1986–87 Philadelphia 76ers season

NBA professional basketball team season August 2023 March 2026 Philadelphia 76ers 1987 45 37 Atlantic 2 5 Matt Guokas The Spectrum WPHL-TVPRISM WIP First round(lost to Bucks 2–3) PHI The 1986–87 Philadelphia 76ers 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. 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 2026, 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 1986 NBA draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 2 44 David Wingate SG/SF Georgetown 3 56 Keith Colbert Virginia Polytech 3 67 Ron Rowan SF St. John's 4 90 Wes Stallings East Tennessee State 5 113 Kevin Holmes DePaul 6 136 Andre McCloud Seton Hall 7 159 Dan Palombizio Ball State Roster Philadelphia 76ers 1986–87 34 Charles Barkley F 6 6 252 Auburn 1963–02–20 10 Maurice Cheeks G 6 1 180 West Texas A&M 1956–09–08 14 Steve Colter G 6 3 165 New Mexico State 1962–07–24 6 Julius Erving F 6 6 210 UMass 1950-02-22 21 Kenny Green basketball, born 1964 F 6 6 210 Wake Forest 1964–10–11 23 Roy Hinson F 6 9 210 Rutgers 1961–05–02 40 Tim McCormick C 6 11 240 Michigan 1956–01–16 31 Mark McNamara C 6 11 235 California 1959–06–08 4 Cliff Robinson basketball, born 1960 F 6 9 220 USC 1960–03–13 43 Jeff Ruland C 6 10 240 Iona College 1962–07–10 22 Andrew Toney G 6 3 178 Louisiana-Lafayette 1957-11-23 20 Danny Vranes F 6 7 210 Utah 1958–10–29 25 David Wingate basketball G/F 6 5 185 Georgetown 1963–12–15 Matt Guokas Regular season Season standings PHI PHI z - clinched division title y - clinched division title x - clinched playoff spot Game log Regular season Philadelphia 76ers 1987 Total: 45–37 (Home: 28–13; Road: 17–24) Philadelphia 76ers October yes no 1 0 0 0 Philadelphia 76ers November no 6 2 3 5 |- | 14 | November 25 | Boston | 0028600137 102 100 | | | | The Spectrum | 9–5 Philadelphia 76ers December no 4 4 2 5 |- | 17 | December 5 | @ Boston | 0028600193 106 108 | | | | Boston Garden | 11–6 |- | 24 | December 19 | Boston | 0028600271 122 100 | | | | The Spectrum | 14–10 |- | 29 | December 28 | @ L.A. Lakers | 0028600317 85 111 | | | | The Forum17,505 | 15–14 Philadelphia 76ers January no 6 1 4 4 |- | 41 | January 25 | @ Boston | 0028600469 96 111 | | | | Boston Garden | 23–18 Philadelphia 76ers February no 2 2 3 5 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- | 54 | February 22 | L.A. Lakers | 0028600612 110 112 1 | | | | The Spectrum17,967 | 31–23 Philadelphia 76ers March no 5 3 4 3 |- | 71 | March 29 | @ Boston | 0028600819 100 118 | | | | Boston Garden | 39–32 Philadelphia 76ers April no 4 1 1 4 |- | 75 | April 5 | Boston | 0028600859 106 104 1 | | | | The Spectrum | 42–33 PHI 1987 Playoffs Philadelphia 76ers 1987 #0067B1 white yes Philadelphia 76ers First Round yes #ED174C white yes no 1 1 1 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | April 24 | @ Milwaukee | L 104–107 | Charles Barkley (21) | Charles Barkley (13) | Cheeks, Toney (9) | MECCA Arena11,052 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 26 | @ Milwaukee | W 125–122 (OT) | Roy Hinson (28) | Charles Barkley (15) | Maurice Cheeks (11) | MECCA Arena11,052 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | April 29 | Milwaukee | L 120–121 | Charles Barkley (39) | Cliff Robinson (10) | Cheeks, Toney (8) | The Spectrum14,361 | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | May 1 | Milwaukee | W 124–118 | Charles Barkley (25) | Charles Barkley (13) | Maurice Cheeks (11) | The Spectrum15,464 | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | May 3 | @ Milwaukee | L 89–102 | Julius Erving (24) | Charles Barkley (13) | Cheeks, Wingate (5) | MECCA Arena11,052 | 2–3 |- PHI 1987 yes Player statistics Playoffs Awards and records Charles Barkley, All-NBA Second Team Maurice Cheeks, NBA All-Defensive Second Team References See also 1986-87 NBA season Category:Philadelphia 76ers seasons Phil Philadelphia Philadelphia