1986–87 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1986–87 NBA season was the 76ers 38th season in the NBA and 24th season in Philadelphia. At the 1986 Draft, the Sixers made two trades that would cloud the franchise for over a decade. The Sixers traded the Number 1 overall pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers (who used this to draft Brad Daugherty), for Roy Hinson and cash. They also traded Moses Malone, Terry Catledge, and two first round draft picks to the Washington Bullets for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson.

1986–87 Philadelphia 76ers season
Head coach	Matt Guokas
Arena	The Spectrum
Results
Record	45–37 (.549)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Bucks 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WPHL-TV PRISM
Radio	WIP
< 1985–86 1987–88 >

Brad Daugherty would have multiple All-Star selections with the Cavs, while Hinson was dealt away after having a short, unremarkable career (less than 1 and 1/2 years) in Philadelphia. Malone would go to the 1987 NBA All Star game, and Jeff Ruland played in a total of 5 games that season, before sustaining an injury that would keep him out of the NBA until a short stint with the Sixers in the 1992 season.

These two trades were so devastating in that, with the exception of the 2001 season in which they won the Eastern Conference Championship, they have not been considered an elite franchise since, after being one for a period from 1977 to that point. As of 2024, they have won just three division titles after this trade (1990, 2001, 2021), and have only appeared in one Eastern Conference Final series (2001).

The Sixers would finish nine games worse than the previous season at 45–37, and lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Milwaukee Bucks. This would be the 16th and final season for Julius Erving, who in his last regular season home game, became just the third player in ABA-NBA history to score over 30,000 points for a career. Each road city had a farewell ceremony to honor him.

Draft picks

Main article: 1986 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	44	David Wingate	SG/SF	United States	Georgetown
3	56	Keith Colbert		United States	Virginia Polytech
3	67	Ron Rowan	SF	United States	St. John's
4	90	Wes Stallings		United States	East Tennessee State
5	113	Kevin Holmes		United States	DePaul
6	136	Andre McCloud		United States	Seton Hall
7	159	Dan Palombizio		United States	Ball State

Roster

1986–87 Philadelphia 76ers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 34 Charles Barkley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 252 lb (114 kg) 1963–02–20 Auburn G 10 Maurice Cheeks 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956–09–08 West Texas A&M G 14 Steve Colter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1962–07–24 New Mexico State F 6 Julius Erving 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-02-22 UMass F 21 Kenny Green 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1964–10–11 Wake Forest F 23 Roy Hinson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1961–05–02 Rutgers C 40 Tim McCormick 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1956–01–16 Michigan C 31 Mark McNamara 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1959–06–08 California F 4 Cliff Robinson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1960–03–13 USC C 43 Jeff Ruland 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1962–07–10 Iona G 22 Andrew Toney 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1957-11-23 Louisiana F 20 Danny Vranes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1958–10–29 Utah G/F 25 David Wingate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown

Head coach Matt Guokas Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	59	23	.720	–	39–2	20–21	15–9
x-Philadelphia 76ers	45	37	.549	14	28–13	17–24	12–12
x-Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	17	27–14	15–26	13–11
New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	35	19–22	5–36	12–12
New York Knicks	24	58	.293	35	18–23	6–35	8–16

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Boston Celtics	59	23	.720	–
2	y-Atlanta Hawks	57	25	.695	2
3	x-Detroit Pistons	52	30	.634	7
4	x-Milwaukee Bucks	50	32	.610	9
5	x-Philadelphia 76ers	45	37	.549	14
6	x-Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	17
7	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	18
8	x-Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	19
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	31	51	.378	28
10	New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	35
11	New York Knicks	24	58	.293	35

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1986-87 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–3	4–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–0	5–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–0
Boston	3–3	—	6–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	4–2	4–2	3–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–2
Chicago	2–4	0–6	—	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	0–2	0–2	3–2	2–0	0–2	4–2	3–2	4–2	3–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3
Cleveland	2–4	2–3	1–5	—	0–2	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–0	0–2	1–5	4–2	4–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–4
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	—	4–2	1–1	5–0	3–3	0–2	5–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–3	5–1	4–2	5–0	3–3	1–1
Denver	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	—	0–2	4–1	3–3	1–1	2–3	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–2	3–2	2–4	5–1	2–3	2–4	1–1
Detroit	3–3	2–3	3–3	5–1	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–1	6–0	5–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3
Golden State	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–4	1–1	—	4–1	0–2	6–0	2–4	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–5	4–2	4–1	4–1	4–2	2–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–3	3–3	1–1	1–4	—	2–0	4–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–2	2–3	5–1	5–1	1–4	3–3	1–1
Indiana	3–3	1–5	2–3	3–3	2–0	1–1	3–3	2–0	0–2	—	2–0	0–2	2–4	5–1	3–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–5	3–2	0–2	0–6	1–4	0–2	—	0–6	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5	0–6	1–4	1–4	2–4	2–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–3	5–0	1–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	6–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1	5–1	5–0	4–1	4–2	3–2	1–1
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	2–4	5–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	2–0	2–0	4–2	2–0	1–1	—	4–2	4–2	2–3	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	0–5	2–4	2–3	2–4	0–2	0–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	2–4	—	5–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–4
New York	1–5	2–4	2–4	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–6	0–2	1–1	2–3	2–0	0–2	2–4	1–5	—	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4
Philadelphia	3–3	3–3	3–3	4–2	0–2	2–0	0–5	1–1	2–0	4–2	2–0	0–2	3–2	3–3	3–3	—	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3
Phoenix	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	1–1	5–1	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	—	2–4	2–3	2–3	1–5	4–1	0–2
Portland	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	2–4	3–2	2–0	6–0	1–5	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	4–2	—	3–2	4–1	4–2	3–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–5	4–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	1–1	4–1	0–5	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–2	2–3	—	3–3	2–3	1–5	1–1
San Antonio	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–4	1–5	0–2	4–1	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	3–3	—	1–4	2–4	0–2
Seattle	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	3–2	0–2	2–4	4–1	1–1	4–2	2–4	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	5–1	2–4	3–2	4–1	—	3–2	1–1
Utah	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–3	4–2	1–1	3–2	3–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	2–3	5–1	4–2	2–3	—	1–1
Washington	0–5	2–4	3–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	1–4	4–2	4–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	—

Playoffs

1987 playoff game log
First Round: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 24 @ Milwaukee L 104–107 Charles Barkley (21) Charles Barkley (13) Cheeks, Toney (9) MECCA Arena 11,052 0–1 2 April 26 @ Milwaukee W 125–122 (OT) Roy Hinson (28) Charles Barkley (15) Maurice Cheeks (11) MECCA Arena 11,052 1–1 3 April 29 Milwaukee L 120–121 Charles Barkley (39) Cliff Robinson (10) Cheeks, Toney (8) Spectrum 14,361 1–2 4 May 1 Milwaukee W 124–118 Charles Barkley (25) Charles Barkley (13) Maurice Cheeks (11) Spectrum 15,464 2–2 5 May 3 @ Milwaukee L 89–102 Julius Erving (24) Charles Barkley (13) Cheeks, Wingate (5) MECCA Arena 11,052 2–3
1987 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Playoffs

Awards and records

• Charles Barkley, All-NBA Second Team
• Maurice Cheeks, NBA All-Defensive Second Team