Philadelphia 76ers Biography: Players, Net Worth, History, Stats

The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, the team is based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area is a part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the NBA. The Sixers play their home games at the Wells Fargo Center, located in Philadelphia.

The team was founded in 1946 and was initially known as the Syracuse Nationals. The Nationals were one of the oldest franchises in the NBA and one of the eights out of 23 to survive in the first decade of the league. Following the Philadelphia Warriors' relocation to San Francisco, the Nationals moved to Philadelphia, thus renaming themselves as the ‘Philadelphia 76ers.’ Lets deep dive into knowing more about the Sixers, their history, and their star players over time through this comprehensive article.

Philadelphia 76ers Profile

The Sixers have an expansive history being one of the most successful franchises in NBA history. Here is a sneak peek into the essential information and profile of the Philadelphia 76ers in a tabular format:

Philadelphia 76ers History

The Philadelphia 76ers began their journey in the NBA as the Syracuse Nationals in 1946. The Nationals were one of the original teams to set out in the newly formed NBA and one of the eights out of 23 to survive the first decade of the league. In 1955, as Syracuse Nationals, the franchise won it's first NBA championship. The Nationals juggled through mediocrity and rise, despite being a constant playoff contending team from the East. In fact, before moving to Philadelphia, the Nationals were one of the last small-town teams in the NBA, which mostly had franchises in big cities.

In 1963, the Nationals changed ownership and passed from the hands of owner Danny Biasone to investors Irv Kosloff and Ike Richman. Under the new ownership, the franchise moved to Philadelphia, within just one year of the Warriors relocating from Philly to San Francisco. The name “76ers” was decided through a fan-contest and comes from the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776.

The franchise went through many eras with some of the star players leading them. One of the Sixers' first milestone was acquiring Wilt Chamberlain from the Warriors in the 1964-65 season. With Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker, Lucious Jackson, and Wali Jones leading the team, the Sixers won their first title in Philadelphia in 1967. The ‘66-67 Sixers team was also voted as the best team in league history during NBA’s 35th anniversary celebrations in 1980.

In 1976, the rival league ABA was merging with NBA, leading to several new changes in the league. The Sixers used the opportunity to acquire Julius Erving from the ABA champions, New York Nets. With Erving, the Sixers went through a revolutionary era of striving for greatness. They appeared in the 1977, and 1980 NBA Finals, winning their third chip in the latter series. This was the third and last chip in the Sixers' recent history as since then, the franchise has been facing a championship drought of over 44 years.

Charles Barkley was taking the team head-to-head against the mighty Chicago Bulls, facing Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in the late ‘80s and early ’90s. In the 2000s, Allen Iverson emerged as the star player of the franchise, leading the team to an NBA Final facing the Los Angeles Lakers. However, in all of the above instances, the Sixers faced two of the strongest teams from the West, hence letting their title contention hopes simmer in vain.

In the current era of the league, the Sixers have started rebuilding their roster, something that they dub as ‘The Process.’ Although ‘the Process’ is still ongoing, the Sixers fanbase had to witness some tough and challenging situations, especially given the franchise was purposefully tanking their games in hopes of lottery draft picks. This resulted in the Sixers drafting Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, who were seen as possible hopes for the franchise to emerge out of seeming mediocrity.

Though Embiid and Simmons were potentially bright prospects, they could not carry the team to the success they were both linked with. In fact, Simmons' parting with the franchise wasn't a happy one at all. Joel Embiid, however, showed glimpses of hope with his MVP-level performances, however, fell short with injuries and poor form when the time called.

The Sixers still struggle to contend for title, however, somehow always make it to the Playoffs from the East. But their playoff success is only limited to reaching the second round, often getting eliminated by teams with much better caliber or squad depth that exploit on the Sixers falling short.

Philadelphia 76ers Stats

The Philadelphia 76ers are not having a great season so far in 2024-25. With a win rate of 33.3% and a 22-44 record in the league, the team currently stands 13th in the Eastern Conference, far from a spot for playoff contention. As of 15th March, 2025, the Sixers have lost three consecutive games, adding to their woes this season. Here is a breakdown of the Sixers' stats in the last five NBA seasons, as per Basketball Reference :

Philadelphia 76ers Famous Players

Despite having rather menial success in the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers still managed to produce some of the league's greatest players and Hall of Famers. Some of the legends, whom we now consider as trailblazers of putting the league into global recognition were all part of the Sixers family. Here are some of the most famous players, who were former Sixers.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain was one of the greatest players to ever set foot on a basketball court. Chamberlain was a scoring machine, having scored 100 points in a single game, all by himself! Wilt's single-game scoring record still remains untouched, although many players have tried reaching or breaking that milestone. Chamberlain was a crucial part of the Sixers' 1967 title campaign.

