1979–80 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1979–1980 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 76ers 31st season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 17th season in Philadelphia. They finished with a record of 59-23. The team had acquired guard Lionel Hollins from the Portland Trail Blazers after their effort to obtain Pistol Pete Maravich failed as he went to the Boston Celtics. In the playoffs, they won the 1980 Eastern Conference Championship over the Boston Celtics 4-1. In the 1980 NBA Finals they would lose to the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2. The series was memorable for Julius Erving's baseline move in Game 4, and Magic Johnson's 42 point effort in Game 6 starting the game at center in place of an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

1979–80 Philadelphia 76ers season
Conference Champions
Head coach	Billy Cunningham
General manager	Pat Williams
Arena	The Spectrum
Results
Record	59–23 (.720)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (Eliminated 2-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	PRISM Network, WPHL
Radio	WFLN

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	16	Jim Spanarkel	SG	United States	Duke
2	36	Clint Richardson	SG	United States	Seattle
2	37	Bernard Toone	PF	United States	Marquette
3	58	Earl Cureton	PF	United States	Detroit
4	83	Mike Niles	SF	United States	Cal State Fullerton

Roster

Philadelphia 76ers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 14 Bibby, Henry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1949–11–24 Auburn G 10 Cheeks, Maurice 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956–09–08 West Texas A&M G 20 Collins, Doug  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1951-07-28 Illinois State C 53 Dawkins, Darryl 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1957-01-11 Evans High School F 6 Erving, Julius 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-02-22 UMass G 9 Hollins, Lionel 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1953–10–19 Arizona State F 12 Johnson, George 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1956-12-08 St. John's F 24 Jones, Bobby 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951–12–18 North Carolina C 11 Jones, Caldwell 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 1950–08–04 Albany State G 4 Richardson, Clint 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1956–08–07 Seattle F 50 Mix, Steve 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1947–12–30 Toledo G 34 Spanarkel, Jim 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1957-06-28 Duke	Head coach Billy Cunningham Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Boston Celtics	61	21	.744	-
Philadelphia 76ers	59	23	.720	2
New York Knicks	39	43	.476	22
Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	22
New Jersey Nets	34	48	.415	27

NBA finals

Los Angeles 4, Philadelphia 2

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Road Team
Game 1	May 4	Los Angeles	109-102	Philadelphia
Game 2	May 7	Los Angeles	104-107	Philadelphia
Game 3	May 10	Philadelphia	101-111	Los Angeles
Game 4	May 11	Philadelphia	105-102	Los Angeles'
Game 5	May 14	Los Angeles	108-103	Philadelphia
Game 6	May 16	Philadelphia	107-123	Los Angeles

Awards and records

• Julius Erving, All-NBA First Team
• Bobby Jones, NBA All-Defensive First Team

References

• Philadelphia 76ers on Basketball Reference