1983 NBA Finals
Encyclopedia
The 1983 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1982–83 NBA season.

Overview

The final piece of the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...

' championship puzzle was completed before the 1982-83 season when they acquired center Moses Malone
Moses Malone
Moses Eugene Malone is a retired American Hall of Fame basketball player who starred in both the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association...

 from the Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

. They went on to capture their historic second NBA championship as they won 65 games, and stormed through the playoffs
1983 NBA Playoffs
The 1983 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1982-1983 season. This was the final postseason using the 12-team format, before the NBA expanded the postseason to 16 teams the next season...

, first sweeping the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

, and then beating the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....

 in five games. They finally finished it off with a four game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

, who had defeated them the season before.

Said head coach Billy Cunningham
Billy Cunningham
William John "Billy" Cunningham is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid.- Beginnings :...

, "The difference from last year was Moses." Malone was named MVP of the 1983 Finals, as well as league MVP for the third time in his career. The 76ers completed one of the most dominating playoff runs in league history with a 12-1 mark after league and NBA Finals MVP Moses promised "Fo', fo', fo" (as in "four, four, four" - four wins to sweep round 1, four wins to sweep round 2, etc.), but it actually wound up as "Fo', fi', fo." (four, five, four). The 76ers were also led by Julius Erving
Julius Erving
Julius Winfield Erving II , commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is a retired American basketball player who helped launch a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim....

, Maurice Cheeks
Maurice Cheeks
Maurice Edward "Mo" Cheeks is a retired American professional basketball player and assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association from May 23, 2005 to December 13, 2008...

, Andrew Toney
Andrew Toney
Andrew Toney is an American former professional basketball player who played for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers from 1980 to 1988...

, and Bobby Jones.

With 59 seconds to go in Game 4, it was Erving who made a three-point play to hold the lead for good, crushing the Lakers in a four game sweep and ending the last NBA Finals to end before June.

Series summary

Game Date Home Team Result Road Team
Game 1 Sunday, May 22 Philadelphia 76ers 113-107 (1-0) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 2 Thursday, May 26 Philadelphia 76ers 103-93 (2-0) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 3 Sunday, May 29 Los Angeles Lakers 94-111 (0-3) Philadelphia 76ers
Game 4 Tuesday, May 31 Los Angeles Lakers 108-115 (0-4) Philadelphia 76ers

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

"That Championship Feeling"

Following the 1983 NBA Finals, a video documentary called "That Championship Feeling" recaps the NBA Playoff action that year. Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by Fox Sports and Turner Sports as a football, baseball, and basketball play-by-play announcer.-Early life and career:...

, who called the Finals for CBS with Bill Russell
Bill Russell
William Felton "Bill" Russell is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association...

, narrated the video, and Irene Cara
Irene Cara
Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...

's 1983
1983 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1983.-January-April:*January – ZTT Records is founded.*January 8 – The UK singles chart is tabulated from this week forward by The Gallup Organization...

 hit single "Flashdance... What a Feeling
Flashdance... What a Feeling
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" is a song from the 1983 film Flashdance, written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, and Irene Cara, and performed by Cara. Despite the title, the word "Flashdance" is never used in the lyrics; however, the line "In a flash, take a hold of my heart" refers to the...

" is the official theme song for the video documentary. For the first time, NBA Entertainment
NBA Entertainment
NBA Entertainment is the production arm of the National Basketball Association and produces numerous NBA-related films including team championship videos and blooper and entertainment reels. It was previously associated with CBS/Fox Video, but now distributes its films through Warner Bros....

 used videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...

 instead of film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 for all the on-court and off-court footage.

Aftermath

The Sixers would finish the season with 52 wins; however they fell to the young New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 in five games of the first round, in which the road team won every game. The Sixers would not make it back to the finals again until , also against the Lakers, but this time they lost in five games to the then-defending NBA champions. (The city of Philadelphia would not see another championship until the Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 won the 2008 World Series
2008 World Series
The 2008 World Series was the 104th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as champions of the National League and the Tampa Bay Rays, as American League champions, competed to win four games out of a possible...

 25 years after the 1983 Finals.)

The Lakers would return to the Finals again in , but were defeated for the second straight year, this time by their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

 in seven games. They would, however, defeat the Celtics in 1985 in six games, and win two more titles in 1987 and 1988.

The 1983 Finals was the last to end within the month of May. All Finals series thereafter would end within the month of June.

This was the only championship not to be won by either the Celtics or Lakers between and .

As noted above, this would be the city of Philadelphia's last professional championship until 2008 when the Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 won the World Series
2008 World Series
The 2008 World Series was the 104th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as champions of the National League and the Tampa Bay Rays, as American League champions, competed to win four games out of a possible...

. The Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 have not won championships since 1960 and , respectively.

Team rosters

External links

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