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Lauren Rosen

Matt Murphy

With the 2023-24 season wrapped up, it's a great time to look back on some of the highlights and moments we'll remember.

The Sixers gathered at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO, for their first official practices of the 2023-24 campaign and their first practices led by Nick Nurse and his coaching staff.&nbsp;

The Sixers notched their first win of the season, and the first win of the Nurse era, in Toronto on Oct. 28. The Sixers won, 114-107, with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scoring a co-team-high 34 points en route to victory.

The 76ers defeated the Pacers, 137-126, marking the team's eighth consecutive victory. Philadelphia's 8-1 record marked the 10th time in team history – and the first time since the 2000-01 season, that the 76ers won eight of their first nine games to open a campaign. Maxey scored a then-career-high 50 points on 20-of-32 shooting (7-11 3fg), to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.

Embiid’s first 50-point game of the season came at Washington on Dec. 6, powering the Sixers to a 131-126 victory. He finished with 50 points, 13 rebounds - including six offensive rebounds - seven assists, a steal, and a block. Maxey added 26 points and seven assists with zero turnovers.

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-113. Embiid (51 points, 12 rebounds) tallied his 12th consecutive game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, marking the longest such streak since the NBA-ABA merger. Maxey added 35 points.

Embiid Sets Career-High with 70 Point Performance

The 76ers extended their win streak to six straight games behind Embiid’s historic night as he set a 76ers franchise record with 70 points (24-41 fg) while hauling in 18 rebounds and dishing out five assists. Embiid became the only player in NBA history with at least 70 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a single game.

Maxey’s Second 50-point Game after being named first-time All-Star

With Embiid sidelined, Maxey scored 51 points at Utah, hours after being named a first-time NBA All-Star. In Maxey’s then-return to the court (ankle) he shot 17-for-27 from the field and made seven of his nine three point attempts. Tobias Harris added 28 points, five rebounds, and seven assists in the victory.

2/16-2/18/2024 - NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis

Embiid became the fifth 76er ever to earn at least seven NBA All-Star selections when he was named a starter, before being replaced due to injury.&nbsp;

Maxey, meanwhile, earned his first career All-Star nod as the fifth-youngest player in franchise history to receive the honor. He finished the 73rd NBA All-Star Game with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a win.

Maxey Sets Career-High with 52-point Game

In a double-overtime affair at San Antonio, Maxey notched his now-career-high 52 points en route to a 133-126 victory over the Spurs and Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama’s 33-point, 18-rebound, six-assist, seven-block performance.

Maxey totalled 52 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and two steals in a game-high 54 minutes of play.

4/12/2024 - Allen Iverson Sculpture Unveil

The 76ers honored former NBA MVP and 11-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson on April 12, 2024 with a sculpture unveiling ceremony on Legends Walk at the Penn Medicine Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex.

4/23/2024 - Maxey Wins Kia NBA Most Improved Player

Recording career-highs across the board (25.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 6.2 apg, 1.0 spg), Maxey won the 2023-24 Kia Most Improved Player award, over fellow finalists Coby White and Alperen Sengun.

4/30/2024 - Philadelphia at New York, NBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 5

Maxey sets Playoff Career-High and Forces Game 6

Maxey scored a playoff career-high 46 points - including 17 points in the fourth quarter alone - to thwart elimination in the Sixers’ 112-106 overtime victory in Game 5 at New York. Maxey finished with 46 points, five rebounds, and nine assists, shooting 17-for-30 from the field and 7-for-12 from deep. Embiid notched a 19-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist triple-double plus four blocks in the win.

Embiid and Maxey produced three 50-point games apiece this season. They became the first teammates in NBA history to each record at least three 50-point games in the same season.

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2023-24 Sixers Memorable Moments

Making the NBA was part of Tyrese Maxey’s dream.

A teenage Maxey once envisioned becoming a McDonald’s All-American, going to play for coach John Calipari in college, and ultimately getting drafted.

Was being an NBA All-Star a goal? Did he ever have any doubts?

“I try not to have much doubt,” Maxey said. “Maybe second or third grade. That was a long time ago, right?

