Philadelphia 76ers
Series Flow
0
Wins
0
Losses
Regular Season
68–13
Win–Loss
Playoff Record
11–4
Win–Loss
Finals
0–0
vs San Francisco Warriors
Finals MVP
Chamberlain
Wilt
Philadelphia 76ers
68–13San Francisco Warriors
44–37The San Francisco Warriors were powered by Rick Barry — the league's leading scorer at 35.6 PPG that season and one of the most dangerous offensive players in basketball. Barry was the primary reason the Warriors had reached the Finals, and the only player in the series who could have matched the 76ers on his own. Against a team with Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, and Chet Walker at full force, however, no single player was enough. The Warriors competed throughout all six games but could not solve the comprehensive excellence that Alex Hannum had engineered in Philadelphia.
Wilt Chamberlain
#13 · Center
21.7
PPG
29.1
RPG
7.8
APG
68.3
FG%
The Finals MVP award did not exist until 1969, but the 1967 championship was Wilt Chamberlain's defining team achievement — the year he proved that the most dominant individual talent in basketball history could also be the cornerstone of a complete championship team. Under Alex Hannum, Wilt had transformed his game: he scored less, passed more, and committed his extraordinary physical gifts to rebounding and interior defense at a level no center in the game could approach. The result was a team that finished 68-13 — the best record in NBA history at the time — and ended the Boston Celtics' eight-year championship dynasty in the Eastern Division Finals before dispatching San Francisco in six games.
Led the NBA in rebounds at 24.2 per game during the 1966-67 season, while also leading the league in assists at 7.8 per game — the only center in history to lead the league in assists for a full season
The 68-13 regular-season record shattered the previous NBA record and stood for nearly 50 years until the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors won 73
His transformation under Hannum — scoring less, distributing more, focusing on team basketball — produced the greatest team result of his career and remains the model for how a dominant center elevates an entire roster
The 1967 win ended the Boston Celtics' eight consecutive championship dynasty — the most significant team-level achievement in the franchise's history
22.0
PPG
6.3
APG
45.8
FG%
Hal Greer was Philadelphia's most consistent offensive weapon in the 1967 Finals and the player who made the 76ers impossible to scheme against once Wilt drew the double-team. His mid-range jumper — always released off a one-two rhythm off the catch — was one of the most reliable shots in basketball, and in the Finals he deployed it at a frequency and efficiency that forced San Francisco to make defensive choices they couldn't win. A 10-time All-Star who spent his entire career with the Syracuse/Philadelphia franchise, the 1967 championship was his defining moment.
Led the 76ers in scoring during the 1967 Finals — his PPG was the highest average among Philadelphia players in the series
Hall of Fame guard who spent his entire career with this franchise — the 1967 championship was the crowning achievement of a 15-year career
19.7
PPG
8.0
RPG
48.2
FG%
Chet Walker — "Chet the Jet" — was the 76ers' elite perimeter forward whose combination of athleticism, court sense, and mid-range scoring gave Philadelphia a legitimate third offensive option alongside Wilt and Greer. His ability to operate without the ball, cut to space, and convert the opportunities that Wilt's gravity created made him the quintessential role-perfect championship forward. Walker averaged nearly 20 points per game in the Finals and did so without sacrificing the defensive presence that Rick Barry's speed demanded.
Averaged 19.7 PPG in the 1967 Finals as the 76ers' third offensive option — nearly 20 points while playing complementary basketball to Wilt and Greer
Career-long Philadelphia stalwart whose Finals performance validated the team-building philosophy that Alex Hannum had built around Wilt's transformation
14.2
PPG
8.5
RPG
Billy Cunningham was in his second NBA season when the 76ers won the 1967 championship — a 23-year-old sixth man nicknamed "The Kangaroo Kid" for his explosive athleticism and spring-loaded leaping ability. His energy off the bench gave Philadelphia a different dimension: pace, aggression, and a willingness to attack the basket that complemented Wilt's methodical interior dominance. Cunningham would return to this franchise 16 years later as head coach and win the 1983 championship, making him the only person in 76ers history to win a title as both player and coach.
Won the 1967 championship as a 23-year-old backup — then returned 16 years later as head coach to win the 1983 title, the only person in franchise history to win NBA titles in both roles
His explosiveness and energy off the bench gave Philadelphia a weapon that changed defensive game plans and opened space for Wilt and Greer's half-court operation
Wali Jones
#20 · Guard
12.5
PPG
4.5
APG
Wali Jones provided the backcourt depth and defensive energy that championship teams require from their role players. Running alongside Hal Greer, he kept pressure on San Francisco's guards and provided the secondary scoring and ball distribution that kept Philadelphia's offense operating smoothly when defenses overloaded the primary weapons. His competitive spirit embodied the character of a 76ers team defined by collective excellence rather than individual performance.
Reliable backcourt partner whose defensive intensity and floor leadership complemented Hal Greer's offensive brilliance throughout the championship run
The San Francisco Warriors were powered by Rick Barry — the league's leading scorer at 35.6 PPG that season and one of the most dangerous offensive players in basketball. Barry was the primary reason the Warriors had reached the Finals, and the only player in the series who could have matched the 76ers on his own. Against a team with Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, and Chet Walker at full force, however, no single player was enough. The Warriors competed throughout all six games but could not solve the comprehensive excellence that Alex Hannum had engineered in Philadelphia.
