A recent phone call to Billy Cunningham, the winningest coach in Sixers history, began with a discussion of one of his players playing hooky during the NBA Finals. But before too long it veered in another direction, toward the passage of time.
“I tend to forget sometimes that I will be 80 years old shortly,” he said. “It goes by so fast.”
For coaches. For fans. For everybody.
It has also been nearly 40 years since Cunningham, who turns 80 next June 3, coached the Sixers to the 1982-83 championship, the most recent of the three they have won in their history.