“Man, you always dream of [being in the NBA]. In sixth grade, I broke my finger in the first quarter of the middle school championship game. And I continued on and played with one hand, and was able to score like 45 points. I was like, maybe I could be really good at this. And now we’re here.”

Here was his reality on a freezing February weekend in Indianapolis.

Tyrese Maxey was a first-time NBA All-Star in 2024.

The 23-year-old from Garland, Texas embraced it all. The fanfare, the appearances, the whirlwind that is the weekend before a player even reaches the Sunday night game. It was an embrace rooted in his own experience.

"The All-Star Game came to Dallas, and it was snowing, just like it is now,” Maxey said Saturday night while recalling the 2010 event. “I got to go to some of the fan events [then], and I had one of those today. I was walking through and I was like ‘Man, – and I was stopping to try to sign as much as I could – this was me.’ I was one of those kids.

"I had an East All-Star Dwyane Wade jersey on, walking through there. I saw him yesterday and I was telling him about it. It's just amazing. It all comes full circle. I'm very happy to be here."

A record crowd of 108,713 watched Wade take home the MVP award that weekend.

Now 14 years later, Maxey is sitting beside another MVP – WNBA star A’ja Wilson – on an Indiana Convention Center stage. It’s early evening and Maxey’s fifth appearance of day one, a live edition of his ‘Maxey on the Mic’ podcast. He’s worried about respecting Wilson’s time, when she kindly stops him.

“This is big time,” Wilson states. “I get it, stay humble, but this is a huge moment for you and you have to embrace it. Take it in. These are huge moments. You’re an All-Star. They can never take this away from you.”

“You’re going to remember this snow in Indiana,” adds Wilson. “This blizzard. Always!”

Maxey and his patented smile entered Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, LeBron James sat at the podium in the next room ahead of his record 20th NBA All-Star appearance. In James’ first outing on Feb. 20, 2005 in Denver, he started alongside would-be MVP Allen Iverson.

“You still get that moment,” James, now 39, said. “You’re still having that feeling like ‘This is pretty cool.’ I still – at heart and deep inside – I’m still like that 18-year-old kid that came into this league from Akron, Ohio.”

“Every moment you can share the court with somebody like LeBron, you should cherish it,” Maxey said postgame. “I always say that about Joel [Embiid]. These moments right now – we have a lot of special talents in the NBA – you can’t take them for granted.”

If a second (or third) grade Maxey had any doubts about his future, he has answered them ever since. Showing the world, all the while.

In early October at 76ers Media Day, Maxey discussed his “LND” bracelet, still around his wrist at the All-Star podium.

“LND is something that my dad told me,” said Maxey. “He used to text it to me before every game at Kentucky. It means a lot to me. There's always doubt in other people's hearts. As a human being, you try not to worry about what other people think of you, but it's always in the back of your mind. For me, I go out there and leave no doubt.”

The once under-the-radar high school entrant now stars in holograms and billboards at NBA All-Star Weekend.

Maxey finished the 73rd NBA All-Star Game with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a win.

But being surrounded by family – and the league’s best – is what he says he’ll remember most about his debut.

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Inside Tyrese Maxey’s 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend

Jaden Springer’s NBA dream is now a reality.

The 76ers selected Springer with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Family and friends at a draft party in his hometown of Charlotte erupted.

“When I found out I got drafted, they told me ‘Jaden, come downstairs,’ so I didn’t really know. I’m holding my little niece -- I’m walking down the stairs with her, and then all of the sudden everybody starts jumping and cheering. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then I finally see it. Everything just hit me at once. I was excited.”

Minutes later, Springer answered a FaceTime call. 

On the other end? 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey, 76ers General Manager Elton Brand, and his new coach, Doc Rivers.

But Jaden is not the only Springer with a connection to Rivers. As a matter of fact, he’s not even the first person in his family to be drafted by the Sixers.

The team drafted Jaden’s father, Gary, in 1984.

Gary Springer, an honorable mention All-American at Iona College, previously matched up with the now-Sixers head coach leading up to and during their respective collegiate playing careers.

“We played Marquette (Rivers’ alma mater) three times when I was in college. I got hurt the first time, at Marquette, and Doc’s mother came back and made sure that they took care of me, and got me to the hospital and back in time. His mother took care of me.”

