50 free Philadelphia 76ers trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This 76ers trivia quiz covers the whole history of the franchise, from Danny Biasone's Syracuse Nationals and the 24-second shot clock they helped invent to Wilt Chamberlain's 68-13 juggernaut, the 9-73 disaster of 1972-73, Julius Erving's arrival, Moses Malone's Fo' Fo' Fo' and the 1983 sweep, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson's step over Tyronn Lue, Sam Hinkie's Process, Joel Embiid's MVP and the Ben Simmons dunk that wasn't. There are questions on the arenas (the Palestra, the Spectrum, the building now called Xfinity Mobile Arena), the mascots (Big Shot, Hip Hop the rabbit, Franklin the Dog), the name-the-team contest, the trades fans still argue about, and the Boston Strangler. Easy ones for anyone who watched Iverson, hard ones for people who remember Roy Rubin. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the team, its seasons and its players, and each question quotes the sentence that supports it, so trivia-night disputes can be settled with a source.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Before moving to Philadelphia in 1963, the franchise played in which New York city?
Syracuse
Italian immigrant Danny Biasone founded the Nationals in 1946 for $5,000, and they were the last small-town team left in the NBA when they moved.
Q 02Nationals owner Danny Biasone is credited with proposing which rule change that saved the NBA in 1954?
The 24-second shot clock
He and GM Leo Ferris calculated that 24 seconds allowed at least 30 shots a quarter; scoring jumped 14 points a game and the Nationals won the title that first season.
Q 03How many NBA championships has the franchise won, counting its pre-Philadelphia title?
Three
They came in 1955 as the Nationals, in 1967 with Wilt Chamberlain, and in 1983 with Julius Erving and Moses Malone.
Q 04How was the name '76ers' chosen after the move to Philadelphia?
A fan contest
Walter Stalberg's entry alluded to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776; 'Sixers' was quickly adopted for headlines.
Q 05Which NBA team had left Philadelphia for San Francisco a year before the Nationals arrived?
The Warriors
Investors Irv Kosloff and Ike Richman bought the Nationals to fill the void; the NBA had been gone from the city for just one season.
Q 06In their early Philadelphia years, the 76ers sometimes played at which Penn arena?
The Palestra
Most home games were at the Philadelphia Arena and Civic Center-Convention Hall; Dolph Schayes was player-coach that first year.
Q 07Which Philadelphia high school did Wilt Chamberlain attend before his pro career?
Overbrook
He also high-jumped 6 feet 6 inches there. The 76ers acquired him from his original NBA team during the 1964-65 season.
Q 08What record did the 1966-67 championship 76ers post, the best in league history at the time?
68–13
They started 46-4, ended Boston's eight-year title run, and were voted the best team in league history at the NBA's 35th anniversary in 1980.
Q 09Who coached the 1966-67 title team?
Alex Hannum
Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, Lucious Jackson and Wali Jones beat the Warriors in six games in the Finals.
Q 10Which arena became the 76ers' new home in the 1967-68 season?
The Spectrum
They held a 3-1 lead over the Celtics in that year's semifinals and lost in seven.
Q 11What was the 76ers' record in the disastrous 1972-73 season?
9–73
Owner Irv Kosloff was so desperate for a coach he ran an ad in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his best remaining player bolted to the ABA the day the new coach was introduced.
Q 12How did the 76ers find head coach Roy Rubin for the 1972-73 season?
Through a newspaper ad
Al McGuire and Adolph Rupp had both turned the job down; Rubin was the longtime coach at Long Island University.
Q 13In 1976 the 76ers bought Julius Erving's contract from which ABA team for about $3 million?
New York Nets
Q 21Which future Hall of Fame forward arrived in Philadelphia in 1984-85 and stayed eight years?
Charles Barkley
He finished second in MVP voting in 1989-90, but the team never got past the second round again in his tenure.
Q 22Whom did Cleveland draft with the No. 1 pick it got from Philadelphia in June 1986?
Brad Daugherty
Philadelphia got Roy Hinson, Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson, none of whom lasted more than three seasons.
Q 23Whom did the 76ers select first overall in the 1996 NBA draft?
Allen Iverson
At a listed 6 feet 0 inches he became the shortest No. 1 pick ever, and won Rookie of the Year for a 22-60 team.
The Nets owed the Knicks $5 million for entering their territory plus a $3.2 million NBA expansion fee, so they had little choice.
Q 14After losing the 1977 Finals, the 76ers adopted which marketing slogan for 1977-78?
We owe you one
It backfired when they lost the conference finals to the Washington Bullets, who went on to win the title.
Q 15Which center did the 76ers acquire from Houston before 1982-83 to complete their championship team?
Moses Malone
He was named league MVP and Finals MVP that season and had entered pro basketball straight from high school in 1974.
Q 16What did the 1983 MVP's famous 'fo', fo', fo'' prediction mean?
The 76ers would sweep all three playoff rounds
They nearly did it: a lone loss to Milwaukee made the actual run 'fo', fi', fo'', and their 12-1 playoff record was a mark for fewest losses.
Q 17Whom did the 76ers sweep in the 1983 NBA Finals?
Los Angeles Lakers
It was revenge for the previous year's Finals loss to the same opponent.
Q 18How many regular-season games did the 1982-83 76ers win?
65
It remains the second-most wins in franchise history, behind only the 1966-67 team.
Q 19Which 76ers guard was nicknamed 'the Boston Strangler'?
Andrew Toney
Bob Ryan called him 'the most forgotten great player in NBA history'; chronic foot injuries ended his career early.
Q 20Which 76ers center broke two backboards in 1979 and claimed to come from the planet Lovetron?
Darryl Dawkins
Stevie Wonder nicknamed him Chocolate Thunder; the NBA created a rule against breaking backboards days after his second shattering.
Q 24At which college did Iverson play for two seasons before the draft?
Georgetown
He was the first player under John Thompson to leave early for the NBA, and finished as the Hoyas' all-time leader in scoring average.
Q 25Which coach, hired in 1997, led the 76ers to the 2001 NBA Finals despite frequent clashes with Iverson?
Larry Brown
He resigned on Memorial Day 2003 and won the title with Detroit the next year, beating the Lakers who had beaten him in 2001.
Q 26How did the 76ers start the 2000-01 season, a franchise record?
10–0
They finished 56-26 and swept the awards: MVP, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year (Aaron McKie).
Q 27Which 76er won Defensive Player of the Year in 2000-01?
Dikembe Mutombo
He was acquired mid-season and helped push the Lakers to five games in the Finals.
Q 28Over which Lakers guard did Iverson famously step after hitting a shot in Game 1 of the 2001 Finals?
Tyronn Lue
Iverson scored 48 in a 107-101 overtime win, the Lakers' only loss of that entire postseason.
Q 29How many NBA scoring titles did Iverson win?
Four
The first came in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season at 26.8 points a game; the fourth in 2004-05 at 31 a game.
Q 30To which team did the 76ers trade Iverson in December 2006?
Denver Nuggets
He returned briefly in December 2009 on a prorated $1.3 million deal when the team was 5-13.