On this day in 1983, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers to clinch the second title in franchise history. They were appearing in their fourth NBA Finals in seven years. Their opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, had already defeated them twice to start the decade, and had the likes of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob McAdoo as security blankets, but this year was different.
Of course the 76ers had the great Julius Erving, and all-star shooting guard Andrew Toney on the wing. Sixth man extraordinaire Bobby Jones was old reliable as usual, but the 1982-83 76ers were the crème de le crème of the Association for one reason and one reason only: Moses Malone.