Bobby Jones played 8 total season with Philadelphia.
Making an All-NBA Defensive First Team is an incredible individual accomplishment, especially when considering only five players are awarded with that honor each year. This list puts a spotlight on the 76ers who have earned First Team selections throughout Philadelphia’s 76 seasons.
Bobby Jones – 6 times (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984,1985)
Jones played his first four seasons with the Denver Nuggets before being traded to Philadelphia ahead of the 1978-79 campaign. Over the next eight years with the Sixers, ‘The Secretary of Defense’ made six straight All-Defensive First Teams, two All-Star appearances, finished top-four in Defensive Player of the Year voting twice, and won Sixth Man of the Year at age-31 in 1982-83. Jones also helped Philly win the 1983 NBA championship by sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in four games. Throughout his 12-year career, the fifth overall pick in the 1974 draft compiled averages of 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks across 941 contests (286 starts).
Maurice Cheeks – 4 times (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)
The Sixers selected Cheeks with the 36th overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. The Hall of Famer went on to play his first 11 seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, where he tallied at least 2.1 steals per game every year until his final campaign there in 1988-89, when he finished with 1.5 spg. From 1982-83 to 1985-86, ‘Mo’ earned four consecutive All-Defensive First Team honors and finished top-five in DPOY voting three times. He led the league in minutes played at 39.9 a night in ‘85-86 while averaging 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, a career-high 9.2 assists, and 2.5 steals across all 82 regular-season appearances. To this day, Cheeks is first in 76ers franchise history in steals (1,942) and assists (6,212), highlighting his two-way dominance during his 15 seasons as a pro.
Caldwell Jones – 2 times (1981, 1982)
Jones spent three seasons in the ABA before making his NBA debut with Philly in 1976-77, leading the ABA in blocks twice and making an All-Star appearance in that span. He suited up for six campaigns with the Sixers, earning back-to-back All-Defensive First Team awards in 1980-81 and 1981-82. In that two-year stretch, ‘The Doctor of Defense’ averaged 7.6 points, 9.4 boards, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.7 blocks per game across 162 outings (128 starts). Following his tenure there, Jones played for the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs to wrap up his 17-year career.
Ben Simmons – 2 times (2020, 2021)
Injuries and off-court issues have derailed the latter half of Simmons’ seven-year career, but he was a significant factor in Philly’s “Trust the Process” era from 2016-17 to 2020-21. He won Rookie of the Year in 2018 after sitting out all of the previous season due to injury, then made three straight All-Star appearances over his final three years with the 76ers. Simmons led the NBA in steals at 2.1 per game in 2019-20 at age-23, adding 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 0.6 blocks, earning the first of two consecutive All-Defensive First Team honors. During that two-year stretch, he compiled 44 double-doubles and ten triple-doubles across 115 total contests, received his lone All-NBA Third Team nod, and finished fourth in DPOY voting in ‘20 and second in 2021.
Moses Malone – 1983
‘Big Mo’ spent five of his legendary 21 years as a pro in Philadelphia, but his four seasons with the franchise from 1982-83 to 1985-86 were some of the best in his career. In his debut campaign for the Sixers, Malone dominated with 24.5 points, a league-leading 15.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks across 78 outings. The Hall of Famer won a second straight MVP award while being named an All-Star, All-NBA First Team, and All-Defensive First Team. It was the third consecutive season in which Malone led the league in total rebounding and the sixth straight in which he paced the league in offensive rebounds. The ‘Chairman of the Boards’ holds the NBA’s all-time record for average offensive rebounds per game at 5.1 through 1,455 total contests.
Dikembe Mutombo – 2001
Mutombo split the 2000-01 campaign between the Atlanta Hawks and 76ers, suiting up for 26 of his 75 games in Philadelphia. The 2015 Hall of Fame inductee posted averages of 10.0 points, an NBA-best 13.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 2.7 blocks to earn his fourth career DPOY trophy alongside All-Star, All-NBA Second Team and All-Defensive First Team selections at age-34. Mutombo led the league in defensive (9.4) and offensive rebounds (4.1) and amassed 33 double-doubles, nine outings with 20-plus boards, and 15 outings with 5-plus blocks.
Robert Covington – 2018
Despite going undrafted in 2013, Covington carved out a solid 11-year career thanks to his skills on the defensive side of the ball. He spent a total of five seasons in Philly, but a two-year stretch stands out from the rest. In 2016-17, ‘RoCo’ finished fourth in the DPOY vote after going for 12.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks in 67 appearances. The following season, he averaged 12.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 spg and 0.9 bpg over 80 games, earning his lone All-Defensive First Team selection while placing eighth for DPOY.
