Ranking the top 10 basketball teams of all time

#7 Philadelphia 76ers 1982-83

Dr

J, Moses and Mo Cheeks on the bench

The Sixers with Dr J were perennial contenders but contrived to fall short of winning it all in 3 straight seasons during the early 80s. While Erving was the dominant swingman of his generation, the Sixers did not have a big man capable of holding his own against the Lakers and the Celtics, who both had all-time great centres on their rosters in Kareem and Robert Parish.

This changed when they signed the best rebounder in the game at the time in Moses Malone, who was at the peak of his career with the Houston Rockets in seasons preceding the 1982-83 season.

The 82-83 Sixers had a swag about them that few squads in league history have had, encapsulated by Moses' "fo fo fo" declaration when asked about how he thought the playoffs would go in 1983. They only ended up playing one game more, going on a 12-1 run which was the most dominant playoff run in league history at the time.