Now, Rivers will coach Gary’s son, 18-year-old Jaden.

And the Springer connections don’t stop there. The basketball world can be small sometimes, after all.

Prior to his 15-year NBA playing career, 76ers assistant coach Sam Cassell starred at Florida State University from 1991-93.

On the scene during Cassell’s collegiate career was none other than Gary Springer:

“When [Sam] was there, I was the strength coach.”

“I’ve always been around basketball since I was a little kid,” Jaden Springer says. “My cousins, my big brothers, my dad… they all played.”

One of those cousins is DeAndre’ Bembry, of the Brooklyn Nets. Bembry, a five-year NBA veteran who signed with the Nets this offseason, starred locally at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia from 2013-16.

“That’s my big cousin, so he’s always been there,” said Springer. “He’s always talking to me, ever since I was a little kid. Even before basketball. I know he’s always got me.”

That call is where the Doc Rivers-Gary Springer Dunk Debate begins:

Rivers got the ball rolling, according to Jaden...

“False,” said Garry Springer a few days later. “If anything, I would dunk on him.

“And I’m a defensive guy, too, so I probably blocked him.”

The response from Rivers, and perhaps a truce… 

“Back in our day, no one dunked on anyone...because we would foul ‘em before they could dunk.”

Dunk debate aside, it’s all about the future now.

“I just want to watch [Jaden’s] development,” Gary Springer said. “I want to watch him grow [with] the coaching staff that they have here. Sam, Doc...I know with them being guards that they can teach him and show him a lot that will help him early on in his career.”

Rivers tells rookies that the draft is only the beginning.

“I always tell them ‘this is not the end of your dreams, it’s the start of your dreams.’”

Summer League Six Pack | Sixers Finish With a Win

2021 NBA Draft Quotebook | Morey, Springer, Bassey

76ers Draftee Charles Bassey's Basketball Journey Continues in Philadelphia

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Family, FaceTime, Future: Jaden Springer and 76ers Connected By NBA Dream

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Darryl Dawkins is celebrated as one of basketball's most flamboyant and colorful characters, known for his eccentric personality and powerful-yet-whimsically-named dunks. He's perhaps most remembered for being the second player ever to shatter a backboard during play, a feat he performed twice during the winter of 1979. He also holds the two highest totals for personal fouls in a single season. A member of the Sixers from 1975 until 1982, he played in three NBA Finals before being traded prior to Philadelphia's 1982-83 championship run. We caught up with Chocolate Thunder to see how things are going today on planet Lovetron and chat about turning pro straight out of high school, playing overseas, and more.

Sixers.com: Youve been coaching at Lehigh Carbon Community College since 2009. How has that been going?

Darryl Dawkins: Its a different kind of experience because theyre community college kids and theyre trying to work, trying to get their grades and if they dont make good grades, they cant stay on the team.  We dont get the kind of turnout a Philadelphia college does to try and build a team so we have to work with what we have.  I like coaching, so its not a problem.

S.C: Do you have aspirations of coaching at a bigger school down the road?

DD: Why stop with a bigger school?  Why not go to the pros one day?  [laughs].  I like to think I could end up on somebodys NBA bench.  I do a lot of stuff with the Nets and the Sixers when they call.  A lot of it is for charity.  You dont do a lot of stuff to get paid and when you coach at the community college level, you certainly dont do it to get paid; you do it for experience.  I enjoy giving back, so thats been the fun part of my life.

S.C: You also work as an ambassador for the NBA and its NBA Nation tour. What does that involve?

DD: NBA Nation is great because we go to cities where kids may never get to see a game.  We have the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown, hot dogs, 3-point shooting contests and skills contests.  Ive taken more pictures with kids than Ive ever have with adults.  I thought basketball was my gift but I think its working with kids.

S.C: You made the leap straight from high school to the pros back when not many guys did that. Did seeing the success Moses Malone had doing that impact your decision?

DD: Moses Malone did help me make up my mind, because I felt that if he could do it, I could do it.  When I got there, World B. Free and I became buddies.  World taught me how to drive in the city and how drive in the snow.  World was my brother.  We had Harvey Catchings, Doug Collins, Freddie Carter, Clyde Lee all these guys helped me along the way.  Jack McMahon used to keep me after practice to work alongside him and others.  Even though I came from high school, I was with guys who were maybe one or two years older than me; so we had our own little bunch of rebels.

