Last time 76ers made Conference Finals: Remembering Allen Iverson’s iconic 2001 Sixers team

It’s been a long time coming for Philadelphia, which hasn’t made it out of the second round in over two decades.

With a 3-2 series lead over the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Sixers are on the cusp of doing something that hasn’t been done since Allen Iverson was urging the crowd to make noise on Broad Street.

Aside from the down years of “The Process,” Philadelphia has had a number of opportunities to get over the hump, including three Game 7 losses in the conference semifinals since 2012, including the 2019 heartbreak at the hands of Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors and a 2021 letdown to Trae Young’s Hawks.

Two years later, MVP Joel Embiid, James Harden and the Doc Rivers-led team are again just one win away from doing away with a riddled past in the semifinals.

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When was the last time the 76ers made the Conference Finals?

Philadelphia last made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001, when Iverson, the MVP of the 2000-01 season, led the team to a thrilling seven-game series win over Vince Carter and the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

After eliminating Toronto, Iverson and the Sixers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they eliminated the Bucks in seven games. Philadelphia lost to Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals.

Iverson, who led the NBA with 31.1 points per game that season, upped his scoring average to 32.9 points per game in the playoffs, including these big performances:

• 45 points in Game 2 of East First Round vs. Pacers 
• 54 points in Game 2 of East Semifinals vs. Raptors
• 52 points in Game 5 of East Semifinals vs. Raptors
• 46 points in Game 6 of East Finals vs. Bucks
• 44 points in Game 7 of East Finals vs. Bucks
• 48 points in Game 1 of NBA Finals vs. Lakers

That 2000-01 Sixers team opened the season on a 10-game winning streak and finished with the East’s best record at 56-26. In addition to Iverson, Sixers head coach Larry Brown was Coach of the Year, Aaron McKie was the league’s Sixth Man of the Year and Dikembe Mutombo, who was acquired midseason from the Hawks, was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.

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When was the last time the 76ers won the NBA Finals?

As a franchise, the Sixers have won three NBA titles, with two coming in Philadelphia. The 76ers’ most recent NBA title came in 1983, when they swept Magic Johnson in the Lakers, completing one of the most dominant title runs in NBA history.

Philadelphia’s other finals victory came in 1967 when Wilt Chamberlain led the team past Rick Barry and the Warriors. The franchise’s first title came in 1955 when they were known as the Syracuse Nationals.

In the 40 years since their last Finals win, the Iverson-led run is the franchise’s only trip to the Finals.

76ers recent playoff history