Ranking the 20 best Sixers in franchise history

Who’s the best Sixer ever?

Clearly, that’s a question with more than one valid answer. Statistical production as a Sixer, playoff success in Philadelphia, and overall career accomplishments are a few of the many reasonable factors one could consider.

Comparing across eras is especially difficult. An All-Star is an All-Star, but there’s so much beyond numbers and achievements that are impossible to fully appreciate unless you saw it yourself. Hal Greer’s mid-range jumper, Allen Iverson’s crossover, Mo Cheeks’ steadiness, and Wilt Chamberlain’s profound dominance all come to mind.

Though James Harden was a deserving member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team and is obviously among the best players to wear a Sixers uniform, he’s only done that 79 times in the regular season. It seems fair enough to remove him from consideration while acknowledging the 10-time All-Star is an excellent player. Along the same lines, Chris Webber (114 games), Dikembe Mutombo (106 games) and Bob McAdoo (29) had relatively brief stints as Sixers during Hall of Fame careers.

With all of that said, here’s how we ranked the top 20 Sixers of all time on the Sixers Talk podcast. You can listen below for a more in-depth rationale behind the rankings.

Danny Pommells’ top 20 

1. Julius Erving 

2. Allen Iverson

3. Charles Barkley 

4. Moses Malone 

5. Joel Embiid 

6. Wilt Chamberlain 

7. Hal Greer 

8. Billy Cunningham 

9. Ben Simmons 

10. Mo Cheeks 

11. Bobby Jones 

12. Andrew Toney

13. Andre Iguodala 

14. George McGinnis 

15. Darryl Dawkins 

16. Hersey Hawkins 

17. Doug Collins

18. Aaron McKie

19. Steve Mix 

20. Dolph Schayes 

Noah Levick’s top 20  

1. Wilt Chamberlain 

2. Julius Erving

3. Moses Malone

4. Charles Barkley 

5. Allen Iverson 

6. Joel Embiid 

7. Dolph Schayes 

8. Hal Greer 

9. Billy Cunningham 

10. Bobby Jones

11. Chet Walker 

12. Mo Cheeks

13. Doug Collins

14. Red Kerr 

15. Andrew Toney 

16. George McGinnis

17. Larry Costello

18. Andre Iguodala 

19. Jrue Holiday 

20. Ben Simmons 

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