S.C: What was it like being a rookie on a team with Dr. J?

DD: Doc was a great leader and always led by example.  He had a lot of help from guys who would talk to you and tell you, dont go over there and dont do this, dont do that.  That kind of helped.  It made the transition that much easier.  I think the thing I missed most was not being home for holidays when I called back to Florida and they would tell me my Aunt was cooking her sweet potato salad.  I would say dont tell me that!  That was the hardest part.

S.C: What are your thoughts on current rules which dont allow high school players to go directly to the pros?

DD: I think its your right to feel like hey, I want to go and Im not giving up on my dream, but I think the one year is great because you learn how to handle money, you learn how to handle people and how to live alone.  When I was going through it, everybody had get rich quick schemes.  If you could get rich that quick, you didnt need me!

S.C: Since you didnt get to play much at the beginning of your NBA career, did you have second thoughts about your decision to turn pro?

DD: Gene Shue told me that you gotta play hard and you will get a chance to play.  Al Domenico, our trainer, said dont worry about playing now because next year, youre going to play so much that youll be begging to come out of the game.  Well, he was right!  My mother would not allow me to have second thoughts.  She said you wanted to do it, so get out there and do it.  The good thing about it, was coming in as a center, you had to go up and down the floor, close up the middle and beat on each other and I had good size.  If I was a guard, I dont think I would have tried [going from high school to pro] because guards have more tricks.

S.C: What was Doug Collins like as a teammate?

DD: Doug is a good man.  A lot of people look at me kinda crazy when I say this, but if Doug didnt hurt his foot several times in a row, he would have been as good as Larry Bird.  Doug could shoot, play defense, take charges, strip guys and could flat out run.  We called him Sticks.  Doug could flat out play.  To see him become a coach doesnt surprise me.  He has a great knowledge of the game and knows how to talk to people and work with people.

S.C: Was there a specific moment in your career when things clicked for you and you knew you belonged?

DD: I got into a game against New York and blocked Clyde Fraziers and Earl Monroes shots.  They were a little older at that time, so it may not have even been fair.  Then I blocked Spencer Haywoods shot and Freddie Carter said hey big fella, your stock just went up!

S.C: Was it tough to lose your third NBA Finals with the Sixers in 1982, be traded away, and then see the team win the championship?

DD: I know guys who were greater players than I was who never had the chance to play in the Finals.  I really wasnt despondent when I got traded because I was going a place where they wanted me and they were going to pay me a little more money.  I still had friends on the Sixers and didnt mind coming back to help them drink the champagne.  I still had a lot of love for the guys on that team.  Even though I wasnt part of winning the championship, I was glad they finally won one and was happier the next year when I was playing with the Nets and we came back and knocked them out of the playoffs!

S.C: You hold the two highest single-season foul totals in NBA history.  Did you feel like you were picked on by the referees because of your size?

DD: I have to go back to my mother who told me, If anyone comes through, you hit them and you hit them hard so they dont come back.  The referees had never seen a football player come in and play basketball.  I was the size of a football player.  I had a nice, soft jumpshot and could handle the ball a little bit thanks to World B. Free.  I think maybe at that point, they had just never seen a guy my size doing the things I was doing and at times didnt know which way to call it, so it just went against me.

S.C: You played overseas for a few years.  How was that experience?

DD: I enjoyed playing in Italy, learning to speak Italian, cook Italian and live like an Italian.  I learned how to speak Italian without taking one lesson by just hanging around the guys naturally, we learned the bad words first.  The reason I liked it was because I was in another country doing something that not a whole lot of other guys were doing.  If youre not ready to go over there and live the way they do and miss you family, then dont do it.  But Chocolate Thunder is always ready for an adventure.

S.C: Do you ever feel like you were ahead of your time and how popular you would be playing today with 24-hour sports coverage and the internet?

