The 1966–67 season of the Philadelphia 76ers was their 14th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and their 4th since moving from Syracuse (as well as their final season at the Philadelphia Civic Center, before moving to the Spectrum in South Philadelphia the next season).
This season set a record in winning percentage and they won the NBA Finals for the franchise's second championship and first in Philadelphia. This team was later chosen as the greatest individual team in 1980 for the NBA 35th Anniversary Team.
During the off-season, the 76ers dismissed head coach & former 76ers (Syracuse Nationals) player Dolph Schayes. Alex Hannum, (a former 1950s power forward, who was the last man to coach a winner past the Boston Celtics) was the new coach. The 43-year-old Hannum looked like he could still play, and often ran with the club in practice.[citation needed]
Wilt Chamberlain's 8 assists per game set a record for centers and made him 3rd in the NBA overall while scoring 24 points per game and once again leading the NBA in rebounds. Shooting less, he made a league-record 68% of his shots; his 875 free throw attempts, another league record, offset his terrible percentage from the foul line.
The 76ers also had three other players around the 20-point-per-game mark that season in Hal Greer with 22 points & Chet Walker & Billy Cunningham with 19 points each. The four players combined (as well as the rest of the roster) won a then-league-record 68 games together under Hannum's watch. The team averaged a record 125 points per game, leading all teams in shooting accuracy.
The 76ers started the season at 46–4, which remains the best 50-game start in the NBA history (though tied in the Warriors 2015-16 season). They finished the season at 68–13, the best record in league history at the time. In the 1st round of the playoffs, they swept the Cincinnati Royals, then in the Eastern Conference Finals, defeated the Boston Celtics (a team that had won eight consecutive titles and 9 out of the previous 10) 4 games to 1. In the Finals, they defeated the San Francisco Warriors, 4 games to 2.[1]
In 1996, the 1966–67 76ers were named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History. They averaged over 125 points per game in 81 regular season contests, still the third highest scoring team in league history for the regular season, and first among NBA Champions. Despite that, HoopsHype listed this 76ers squad as a team with the 23rd easiest NBA Finals championship route in 2024 due to the records of the first round opponent in the Cincinnati Royals and championship round opponent in the San Francisco Warriors respectively, with their Eastern Conference Finals opponent in the Boston Celtics saving this squad from an even easier route by comparison.[2]
Note: GP= Games played; PTS= Points; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; BLK= Blocks; STL= Steals;