By Ron Griffitts
Contributing columnist
In spring 1967, the San Francisco Warriors (44-37) coached by former Celtic great Bill Sharman and with executive Bob Feerick met the Philadelphia 76ers coached by Alex Hannum and with executive Jack Ramsay.
San Francisco defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 3-0 and St. Louis Hawks 4-2 to get to the finals.
The Warriors were led by Rick Barry (35.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg), Nate Thurmond (18.7 ppg, 21.3 rpg), Paul Neumann (13.9 ppg, 4.4 apg), Fred Hetzel ( 12.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg), Al Attles (4.7 rpg), Tom Meschery (10.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg), Jim King (11.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg), Jeff Mullins (12.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Clyde Lee (7.4 rpg).
The 76ers got past the Cincinnati Royals 3-1 and the Boston Celtics 4-1 to get to the championship series. They were led by Wilt Chamberlain (24.1 ppg, 24.2 rpg, 7.8 apg), Hal Greer (22.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Chet Walker (19.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg), Luke Jackson (12.0 ppg, 8.9 rpg), Wali Jones (13.2 ppg) and Billy Cunningham (18.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg).
Game one was in Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers took an early 43-30 lead after the first quarter but the Warriors came back to outscore them 35-21 in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 128-128. In overtime, Philadelphia prevailed for a 141-135 win and a 1-0 lead in the series. The 76ers had balanced scoring with Hal Greer contributing 32 points, Chet Walker 23, Wali Jones 30, Billy Cunningham 26 and Wilt Chamberlain who had 16 points, 33 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Warriors were led by Rick Barry with 37 points, Nate Thurmond with 24 points and 31 rebounds and Tom Meschery with 20 points and 12 rebounds,
The 76ers dominated in game two as they won every quarter for a 126-95 win to go up 2-0 in the series. They were led by Hal Greer with 30 points and 12 rebounds, Billy Cunningham with 28 points and Wilt Chamberlain who pulled down 38 rebounds and had 10 assists.
For game three, the teams switched to the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. The Warriors outscored the 76ers 37-28 in the first quarter and held on for a 130-124 win to bring the series to two games to one. Rick Barry scored 55 points and had 12 rebounds, Nate Thurmond had 25 rebounds and Jim King added 28 points for the Warriors while Wilt Chamberlain had 26 points and 26 rebounds, and Hal Greer and Chet Walker each had 21 points for the 76ers.
The 76ers responded in game four with a 122-108 win behind 33 points by Hal Greer, 33 from Chet Walker and 27 rebounds from Wilt Chamberlain. Nate Thurmond pulled down 25 rebounds for the Warriors and Rick Barry had 43 points, Jim King had 23 and Clyde Lee had 11 rebounds.
In game five, Philadelphia built a 96-84 lead after three quarters and needed only to hang on for one more quarter for the title. But the Warriors had other plans and outscored them 33-13 in the fourth quarter for a 117-109 win.
Nate Thurmond had 17 points and 28 rebounds, Rick Barry had 36 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors. Hal Greer had 20 points for the 76ers, Chet Walker had 25 rebounds and 13 rebounds, Wilt Chamberlain had 20 points and 24 rebounds and Luke Jackson had 14 rebounds.
In game six, it was the Warriors who had a lead after three quarters 102-96 but could not hold on as the 76ers outscored them 29-20 to win the game 125-122 and the NBA title.
The 76ers returned to the finals with Julius Erving in 1977 and the Warriors were back with Steph Curry as the Golden State Warriors in 2015.
The Warriors had been in Philadelphia only a few years before so it was like two Philadelphia teams playing each other for the title. Wilt Chamberlain played for both the Philadelphia Warriors and 76ers as he began his career with the Warriors and was traded in 1965 back to Philadelphia after the Warriors moved to San Francisco.
The Cincinnati Royals left Cincinnati after the 1971-72 season and are now the Sacramento Kings.
Statistics for this article were from basketball-reference.com.