Rick Barry
#24 · Forward
29.0
PPG
8.5
RPG
The league's leading scorer averaged 29.0 PPG in the Finals against the best team in basketball — a performance that demonstrated elite individual talent even in defeat. Barry competed as hard as the series permitted, but the 76ers' collective depth had no single weak point for his genius to exploit consistently.
Nate Thurmond
#42 · Center
16.0
PPG
22.0
RPG
One of the greatest defensive centers in NBA history, Thurmond was the only player in the series who could physically challenge Wilt Chamberlain's interior dominance. His rebounding was extraordinary — but even 22 per game wasn't enough to negate the 76ers' collective assault.
Jeff Mullins
#23 · Guard
14.0
PPG
3.8
APG
Mullins provided the backcourt secondary scoring that kept defenses honest when they over-committed to containing Barry — his shooting ability and competitive spirit made him a dangerous Finals opponent.
Philadelphia 76ers
The 1966-67 76ers finished 68-13 — the best record in NBA history at the time — and are widely considered one of the three greatest regular-season teams ever assembled.
Philadelphia 76ers
Ended the Boston Celtics' eight-year consecutive championship dynasty in the Eastern Division Finals — the most significant postseason upset in NBA history to that point.
Wilt Chamberlain
Led the NBA in assists (7.8 APG) while also leading in rebounds (24.2 RPG) in the 1966-67 season — the only center in league history to lead the league in assists for a full season.
Hal Greer
Led the 76ers in Finals scoring — the championship performance that cemented his legacy as the greatest player in the pre-Erving Philadelphia era.
Billy Cunningham
Won the 1967 championship as a 23-year-old player, then returned as head coach to win the 1983 championship — the only person in franchise history to win NBA titles in both capacities.
Alex Hannum
Coached Wilt Chamberlain into a complete team player — his vision of Chamberlain as passer and defender rather than scorer produced the most efficient version of the most talented player in basketball history.
The 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers are one of the small handful of teams whose historical significance transcends what they won. They finished 68-13 — a record that stood for nearly 50 years until the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors broke it with 73 wins. More importantly, they accomplished it by ending a dynasty that many believed could not be ended: the Boston Celtics had won eight consecutive NBA championships, an unbroken run that had come to feel like a law of nature rather than an achievement that could be reversed.
Wilt Chamberlain's transformation under Alex Hannum was the key to everything. In previous seasons, Wilt had been the most statistically dominant player in basketball history — scoring 50 and 100 points in single games, setting records that have never been approached. But those teams had not won championships. Hannum convinced Chamberlain to accept a different role: to pass out of double-teams, to focus his energy on rebounding and shot-blocking, to make his teammates better rather than accumulate personal statistics. The result was a player who led the NBA in assists — a first and only for a center — while also leading the league in rebounds. It was the greatest individual statistical transformation in the sport's history.
The 1967 Finals against the San Francisco Warriors was a showcase for what the 76ers had built. Rick Barry was the most dangerous offensive player in basketball that season, having scored 35.6 PPG during the regular season. Against Philadelphia's collective defensive intelligence and the interior presence of Chamberlain, Barry could be contained enough to prevent a Warriors victory even as he continued to be spectacular individually. The 76ers won in six games, and what they had proven — that Wilt Chamberlain could be the center of a championship team — changed how the basketball world thought about the most dominant player it had ever seen.
For eight consecutive years, the Boston Celtics had won the NBA championship. Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Red Auerbach — a dynasty so complete that winning a championship in the NBA had come to feel inseparable from winning one in Boston. Then Alex Hannum arrived in Philadelphia with an idea: what if Wilt Chamberlain, the most physically dominant player in basketball history, stopped trying to outscore everyone and started trying to outplay them?
The transformation was total. Wilt scored 24.1 points per game — extraordinary for any other player, but a calculated reduction for him. He passed more, led the NBA in assists, and redirected his superhuman rebounding and shot-blocking into pure team defense. Around him, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, and Billy Cunningham gave Philadelphia the scoring depth to function when defenses committed to slowing Wilt. The result was 68 wins — the best record in NBA history — and a team that looked, from the outside, genuinely unbeatable.
The Boston series was the one that mattered most. The Celtics had won eight championships in a row. Bill Russell was the defending champion, the defensive anchor, the man who had won every time he had encountered Chamberlain when it counted. In the 1967 Eastern Division Finals, the 76ers ended it — defeated Boston, ended the dynasty, and put to rest the narrative that Wilt Chamberlain teams could not beat Bill Russell teams in the postseason.
The Finals against San Francisco felt, by comparison, like resolution rather than drama. Rick Barry was spectacular and it didn't matter. The 76ers were the best team in basketball, and in six games they proved it conclusively. When the championship was secured, what the basketball world had witnessed was the most powerful argument ever made for team basketball over individual genius — and the argument had been made by the most individually gifted player the sport had ever produced.
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