1984–85 Philadelphia 76ers season

Philadelphia 76ers
Industry	Professional basketball
Headquarters	Philadelphia, United States
Products	Basketball team

The 1984–85 season for the Philadelphia 76ers introduced rookie Charles Barkley to a seasoned lineup that included veterans Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Maurice Cheeks—integral members of the team that secured the 1983 NBA championship. The Sixers completed the regular season with a 58–24 record, securing second place in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Celtics.

During the postseason, Philadelphia overcame the Washington Bullets in the opening round with a 3–1 series victory and then swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Their playoff run ended in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the Boston Celtics in five games. A notable moment occurred in game three when Julius Erving was jeered by his home crowd; following this, he shifted to playing guard for his final two seasons. This playoff series also marked the end of Coach Billy Cunningham’s tenure, as he stepped down and was replaced by Matt Goukas.

This campaign was Andrew Toney’s last full season before a foot injury limited him to just six appearances the next year, hindering his return to All-Star caliber performance.

The roster from this season is included in the video game NBA 2K16.

NBA draft

Charles Barkley entered the 1984 NBA draft after departing Auburn University early and was selected fifth overall by Philadelphia, shortly after Michael Jordan was taken third by the Chicago Bulls.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	5	Charles Barkley	PF	File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Auburn
1	10	Leon Wood	SG	File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	California State-Fullerton
1	22	Tom Sewell	SG	File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Lamar
3	48	James Banks		File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Georgia
3	68	Butch Graves		File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Yale
4	91	Earl Harrison	PF	File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Morehead State
5	114	Dan Federman		File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Tennessee
6	137	Gary Springer	PF	File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Iona
7	160	Rich Congo		File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Drexel
8	183	Franks Dobbs		File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Villanova
9	205	Michael Mitchell		File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Drexel
10	227	Martin Clark		File:Flag of the United States.svg United States	Boston College

Regular season

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | October 26, 1984 | Cleveland | W 111–101 | | | | The Spectrum | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | October 27, 1984 | @ Atlanta | W 111–108 | | | | Omni Coliseum | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | October 30, 1984 | @ New Jersey | W 118–96 | | | | Brendan Byrne Arena | 3–0 {{NBA game log section|Philadelphia 76ers|November|} |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" ... |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" ...

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 17, 1985 | Washington | W 104–97 | Moses Malone (26) | Charles Barkley (12) | Maurice Cheeks (6) | The Spectrum
7,170 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 21, 1985 | Washington | W 113–94 | Andrew Toney (31) | Malone, Barkley (14) | Cheeks (5) | The Spectrum
9,612 | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | April 24, 1985 | @ Washington | L 100–118 | Malone (17) | Barkley (11) | Toney (5) | Capital Centre
11,103 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | April 26, 1985 | @ Washington | W 106–98 | Julius Erving (25) | Barkley (14) | Clint Richardson (4) | Capital Centre
12,238 | 3–1 |}

|3 
|May3,1985 
|Milwaukee  
|W109–104 
|Andrew Toney  (20) 
|Moses Malone  (13) 
|Toney, Cheeks (7) 
|Spectrum (arena) 
14,188 
|3–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

|4 
|May5,1985 
|Milwaukee  
|W121–112 
|Malone  (31) 
|Malone  (13) 
|Toney  (11) 
|Spectrum (arena) 
15,264 
|4–0

|}

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

|1 
|May12,1985 
|@Boston  
|L93–108 
|Maurice Cheeks  (27) 
|Charles Barkley  (12) 
|Maurice Cheeks  (7) 
|Boston Garden 
14,890 
|0–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

|2 
|May14,1985 
|@Boston  
|L98–106 
|Julius Erving  (22) 
|Moses Malone  (13) 
|Cheeks ,Erving  (7) 
|Boston Garden 
14,890 
|0–2

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

|3 
|May18,1985 
|Boston  
|L94–105 
|Andrew Toney  (26) 
|Malone  (16) 
|Toney  (5) 
|Spectrum (arena) 
17,921 
|0–3

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

|4 
|May19,1985 
|Boston   
|W115–104  
|Andrew Toney  (26)  
|Charles Barkley  (20)  
|Julius Erving  (6)  
|Spectrum (arena) 
17,921  
|1–3

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

|5  
|May22,1985  
|@Boston    
|L100–102   
|Maurice Cheeks  (26)   
|Malone  (15)   
|Cheeks, Toney(6)   
|Boston Garden 
14,890   
|1–4

|}

Award Recipients

Charles Barkley, Selected for NBA All-Rookie First Team
Maurice Cheeks, Named to NBA All-Defensive First Team
Bobby Jones, Included in NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Moses Malone, Chosen for All-NBA First Team