DD: My parents had me about 20 years too soon!  I always feel like I was ahead of my time because I knew how to market myself.  When you hear an NBA guy answer why they lost a game and theyre like well they made their jumpshots and theyre a very good team.  No.  No.  No.  I want to hear a guy talk trash sometimes!  I want to hear them say yeah we busted them up I had 38 on him and next week, Im getting 40 they couldnt guard me if I was glued to the floor.  Yeah, were supposed to be role models but we are human too and the human side makes you competitive.

S.C: What was more impressive: you shattering backboards or Shaq bringing down a whole basket?

DD: I was the Master of Disaster.  Shaq was the Duke.  Shaq pulling the whole thing down?  Yeah, that was awesome but I was doing it when he was in diapers!

S.C: What would 54-year-old Darryl Dawkins say to 19-year-old Darryl Dawkins if he had the chance?

DD: Do as I say, not like I did and have fun doing what youre doing because theres a million people who go to work and dont enjoy it, but it pays the bills; we did something we enjoyed doing and got paid.

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Exclusive interview with Darryl Dawkins - 7/22/2011

Immortalized in the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center and the pages of basketball history, Bobby Jones will always be known as one of the best lunch-pail defenders to ever play the game. Over the course of a storied career that included eight straight NBA All-Defensive First Team selections, four NBA All-Star selections, the first NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, an NBA Championship and an Olympic Silver Medal, Jones earned a reputation as a selfless, virtuous player while still being one of the most determined competitors on the floor. Sixers.com recently caught up with Bobby to chat about what he's doing now, his experience during an ownership change, his thoughts on the state of the game today and more.

Sixers.com: Outside of your family, what has been keeping you busy in recent years?

Bobby Jones: I coach basketball and tennis at Carmel Christian School [in Charlotte, North Carolina] and I run summer basketball camps at the school.

S.C: Are the kids aware that you were an NBA player?

BJ: I doubt it.  Down here, a lot of parents will remember me from my college days so Ill get some of that but not as much from my pro career.

S.C: Whats your favorite part about coaching?

BJ: I like the kids.  They have great attitudes.  Theyre not super-skilled but they try hard and are very compliant.  Plus, the older you get, the kids help keep it fun so its great to be around them and see their desire to try and get better.

S.C: A couple seasons ago, you visited the Sixers players and spoke to them about how winning the championship in 1983 formed a great bond with the members of that team.  What was that experience like?

BJ: Maurice [Cheeks] invited me to come and talk.  I enjoyed being around the team.  I really felt like the players were good guys and had a desire to want to win over seeking the individual accolades which so often can disrupt a team effort.  I told them the common goal the 83 team shared (winning the championship) really did make a difference because we wanted to do something that would last for a long time.  It did.  It was special.  I told those guys that as they continue to build upon what they have, theres the formula and foundation for winning.  I told them they just have to have the patience and willingness to sacrifice what theyre looking for their next contract and do whats best for the team; maybe thats give up a shot or two, set another pick, do something that they may not be comfortable doing or may not have done before.

S.C: Did you enjoy meeting up with members of the 1983 team for the celebration during the final game at the Spectrum in 2009?

BJ: It was fun.  It was great to reminisce back on good times.  I really appreciate the Sixers for that.  I talk to other players in the league and their comment as I share those events with them is that wow, our team has never done anything like that.  I think theres more of a sense of family with the Sixers than most of the other teams.

S.C: Were you sad to hear that the Spectrum was finally knocked down?

BJ: I was disappointed.  Its funny, before I got traded to Philly I had only been there twice in my life and that was when I was with the Nuggets so I didnt know much about the city.  Coming there was kind of a unique experience for me.  I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I felt like the fans were very appreciative of my work, very supportive and knowledgeable about basketball.  Even though I didnt score a lot of points, they would appreciate that I would hustle, try to play D and get out on the break and do things that would help us get a win.

S.C: You werent ever a player who got wrapped up in individual accolades, but looking back, how impressive was your streak of eight straight NBA All-Defensive First Team selections?

BJ: That was something I felt good about.  I actually made two First Team All-Defensive teams in the ABA so I really had 10 in a row.  Those days were tougher because back in the old ABA there was Julius Erving, George Gervin, Larry Keenan and George McGinnis.  It seemed like the ABA was filled with great forwards that I had to guard as a rookie and it was difficult but it was something that helped me figure out that playing defense was how I was going to stay in the league so thats what I tried to concentrate on.

