1955

Before Philadelphia, before Julius Erving, before Moses Malone — before even the name "76ers" — there was the Syracuse Nationals, a franchise that played in a repurposed coliseum in upstate New York and competed against the Minneapolis Lakers dynasty with conviction if not quite parity. The 1955 championship was the culmination of everything Dolph Schayes and Al Cervi had built: a physical, disciplined team that refused to lose regardless of what the scoreboard said.

The Fort Wayne Pistons pushed the Nationals to seven games — seven physically brutal contests that matched the blue-collar identity of both franchises and their cities. Neither team had the kind of singular superstar that defined the Minneapolis dynasty. What both teams had was competitive fiber, and over seven games they tested each other's supply until only one remained standing.

Game 7 was decided by one point. George King stepped to the free-throw line with the championship in the balance and made one — a single point that separated the Nationals from the Pistons in one of the closest conclusions in Finals history. When the buzzer sounded and Syracuse held at 92-91, the franchise had its only title. Dolph Schayes had earned his ring. The city that had supported this team through years of near-misses finally had a champion.

Eight years later the team moved south and became the Philadelphia 76ers. The championship of 1955 went with them — the first title in the organization's history, won in small gyms before the sport became what it would become, by men who played because they loved the game and the competition it demanded. It is the foundation on which everything that followed was built.