The Minneapolis Lakers eventually became the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia Warriors became the Golden State Warriors and the Vancouver Grizzlies eventually became the Memphis Grizzlies.
Another franchise to undergo a name change and transfer is the Syracuse Nationals, who you may know better as the Philadelphia 76ers.
On this day in 1962, the Philadelphia 76ers were officially born, as Irv Koslov and Ike Richman purchased the natives of Syracuse and then moved the franchise to the City of Brotherly Love.
Richman was a well-known Philadelphia attorney and was Wilt Chamberlain’s attorney, negotiating his first future Hall of-Famer contract with the Philadelphia Warriors before buying the Nationals with Kosloff.
The move from Syracuse to Philadelphia made sense not only because the team’s new owners were based in the area, but because the Philadelphia Warriors moved cross-country to San Francisco after the 1961-62 season, opening the door for the Philadelphia 76ers to be born.
In their first eight seasons as 76ers, the franchise went to the playoffs eight years in a row, winning the NBA Championship in 1967 with Hall-of-Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Hal Greer.
Today, the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves as one of the most historic franchises in the league considering they’ve been in business since 1949 when they were Syracuse Nationals in the early days of the NBA.
All-stars Joel Embiid and James Harden are now leading what many believe to be a championship contender in the Eastern Conference, but the Sixers have had their fair share of playoff struggles recently.
Making the playoffs for five consecutive seasons Now having missed the playoffs for five previous consecutive seasons, 76 players have failed to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals despite winning playoffs in four of the last five seasons.
In fact, the Philadelphia 76ers haven’t advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals since Allen Iverson led them to the 2001 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
With a 51-win season looming, 76ers players, coaches, executives and fans fully believe the upcoming 2022-23 season will be theirs. Time will tell if the Philadelphia 76ers will be able to win their fourth NBA championship, which will be the sixth largest in league history.