S.C: You were known for defense, but you also rank 14th in NBA history in field goal percentage and are the second-shortest player of the Top-14.  Is that something you took a lot of pride in?

BJ: Every team that I was on, especially with Philly, had better offensive players than myself.  I always felt like I had to take the open shot to keep the other team honest.  I knew that Julius, Andrew Toney or Moses [Malone] could always get their shot and could impose their offensive will on their opponent.  I couldnt really do that but I could sneak out on the break and get a basket or I could get a tip-in.  We would have maybe one play set for me where I would come off of the baseline to the elbow and get a screen from the center and get an open shot so that was really the only shot I worked on.  I know shooting wasnt my strength but I knew I could be effective if I limited what I tried to do.  I dont think I took bad shots, but if you look at my stats, I was 0-of-17 from the 3-point line but those were all end of the quarter, end of the half shots that I didnt want to take but was forced to.  I dont think I ever took one legitimate 3-point attempt because I knew it was out of my range and I knew that I wasnt going to make it, so I just avoided that area!

S.C: The first season you made the sacrifice of coming off the bench coincided with the first time the Sixth Man of the Year award was given out.  Do you enjoy being able to say youre the first player to win that award?

BJ: I was a great honor to receive that award and to be the first person to do so.  When I look back on my career, there are certain things I remember and that was one of them.  Another was that I was named to the All-Star team but I wasnt a starter for Philly and I think I was only the second player to do that.  I knew from my conversation with Billy [Cunningham] that even if I didnt start, I was going to finish and I wanted to be a finisher.  Even when I coach now, I tell my players that it doesnt matter who starts and that if you want to know whos valuable on this team, just look at who Im putting into the game at the end.  Starting for me didnt matter.

S.C: How does the mindset differ between starting and coming off the bench?

BJ: It was really an advantage to me a little bit because I could sit there and scout out what the other team was doing and who was hot, whos not on, whos lethargic.  I wasnt physically the strongest player out there so that shortened the game for me so my intensity level could stay high and not have to be spread over a lot of minutes.  I was taking medication for the epilepsy and all of that, so I couldnt play 40 minutes a game.  Not starting was better for me physically.

S.C: You experienced an ownership change during your time with the Sixers.  How, if all, did that affect the players?

BJ: I think when you have new ownership it does energize the feeling that somebody really does care, really wants the team and wants to make something happen with the team.  Theres a time span there where you feel like lets step this up a bit and see what happens.  In our case, signing Moses was the big thing and that made a huge difference for our team.  I think its different for the current team, but I think they have a good core of young guys and I hope they continue to develop them and add players as they can.

S.C: You were teammates with Doug Collins on the 1972 Olympic team, then again with the Sixers.  What was your relationship like?

BJ: Ive enjoyed being around Doug.  Doug is a high energy guy and Im a real low-key guy.  We were in the same neighborhood in New Jersey and would often ride to practice together.  Hes non-stop and I was more reserved but I enjoyed being around him.  I loved playing with him in the Olympics and the free throws he made in the last game you talk about being a clutch player; he always had that great desire to want to win whether it was scoring, passing, whatever and I feel like hes instilling that on his team now.

S.C: Did you sense he could go on to become a coach down the road?

BJ: Oh yeah.  He studied the game, he loved the game.  Everything was basketball.  When we were playing, he had a bad foot injury and that ended his career early but even then, I knew that wasnt going to keep him from being involved in basketball.  He just had so much knowledge and has been able to communicate it as both a commentator and a coach.

S.C: What was it like being rivals with Dr. J and eventually teammates with him in Philly?  Were you relieved you didnt have to go up against him anymore?

BJ: Absolutely!  It was murder trying to guard the guy.  Even though I felt I was a pretty good defender, he could just pull up and shoot over me.  I remember one playoff game in the ABA, it was the last play and his team needed a basket to win it and I knew he was getting the ball.  I was all over him.  He must have jumped five feet backwards and I jumped with him.  I knew I couldnt get a piece of the ball but did enough to bother the shot but the ball just swished through and I was like theres not much more I can do! so I knew when I got traded to Philly I could check off a couple nights where I wouldnt have to work quite as hard.