Julius ‘Dr J’ Erving

Julius Erving was acquired by the Sixers from the New York Nets during the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. Dr. J played 11 seasons with the Sixers, from 1976 to 1987. Alongside Moses Malone, Dr. J led the team to four NBA Finals, and won the franchise a ring in 1983.

Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley played eight seasons with the 76ers, from 1984 to 1992. With Barkley on the roster, the Sixers were once again a playoff team with high hopes of title contention. However, no team in the Eastern Conference was spared of facing the raging Chicago Bulls and a young Michael Jordan.

Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson was ‘The Answer’ to the Sixers' dark ages in the mid 1990s. With Iverson leading the back court and coach Larry Brown at the helm, the Sixers were back on the league's map as a title contending team. Iverson won the MVP award in 2001 and led the team to a Finals appearance, only to fall against Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in Lakers.

Philadelphia 76ers Roster

The current Philadelphia 76ers roster consist of stars who are considered elite talents in the league. The roster includes veteran superstar Paul George, 2023 MVP Joel Embiid, emerging youngster Tyrese Maxey, and a host of young, rookie talents such as Jared McCain among others. Here is a list of the Sixers roster, as of the 2024-25 season:

Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach

Philadelphia 76ers is currently led by Nick Nurse in the head coaching position. Nurse joined the franchise in 2023 and so far has a record 299-244 record in his coaching career. Nurse is best known for leading the Toronto Raptors to a title victory in 2019. Among Nurse's other notable achievements include being named Coach of the Year and All-Star Game head coach in 2020 and winning the erstwhile D-League twice in 2011 and 2013.

Philadelphia 76ers Owner

The Philadelphia 76ers have changed owners multiple times, since it's establishment as the Syracuse Nationals. However, as of recently, the Sixers are now owned by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, the founders of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment. The group has owned the franchise since 2011 and bought the team for $280 million from Comcast Spectacor. Since then, the franchise's value has quadrupled, as per Forbes.

Sixers owner Josh Harris also owns the NFL franchise the Washington Commanders, which experienced recent success in the 2025 playoffs. However, Harris' experience as Sixers' owner has been filled with highs and lows. The Sixers entered ‘The Process’ era during his ownership tenure but are currently having their worst season in the Embiid era of the franchise.

Philadelphia 76ers Net Worth

As per Forbes, the Philadelphia 76ers are valued at $4.6 billion, as of 2024. They earned a revenue of $396 million, with an operating income of $120 million. The Sixers spend around $182 million on player expenses, with wins to player cost ratio standing at 106.

If we were to do a valuation breakdown of the franchise, the Sixers have a sport value of $1,773 million, a market value of $1,506 million, stadium value of $753 million and brand value of $567 million.

Philadelphia 76ers Stadium

The Philadelphia 76ers have been playing at the Wells Fargo Center, located in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, since 1996. The stadium has a capacity of 21,000 attendants and also the home of NHL's Philadelphia Flyers and the Villanova Wildcats of the NCAA. The Sixers' training facility and headquarters for basketball operations are located in Camden, New Jersey.

In 2022, the Sixers announced plans to construct a $1.3 billion new arena in Center City, Philadelphia, called 76 Place. However, after Harriz-Blizter Group and Comcast Spectacor agreed on a new deal in 2025, the new arena is planned inside the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, to be shared by both Flyers and the Sixers. The arena is expected to open in 2031.

Philadelphia 76ers Championships

The Philadelphia 76ers have won three championships over the course of their franchise history. They won their first championship in 1955, when the franchise was still known as the Syracuse Nationals. The Sixers' first championship after relocating to Philadelphia was in 1967, with Wilt Chamberlain leading the franchise to another ring. The franchise's third and last ring as of yet was in 1980, with Julius Erving and Moses Malone leading the way to title contention.

Since then, the Sixers have faced a long championship drought of more than 44 years. Despite making it to the NBA Finals in 2001 under MVP Allen Iverson, the Sixers still fell short against Shaq and Kobe's Lakers. Currently, the team is trying to emerge out of obscurity, standing 13th in the Eastern Conference and far from playoff contention.

Philadelphia 76ers Records

The Philadelphia 76ers are considered to be a relatively successful franchise, spanning 76 seasons in the league. The franchise boasts a record of 3123-2882, with a .520 W-L% and three NBA championships to their name. When the team began as the Syracuse Nationals, the franchise won the Eastern Division in the 1949-50 season, with a league-best record of 51-13.

The Sixers have made 54 playoff appearances and 9 Finals appearances, making them one of the most consistent teams from the Eastern Conference.