Customer Reviews

Season of the 76ers: The Story of Wilt Chamberlain and the 1967 NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers

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THIS IS THE STORY OF ONE OF THE MOST DOMINATING TEAMS IN ANY SPORT. THE SIXERS WERE PRACTICALLY UNBEATABLE DURING THEIR INCREDIBLE SEASON OF 66-67. THIS IS A MONTH BY MONTH SUMMARY OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AND EVENTS WHICH BROUGHT THE SIXERS TO THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP. THE FIRST PART OF THE BOOK LEADS UP TO THE EVENTS WHICH BROUGHT THE TEAM TOGETHER. IT PROVIDES AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL GAMES, ESPECIALLY THE PLAYOFFS. ALSO AN AFTER SEASON SUMMARY OF HOW THE TEAM LOST TO THE CELTICS IN 67-68 AND THE EVENTUAL BREAKUP OF THIS GREAT DYNAMO. ALSO SOME GREAT STATS AND SOME NOSTALGIC PHOTOS PROVIDE US WITH A GOOD BOOK. RECOMMENDED.

Entering the 1966-1967 season, Wilt Chamberlain was at the crossroads of his storied NBA career.

Criticized by many inside and outside the NBA as being a selfish player who only cares about his scoring statistics - at the expense of team honors - a frustrated Chamberlain publicly lashed out at players, coaches and league officials in an April 1965 interview in Sports Illustated, entitled, My Life In A Bush League.

But one season later, Chamberlain seemingly revamped his game - notching MVP honors by leading the league in scoring and rebounds, but also ranking third in assists and playing a tenacious defense - as the Philadelphia 76ers put together arguably the greatest NBA season ever by winning regular season 68 of 81 games enroute to the championship, defeating the San Francisco Warriors in six games.

To put the regular season in perspective, the 76ers captured the Eastern Division by eight games over Boston and would have won the Western Division by 24 games over San Francisco.

In a flawed account of the season, author Wayne Lynch places the focus on Chamberlain, though what coach Alex Hannum assembled proved to be a historic lineup of talent, which included Chet Walker, Hal Greer, Wali Jones, Billy Cunningham and Lucious Jackson.

Lynch relies heavily on game-by-game accounts and fails to breath life into the statistics through oral histories or previous accounts by 76er players and opponents. He sacrifices what could have been truly an outstanding overview for just the facts surrounding jump shots, rebounds and layups.

Games alone do not tell the entire story of a championship season. And without a perspective from the hardwood floor and locker room, the stats overwhelm a text that essentially is without the sweat and heart of a team.

Only Philadelphia could totally neglect the greatest NBA team of alltime for over thirty years. I remember going to the old Convention Hall in Philly and watching Wily, Chet, Hal, Billy and Luke and the boys obliterate opposing teams. Big Luke was my favorite player---he set picks for Cunningham, Greer, and Walker; he played tenacious defense, and rebounded like a demon. He sacrificed much of his own scoring production for the good of the team. Wilt said Luke was the most intimidating player in NBA history. Wilt recalled with a laugh that whenever Willis Reed saw Jackson walking done the tunnel onto the court during warmups, Reed began to visibly shake. A nice little ditty; I highly recommend it. Now I wish someone in Philly would produce a DVD highlighting that same 1966-67 season. That would be fun to watch.

Although I disagree that the 1967 76ers are the Greatest Team ever, I feel that this team is at least Top 3 and probably the most underrated of all the serious teams in the discussion. This is the year that Wilt (who actually led the league in assists this season) and the 76ers finally broke through and won two championships [ 1) by winning the NBA title and 2) by dethroning the Celtics]. For a team that was named the Greatest Team ever at the league's 25th anniversary (even above all the Bill Russell-led Celtics teams), this team gets almost no respect today. This may have something to do with the fact that they were unable to repeat and lost to an aging Celtics team in 1968. Still it's hard to argue against the 1967 76ers being the best team ever (I know it's tough for me to argue against it, and I feel that the 1985-86 Celtics are the Best Team ever).

I do have some problems with the overall credibility of the author when he says that the only two teams that are in the discussion with this Sixers team are the 1972 Lakers (which is fine) and the 1996 Bulls (which is just preposterous) and his rationale was based on record which was inflated due to the increase in expansion teams. There are three teams from the 1980s that should definitely be in the discussion (1983 Sixers, 1986 Celtics, 1987 Lakers) for Greatest Team ever. However, he did put the 2001 Lakers in their place by saying that really great teams get it done throughout the season (despite the team's 15-1 playoff record). Overall this book, much like Peter May's book on the 1985-86 Celtics, is good as a chronicle for a great season but is flawed when the authors try to analyze why their subjects are the greatest team ever.