S.C: You were teammates with both Cheeks and Charles Barkley when they entered the league.  Did you know right away that they were going to be great players?

BJ: I kind of did.  I questioned Charles a little bit because I wasnt sure his body could take the pounding.  When he came into his rookie year, he weighed 305 lbs. and had a lot of blubber on him.  I remember you would set a pick and he would sort of just absorb you.  Both Julius and I talked about how Charles knees and back were going to withstand that constant pounding.  He did lose some weight and was obviously a great player, but I was just amazed that his body could support what he did with the intensity of his jumping ability and his explosiveness off the ball.

S.C: As a player who was so grounded in fundamentals, what are your thoughts on the state of the game of basketball today?

BJ: Theres the mindset of just getting the ball up the court as fast as you can and take it to the basket or pull up for 3.  Theres not a whole lot of mid-range things going on and theres not a whole lot of set players where more than one or two people are involved.  I think thats why a lot of European players are more grounded is because they are more well-rounded.  I see kids who come out of schools like Duke or North Carolina and theyre going to have that, but some of the other guys in the league really dont.  I will say that I feel the league has become much more defensive oriented and the players are held much more accountable to play their own man and also to give the help defense thats necessary to stop some of these guys.

S.C: Whats the thing that impresses you most about todays players in comparison to your playing days?

BJ: The physicalness of the game.  The size and the way the guys can elevate and get up and down the court along with their lateral movement is just amazing.  Thats changed more than anything else.  One negative of that is its affected the shooting.  When I was playing, there were 3-5 good shooters on every team, now theres like 2, maybe 3.  Overall, it would be scary to go out there with those guys now with the way they can get up and down the court and the reaction times they have are pretty impressive.

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Exclusive Interview with Bobby Jones - 7/18/2011

Sixers players joined 200 children in grades Kindergarten through 8 for an after-school holiday party. The players participated in arts and crafts activities with the kids, including ornament making and cookie decorating. All cookies are generously donated by Classic Cake.

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Photos: Sixers Host Kids Holiday Party - 12/10/2010

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On Wednesday, December 8, Sixers Forward Elton Brand and author Jennifer Grocki signed the first-ever Philadelphia 76ers childrens book From A To Zone D: The Alphabet, Basketball Style! to promote a week-long, nationwide sale at Barnes and Noble stores, with proceeds benefitting literacy programs through Sixers Charities.

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Photos: Elton Brand at Barnes & Noble - 12/8/2010

The recent Kevin Love 30-30 game elicited a chuckle from Harvey Pollack. It wasnt a mocking response to Loves rare accomplishment but rather it was a source of  amusement for the 88-year-old Pollack.

Loves feat prompted Pollack to dig and the result was a gem of an NBA statistical nugget involving the games most dominant offensive force.

I researched and found that in the history of the league there have been 131 30-30 performances including the one by Kevin Love, said Pollack, the Sixers Director of Statistical Information who is better known around NBA circles as SuperStat.

Out of that 131 total, Wilt Chamberlain did it 103 times. So that means every player in the history of the league  combined  did it 28 times.

When it comes to the NBA, there isnt much that Pollack doesnt know, a man who has drawn an NBA paycheck for his livelihood dating back to his PR Director days with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1946.

Pollack, who recently started his 65th season in the league, recently published the 2010-11 Harvey Pollack Statistical Yearbook  a must for any NBA fan or stat geek.

Its the greatest stat book youve never heard of and thats because you cant buy it via Amazon or Barnes &amp; Noble. This ultimate underground tome can only be purchased from Harvey himself for $15 at the Sixers offices (Wells Fargo Center, 3601 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19148) and he receives book orders from all over the world.

NBA.com caught up with Pollack who reflected on highlights of this years edition, what Pat Riley contributed, Shaq and Kobe stories and finally saying goodbye to the Spectrum.

NBA.com: The Kevin Love 30-30 game recently prompted you do some digging in terms of all time 30-30 games.

Harvey Pollack: I researched and found that in the history of the league there have been 131 30-30 performances including the one by Kevin Love and it hadnt been done since Moses Malone in 1982.

