SI Flashback: NBA Finals

The offseason acquisition of center Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets finally put the Sixers over the hump, as they dominated the league (seven more regular-season wins than any other team), just about swept through the playoffs (12-1), and finally captured the title after reaching the Finals for the fourth time in seven years. Malone's pre-playoffs prediction of "Fo, fo, fo" was only a bit off.

Snapshot from Thou Shalt Rejoice, Said Moses

By Bruce Newman

June 6, 1983 Manny Millan

To the Promised Land: Malone, who was the unanimous choice for MVP in the finals, was a consistently slow starter throughout the series, but as the games wore on and the other players wore out, Malone just kept getting stronger. "Let's not play make-believe," Billy Cunningham said. "When you talk about defending against Moses Malone, you have to give something up." First the Lakers gave up the outside shot to the Sixers, trying to double-team Malone. Then they gave up the pretense that they could match him with their 7'2" center, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, choosing instead to alternate forwards Kurt Rambis and Mark Landsberger against him. "There are a lot of forces in nature you don't stop," Rambis said. "And he's one of them."

They Said It "We toyed with people, just toyed with them. It was really something." —Cunningham "All too often, teams that get to the finals and don't win are broken up. In Philadelphia that didn't happen. It was a team that took six years to build. We did it the hard way, we did it the long way, but we did it better than anybody else."—Erving

Class act: It's difficult to picture the Doctor as a villain, because rarely in the history of team sports has there been a player of such transcendent popularity as Julius Erving. Most of the Lakers admitted during the finals that if they were unable to repeat as champions, there was some small consolation: At least the Doc would finally get his ring. Erving bathed in the wave of affection that he felt from the fans this season. "You can feel the vibes," he said, "feel the people pulling for you."

Like you've never seen him: In the 76ers' locker room afterward, Malone mugged playfully for the TV cameras, posturing and roaring in the manner of Muhammad Ali. For a man as reserved as Malone has always been in public, it was a rare and touching display of animation. "This was for the Doc," Malone said. "I wanted to be able to say that I played on a world championship team with Dr. J." ... Backup Center Earl Cureton wandered by with a friend who wanted to meet Malone. "I want you to meet Al Capone Malone," Cureton said. "He steals games." Moses' mouth curled into a wide smile. "That's me," he agreed, "the gangster of basketball."

Issue date: June 13, 1983