1966-67 NBA Finals

Result

Games

Finals MVP

The Finals MVP award was not introduced until 1969; no Finals MVP was named for this series.

Series context

The 1966-67 NBA Finals pitted the Philadelphia 76ers against the San Francisco Warriors, and for the first time in eleven seasons the Boston Celtics were absent from the championship round, having been dethroned by Philadelphia in the Eastern Division finals. The 76ers arrived as one of the most dominant regular-season teams the league had ever seen, posting a 68-13 record under first-year head coach Alex Hannum, a mark that stood as the best winning percentage in NBA history at the time. That team was built around Wilt Chamberlain, who that season deliberately shifted his game away from pure scoring toward passing, rebounding, and efficiency, leading the league in field goal percentage while still anchoring the defense; he won his third regular-season MVP award for that transformation. Supporting Chamberlain was a deep, talented roster featuring Hal Greer, Chet Walker, Billy Cunningham, and Wali Jones. The Warriors, coached by Bill Sharman, were led by a young Rick Barry, who had emerged as the league's scoring champion that season and continued his explosive play into the Finals. San Francisco also relied on veteran forward Nate Thurmond and guard Fred Hetzel to compete with Philadelphia's superior depth. The series opened with a tightly fought overtime win for the 76ers, 141-135, before Philadelphia blew the Warriors out in Game 2, 126-95, taking a commanding 2-0 lead. San Francisco fought back to win Games 3 and 4, evening the drama, and Barry delivered a huge scoring performance in one of those contests as he tried to single-handedly keep his team alive. Philadelphia regained control in Game 5, and then closed out the championship in Game 6 on April 24, overcoming a fourth-quarter deficit to win 125-122 and capture the franchise's first title since relocating from Syracuse. The triumph validated Hannum's coaching, making him the first man to win NBA championships with two different franchises (he had previously won with the St. Louis Hawks in 1958), and it broke the Celtics' extraordinary run of eight consecutive titles. For Chamberlain, long dogged by criticism that he could not win the ultimate prize, the championship was a career-defining vindication, proving that his unselfish, defense-first approach could deliver results at the highest level. This series is remembered as a turning point in league history: it signaled that the balance of power in the NBA could shift even against a Celtics dynasty many assumed was permanent, and it remains one of the most statistically dominant championship teams ever assembled, still cited today when comparing all-time great regular-season rosters.

Sources

• Wikipedia - 1967 NBA Finals
• Basketball-Reference - 1967 NBA Finals