffs in franchise history (dating back to their tenure as the Syracuse Nationals).

### Game log

1972–73 Game Log Total: 9–73 (Home: 5–26; Road: 2–36; Neutral: 2–11) :
October: 0–9 (Home: 0–4; Road: 0–5; Neutral: 0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
1October 10@ Chicago Bulls89–95Chicago Stadium0–1
2October 11Seattle SuperSonics100–105Philadelphia Spectrum0–2
3October 13Buffalo Braves101–104Philadelphia Spectrum0–3
4October 17@ Buffalo Braves114–122Buffalo Memorial Auditorium0–4
5October 21@ New York Knicks88–111Madison Square Garden0–5
6October 23@ Boston Celtics85–105Boston Garden0–6
7October 25Cleveland Cavaliers108–113Philadelphia Spectrum0–7
8October 28Milwaukee Bucks92–96Philadelphia Spectrum0–8
9October 31@ Cleveland Cavaliers116–126Cleveland Arena0–9 :
November: 2–13 (Home: 0–5; Road: 1–7; Neutral: 1–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
10November 1Houston Rockets104–108Philadelphia Spectrum0–10
11November 3Kansas City–Omaha Kings101–114Philadelphia Spectrum0–11
12November 4@ Atlanta Hawks120–128Omni Coliseum0–12
13November 5@ Milwaukee Bucks113–131Milwaukee Arena0–13
14November 8@ Kansas City–Omaha Kings107–125Omaha Civic Auditorium0–14
15November 10New York Knicks106–125Philadelphia Spectrum0–15
16November 11N Houston Rockets114–112(San Antonio, Texas)1–15
17November 12@ Phoenix Suns108–119Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum1–16
18November 16@ Golden State Warriors106–128Oakland Arena1–17
19November 17@ Seattle SuperSonics92–105Seattle Center Coliseum1–18
20November 19@ Los Angeles Lakers95–135The Forum1–19
21November 24N Buffalo Braves96–105(Hershey, Pennsylvania)1–20
22November 25Portland Trail Blazers106–117Philadelphia Spectrum1–21
23November 28@ Buffalo Braves101–94Buffalo Memorial Auditorium2–21
24November 29New York Knicks91–139Philadelphia Spectrum2–22 :
December: 1–13 (Home: 1–4; Road: 0–6; Neutral: 0–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
25December 1Boston Celtics99–105Philadelphia Spectrum2–23
26December 2@ Boston Celtics120–131Philadelphia Spectrum2–24
27December 6Kansas City–Omaha Kings122–117Philadelphia Spectrum3–24
28December 7N Phoenix Suns102–117(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)3–25
29December 8Chicago Bulls102–118Philadelphia Spectrum3–26
30December 9@ New York Knicks109–120Madison Square Garden3–27
31December 12@ Baltimore Bullets102–123Baltimore Civic Center3–28
32December 13Los Angeles Lakers90–128Philadelphia Spectrum3–29
33December 16Buffalo Braves103–126Philadelphia Spectrum3–30
34December 20@ Detroit Pistons113–141Cobo Hall3–31
35December 22@ Houston Rockets103–116Hofheinz Pavilion3–32
36December 23@ Atlanta Hawks112–124Omni Coliseum3–33
37December 27N Atlanta Hawks120–121(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)3–34
38December 30N Boston Celtics107–117(Providence, Rhode Island)3–35 :
January: 1–16 (Home: 0–5; Road: 1–9; Neutral: 0–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
39January 2@ Buffalo Braves110–114Buffalo Memorial Auditorium3–36
40January 5@ Portland Trail Blazers102–135Memorial Coliseum3–37
41January 6@ Golden State Warriors79–111Oakland Arena3–38
42January 7@ Seattle SuperSonics85–82Seattle Center Coliseum4–38
43January 9@ Chicago Bulls110–126Chicago Stadium4–39
44January 10Los Angeles Lakers96–120Philadelphia Spectrum4–40
45January 12N Cleveland Cavaliers109–113(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)4–41
46January 13Boston Celtics95–111Philadelphia Spectrum4–42
47January 15@ Kansas City–Omaha Kings108–135Municipal Auditorium4–43
48January 16@ Milwaukee Bucks92–108Milwaukee Arena4–44
49January 17Atlanta Hawks105–122Philadelphia Spectrum4–45
50January 19N Baltimore Bullets94–110(Hershey, Pennsylvania)4–46
51January 21@ Baltimore Bullets97–108Baltimore Civic Center4–47
52January 26@ Cleveland Cavaliers100–105Cleveland Arena4–48
53January 28Buffalo Braves96–101Philadelphia Spectrum4–49
54January 30@ Buffalo Braves104–105Buffalo Memorial Auditorium4–50
55January 31Golden State Warriors115–131Philadelphia Spectrum4–51 :
February: 5–9 (Home: 4–1; Road: 0–6; Neutral: 1–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
56February 2@ Detroit Pistons104–114Cobo Hall4–52
57February 3Boston Celtics100–104Philadelphia Spectrum4–53
58February 4@ Boston Celtics115–123Boston Garden4–54
59February 6N Houston Rockets117–123(San Antonio, Texas)4–55
60February 9@ Portland Trail Blazers105–116Memorial Coliseum4–56
61February 10@ Phoenix Suns121–126Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum4–57
62February 11@ Los Angeles Lakers90–108The Forum4–58
63February 14Milwaukee Bucks106–104Philadelphia Spectrum5–58
64February 16Detroit Pistons119–106Philadelphia Spectrum6–58
65February 17@ New York Knicks89–107Madison Square Garden6–59
66February 18New York Knicks114–98Philadelphia Spectrum7–59
67February 23N Houston Rockets116–138(Hershey, Pennsylvania)7–60
68February 25N Portland Trail Blazers115–111(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)8–60
69February 28Baltimore Bullets102–96Philadelphia Spectrum9–60 :
March: 0–13 (Home: 0–7; Road: 0–3; Neutral: 0–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
70March 2Atlanta Hawks107–130Philadelphia Spectrum9–61
71March 4@ Atlanta Hawks130–138Omni Coliseum9–62
72March 7New York Knicks94–120Philadelphia Spectrum9–63
73March 9N Chicago Bulls84–104(Hershey, Pennsylvania)9–64
74March 10Seattle SuperSonics96–106Philadelphia Spectrum9–65
75March 11N Golden State Warriors93–97(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)9–66
76March 14Phoenix Suns114–120Philadelphia Spectrum9–67
77March 17Baltimore Bullets115–120Philadelphia Spectrum9–68
78March 18@ Baltimore Bullets118–129Baltimore Civic Center9–69
79March 20@ Cleveland Cavaliers105–131Cleveland Arena9–70
80March 21Cleveland Cavaliers109–112Philadelphia Spectrum9–71
81March 23Houston Rockets112–132Philadelphia Spectrum9–72
82March 25N Detroit Pistons96–115(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)9–73 :
1972–73 Schedule :

## Awards and records

* Fred Boyd, NBA All-Rookie Team First Team