I was moved to pick up this book after seeing the author on TV speaking about his life long love of the 76's. So, I thought the book would be a great gift for the men in my life (for birthdays, Father's Day, and the like.) Well, I thumbed through a copy in the bookstore, and, after reading the introduction, I was hooked--and I'm a girl...way too young to remember anything about 1967. Still, Mr. Lynch's writing is as engaging as his TV appearance was, and, he really loves Wilt Chamberlain and his team...

If I could be interested in this book because of it's great story and prose, ANYBODY would love it...and, if that person happens to be a guy between the ages of oh, say, 43 and up (old enough to recall the 1967 season of the 76's...) he will be especially happy to have this book around. It's a great sports story told exceptionally well.

To secure NBA Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham to write the Foreword for this remarkable story says something about Wayne Lynch's maiden voyage into the literary world. Cunningham starts the book off right, stating that the 76ers weren't going to have to win one championship, but TWO. First, they would have to overcome (physically AND mentally) their long-time arch enemy - the 8 time defending champion Boston Celtics. And how the teenage Lynch despised those Bill Russell-led Celtics! It is the innocent flashbacks to his youth that provide real fabric to this wonderful tale.

Lynch not only accurately takes us through many key games and emotions of that magical 1966-67 season, but he also delivers multiple compelling story lines - with the "Big Dipper", Wilt Chamberlain, at the forefront.

Wilt's willingness to transform his game - to literally forego the HUGE scoring totals that gained him such fame and fortune and become the consumate team player - is reason enough to purchase this fine book. The big man once again led the league in rebounding, but also finished third in assists - all while still averaging more than 24 points per game!

Learn how this dominant team depended so much on their bench, with super talent like rookie Matty Guokas and the Kangaroo Kid, Billy C. How Hal Greer was old reliable, constantly carrying the team through thick and thin. How much two great - but vastly different - forwards complemented each other. Luke Jackson, the NBA's first true power forward, and Chet "The Jet" Walker, a reliable sharpshooter, were unbeatable. And who could forget the one and only Wally Jones, with the Jackknife jumper and tight defense.

Of course, a great ship needs a great captain. Learn how the stern, but fair, Alex Hannum convinced Wilt to change and led this group of men into immortality.

And even though the Championship series against Rick Barry's San Francisco Warriors could become anticlimactic, even I - an NBA historian and research specialist - learned many wonderful things and enjoyed Lynch's recap greatly.

In the end, "Season of the 76ers" will take you back to a time when love of the game - and love between teammates and coach - was how championships were won. Consider that there were no hometown parades celebrating the most regular-season wins in NBA history (68). Only joyous teammates celebrating forever in a distant visitors locker room, and then long into the night. It will make you yearn for yesteryear like a Dipper Dunk.

OK, I had my doubts reading some of these reviews here but don't let that sway you. This is a tremendous book. First of all, writing is always better when someone loves their subject and Wayne Lynch is obviously a real fan in love with the Sixers. The first three chapters alone are worth getting this book to learn how the Sixers came to be and to get the scoop on Wilt Chamberlan's move back to Philly from the Bay Area.

The only weak part of the book is the '66/67 regular season itself as your eyes and brain tend to gloss over that but once the playoffs start, it's pretty decent reportage. The best part I loved was the comparison to other "great" NBA teams' seasons. I thought this was spot on and provided plenty of fuel for debate. The post-championship chapter and the stuff on where the players are now plus their bios make this book a tour de force.

It's well worth spending any amount of dough on this as I learned a lot about a team and an era that was just before my time. I was most curious about guys like Hal Greer (whom I never saw play) and Chet Walker (whom I only knew from his Bulls' days having no idea he had won a title) and learned a lot gaining newfound respect for those NBA greats.

A chronicle of the 1967 season where the 76ers finally dethroned the mighty Celtics. Lynch is very passionate about the 76ers (a decided plus), but frequently resorts to tired cliches in his writing and this detracts from the story. He must have used the word 'whines' about eight times in writing about post-game comments. Still, this was an interesting read. As far as his contention that the '67 76ers are the greatest team of all time...the post-season success of the 1960's era Celtics speaks more eloquently than I can.

Wayne Lynch chronicles the Philadelphia 76ers' 1966-67 championship team with the enthusiasm of a fan and the skill of an accomplished writer. I was a spectator at many of the events he describes, and reading this book brought back a flood of memories. I learned things I never knew about Wilt Chamberlain and his teammates; Bill Russell, Red Auerbach, and other NBA notables; and the history of the league. The book includes playoff box scores and other interesting stats pages, and many terrific photos. This is a book for people who remember the NBA the way it used to be, and for people who wish they did.

... it's a book about a championship season in Philadelphia, and that's certainly something to celebrate ... and there's also some very interesting commentary thrown in from Bill Cunningham ...