Billy Cunnigham has coached the most games for the 76ers at 650 games.
The 76ers are one of the league’s most storied franchises with 54 playoff appearances and three championships to their credit. They’ve had some legendary coaches help fuel that success over the years, and this article will highlight the top five leaders for most games coached for the Sixers.
Billy Cunningham – 650 games coached (1978-85)
Cunningham helped usher in one of the most successful eras in 76ers history. He took over at age 34 in the 1977-78 season and helped fuel a 53-win season. Two years later, the 76ers won 59 games and made it to the NBA Finals. Another Eastern Conference championship followed in 1982 before Cunningham and the 76ers reached the mountaintop with an NBA title in 1983.
That 1983 team won 65 regular-season games and greatly benefited from the addition of Moses Malone, who won MVP. The 76ers rolled through the postseason, dropping just one game in three series and capping it off with a sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers. Cunningham would coach the 76ers for two more seasons, and he still stands as the franchise’s winningest coach with 454 victories.
Brett Brown – 565 games coached (2014-2020)
Brown coached the 76ers during their “Process” era, navigating the team through a rebuild during his first four seasons before earning three consecutive playoff berths. It stands as one of the more unique coaching tenures in recent NBA history as Brown had to endure some tough stretches in the early goings before the team’s young core finally clicked in 2018.
In 2018, the 76ers nearly doubled their win total from their previous season, going from 28 to 52 wins and earning the No.3 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. That team advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals before bowing out to the Celtics in five games. Brown’s 76ers went on to make the playoffs each of the following two seasons before being replaced by Doc Rivers ahead of the 2020-21 season.
Al Cervi – 495 games coached (1950-57)
Cervi was the first coach in 76ers history who helped get the franchise established as a contender in the NBA. The then Syracuse Nationals went 51-13 in their first season in the league and made it all the way to the NBA Finals, where they would lose to the Minneapolis Lakers. The team would remain contenders the next four seasons with playoff appearances in each of those campaigns.
In 1955, Cervi and the Nationals finally broke through and won their first title by outlasting the Pistons in a seven-game set. Cervi would coach two more seasons after that run to a championship.
Larry Brown – 460 games coached (1998-2003)
Brown is among the most accomplished coaches in league history, ranking sixth all-time in games coached and ninth in wins while also having coached one team to a title. His run with the 76ers was a notable one as it coincided with Allen Iverson’s ascent into superstardom.
The peak of Brown’s Philadelphia tenure came in 2001 when the 76ers won the Eastern Conference and faced the Lakers in the NBA Finals. After leaving Philadelphia, Brown coached the Pistons, Nets and Bobcats.
Alex Hannum – 402 games coached (1961-63, 1966-68)
Hannum is one of the most successful coaches in franchise history, ranking third in win percentage at 63.9 percent. He initially took over in the 1960-61 season and stayed there for three seasons and then spent time coaching the San Francisco Warriors before reuniting with the franchise.
Hannum was an instant success upon taking over the 76ers in 1966, helping to pilot them to an NBA championship in an era otherwise dominated by the Celtics. That 76ers team was the only non-Celtics champion from 1959 through 1969. After his stint with the 76ers, Hannum coached the Oakland Oaks (ABA), San Diego Rockets (NBA), and Denver Rockets (ABA).