Out of that 131 total, Wilt Chamberlain did it 103 times. So that means every player in the history of the league  combined -- did it 28 times and only one other player did it more than twice and that was Nate Thurmond, who did it four times. There were about three or four players that did it twice and the rest were just once and a lot of notable players who never did it at all.

I also checked the rebounding leaders every year. Remember, there werent any rebounds kept during the first four years of the league, so, there are only 60 rebounding champions. I checked the rebounding winners each season and how many times they accomplished a 30-30 and it was either one or zero.

Thats another crowning achievement of Wilts career that nobody even mentions today because most of the writers today werent covering NBA basketball when Wilt was playing and he hasnt played since 1973.

I always check history whenever a record is tied or broken. It was a surprise to me that Wilt did it so many times. The season in which Wilt scored 100 points  1961-62 -- he actually did a 30-30 31 times. Gives you an idea of how far ahead he was against all of the players he was with.

NBA.com: The 30-30 accomplishment seems like a natural addition to the Harvey Pollack Stat Book.

Harvey Pollack: Absolutely, it will be a notable addition. In next years book, I will have a complete 30-30 list. Then the list will show how many times each one of these players won a rebounding title and the players who never did it and how many rebounding titles they won. For example, Dennis Rodman won 7 rebounding titles but he never accomplished a 30-30.

NBA.com: How much bigger is this years book versus last years edition?

Harvey Pollack: Were up to 334 pages for this seasons version. Usually, the page count goes up about 10 pages each year.

The first book that I put out  it wasnt the Harvey Pollack book. It was 1968 and Commissioner Walter Kennedy made it mandatory that every team publish a media guide, not just for the affluent owners or teams, who would publish one.

In the formation of the league, the only income the owners  Eddie Gottlieb, Ben Kerner, Danny Biasone  their only income was from basketball, not like todays owners, who are millionaires or billionaires off of other enterprises outside the game.

In those days, the owners werent going to spend the money to put out the media guides until Kennedy made it mandatory.

The first book I published was in 1966-67 season when the Sixers won the title. We actually put it out during the middle of the season. It was only 24 pages and it had Schmidts beer as an advertiser on every one of the pages since they paid for the cost of it. Then the following year they did it again and we increased the total of pages to 36. The next year the NBA said that media guides were mandatory.

The Sixers owners Irv Kosloff said were doing away with Schmidts beer, were putting it out without any ads in the book. The book went up from 36 to 96 pages and its been rising ever since. Then in 1994, the Sixer and NBA totals got too big for binding, thats when they broke the books down into two separate versions: The Sixers media guide and the Harvey Pollack book.

NBA.com: What are some of the new categories you added for this years version?

Harvey Pollack: We have the NBAs all time left-handed players, relatives  fathers-sons -- who played in the league and all kind of relatives, cousins, second cousins, nephews,
grandfathers/grandsons, grandfathers who have grandsons. Plus we have the best Crunch Time players from last season, player evaluations by different experts and the distance of every field goal made.

Actually, my goal is to have the distance of every field goal attempted taken during the season. When Larry Brown was the coach of the Sixers, I used to do that for the opposing team in the playoffs.

Its going to take a lot of work but I would love to do it.

We also break down all of the dunks the players make  alley oop, reverse, slam, put back, running.

We scour every play-by-play sheet for every game of the entire season  1,230.

NBA.com: In addition to yourself, how many people assist you in compiling the statistics?

Harvey Pollack: Well, during the course of a year, I have interns in the Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. Last year, I had approximately 22 who contributed something to the book. In the summer, I had nine interns from all parts of the country and they brought their own laptops in and we were able to finish the book two months earlier.

NBA.com: With the NBA being a global game, you must receive orders from all over the world?

Harvey Pollack: Oh, yeah. I just received an order for the third year in a row from a book store in Estonia. One of his customers always comes in and asks for the Harvey Pollack Stat book. Weve sold this in Japan, England, France, Mexico and Canada.

Its known around the world, not just here in the United States.

NBA.com: Were witnessing historically significant players in guys such as Shaq and Kobe who are climbing up the milestones chart. Do you think Shaq will join Kareem, Mailman, MJ and Wilt to become the fifth player ever to reach the 30,000 point club?