After beginning with a hot streak, a look at best starts in Sixers history
Furkan Korkmaz was an unlikely hero Saturday night to keep the Sixers' win streak alive. How did it stack up to other starts to seasons?
After beginning with a hot streak, a look at best starts in Sixers history Furkan Korkmaz was an unlikely hero Saturday night to keep the Sixers' win streak alive. How did it stack up to other starts to seasons? Check out this story on courierpostonline.com: https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/sports/nba/sixers/2019/11/04/after-hot-streak-look-best-starts-sixers-history/4160115002/
Dave Isaac, Cherry Hill Courier-Post Published 5:18 p.m. ET Nov. 4, 2019
Furkan Korkmaz, right, and Tobias Harris react after Korkmaz made a game winning basket against the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday to win 129-128. (Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer, AP)
Two years ago, Furkan Korkmaz was tearing up I-476, shuttling between the 76ers and G-League's Delaware Blue Coats. From late October to mid-December, he had been made 10 round trips. It did not seem like he was going to be a big player for the team.
Saturday night was a shining moment in a season where everything (so far) has gone right for the Sixers.
He hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to beat the Portland Trailblazers and take the Sixers to a 5-0 record, halfway to their franchise record to begin a season. They've come a long way from four seasons ago when they lost their first 18 games of the season and 30 of the first 31 as "The Process" was underway. Their reward at the end was drafting Ben Simmons first overall (and Korkmaz 26th).
Here's a look at other top starts the Sixers have had in their history.
Allen Iverson steps over Tyronn Lue #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. (Photo: Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images)
Visions of this season are still clear for some Sixers fans of a certain age. Allen Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue is the poster image of the last trip to the NBA Final that the team made but before that the Sixers started a franchise-best 10-0. Over those 10 games, Iverson averaged 23.1 points per game and current Temple University coach Aaron McKie averaged 8.8 off the bench and went on to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
Julius Erving, left, and Moses Malone, right, hold the NBA Championship trophy after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in Los Angeles. (Photo: AP)
Having won six straight to start the season and 17 of their first 20, this was the last time the Sixers won it all. A pair of Hall of Famers in Moses Malone and Julius Erving helped the Sixers steamroll the competition in the regular season. Malone predicted the Sixers would go "fo, fo, fo," to sweep all three rounds of the playoffs and he was close. They needed five games to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Final, but swept the New York Knicks in the first round and the Lakers to win an NBA title.
Philadelphia 76ers' coach Billy Cunningham ran the team for eight seasons from 1977 to 1985. (Photo: Clem Murray, AP)
A 7-point loss to the Indiana Pacers was the only thing keeping a four-game win streak from being a 15-game win streak to start this season. The Sixers won 18 of their first 21 games and were right in the middle of their best era in franchise history. Coach Billy Cunningham's squad went 58-24 that season and ultimately lost to the Lakers for the second time in three years in the NBA Final.
Sixers Bobby Jones (24) flips a short hook shot over the up stretched arms of Atlanta Hawks John Brown. (Photo: Anonymous, ASSOCIATED PRESS)
While the Sixers lost two of their first three this season, they then reeled off 12 straight victories and had two more 10-game win streaks. Led by Dr. J (who was the league's MVP) and Bobby Jones, they were 23-3 by the time December rolled around and went to the Eastern Conference Final only to lose to Boston in seven games.
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