With the hiring of Eddie Jordan as the new head coach of the 76ers, I thought I would examine the 21 coaches that preceeded to him and determine the top 10 coaches in Sixers history. Just how big are these shoes that Jordan is gearing up to fill? Umm, well, not that big really.

I determined the top 10 by win percentage, and each coach had to have coached at least 82 games (one complete regular season).

1. Billy Cunningham (1978-1985) – Cunningham was originally drafted by the Sixers in 1965, and played much of his rookie season as a sixth man off the bench, but was good enough to be named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. He became the head coach on November 4, 1977, and coached some of the best team in the Sixers’ history. His teams included Sixers’ legends Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Moses Malone, and Dr. J – Julius Erving. He led the 76ers to 3 Atlantic Division Titles in 1978, 1981, and 1983. He reached the 200, 300, and 400-win milestone faster than any coach in NBA history. Cunningham is best known for coaching the 1982-83 team, in which the Sixers had a NBA best 65-17 record and went on to win the NBA Championship, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. The Sixers’ 12-1 record in the playoffs of that year is the second best playoff record in NBA history, behind the 2000-01 Lakers, who went 15-1. Ironically, the Lakers lone loss that year was in Game 1 of the Finals, to the Sixers. Ultimately, Cunningham spent seven seasons as a coach with the Sixers, coaching a total of 650 regular season games with a record of 454-196 (.698). He coached 105 playoff games, by far the most in team history, with a record of 66-39 (.629).
2. Alex Hannum (1960-1963, 1966-1968) – Hannum had two stints with the Sixers franchise. He was the coach of the Syracuse Nationals from 1960-63, leaving the year the team moved to Philadelphia. He returned two years later in 1966 for a two year stint. Hannum coached the Wilt Chamberlain led Sixers to the NBA Finals in 1967, beating the Boston Celtics and ending their eight year championship run. The only two years that Celtics’ center Bill Russell did not win a championship were 1958 (when a Hannum led St. Louis Hawks team beat the Celtics) and in 1967. Hannum coached three different players who would go on to be coaches of the 76ers themselves, Dolpha Schayes, Cunningham, and Matt Guokas. In 402 games coached with the Sixers, he won  257 games (.639) and in 46 playoff games, he had 26 wins (.565). Hannum was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1998.
3. Al Cervi (1950-1957) – Cervi was the first coach in franchise history, spending all eight seasons in Syracuse. He was a player coach for the Nats from 1948-1950. During his tenure win Syracuse, the Nats would make the playoffs six times, the Eastern Finals five times, and the NBA Finals three times, winning the championship in 1955. In 495 regular season games, Cervi coached the Nats to a record of 294-201 (.594). He would coach 60 playoffs games, winning 34 (.567) of them.
4. Matt Guokas (1986-1988) – Guokas replaced his former teammate Billy Cunningham as coach of their former team in 1986. Guokas played on the 1967 Sixers team with Chamberlain, Cunningham, and Hal Greer that ended the Celtics eight year championship run. Guokas spent just two seasons as coach of the Sixers and is better known as the head coach of the Orlando Magic, where he spent several seasons after his coaching tenure ended as a color commentator on the team’s television broadcasts. Guokas and his father, Matt Guokas Sr., were the first father-son duo to both win an NBA Championship as players. In 207 games coaching the Sixers, Guokas compiled a record of 119-88 (.575), and in 17 playoff games he had a record of just 8-9 (.471).
5. Paul Seymour (1957-1960) – Seymour coached the Nationals in between Cervi and Hannum’s first term with the franchise. Like Cervi, Seymour spent several seasons as a player-coach with the Nationals. In 279 games with the Nationals, Seymour won 155 (.556) games, winning just nine of 20 (.450) playoff games.
6. Larry Brown (1998-2003) – The Sixers’ most well known coach, at least in the modern era (some would argue that Cunningham is the most well known Sixers coach), is also the team’s second longest tenured coach, Larry Brown. It is somewhat telling of the carousel nature of coaching with the 76ers, and coaching in the NBA as a whole, that a man infamously known for not staying with a single team for an extended period of time is the second most tenured coach in team history. Brown is most well known for his rocky relationship with his star guard Allen Iverson. Brown is largely regarded around the league as one of the greatest teachers in NBA history, and despite their often times contentious relationship, Iverson said in 2005 that Brown was, without a doubt, “the best coach in the world.” The Sixers steadily improved over Brown’s first few years in town, ultimately making the NBA Finals in 2001 against the Lakers. Unfortunately, things would deteriorate for Brown, Iverson, and the Sixers over the following two seasons, and Brown ultimately resigned on Memorial Day 2003. He would leave the Sixers, who remain his longest tenured stop as a coach, with a record of 255-205 (.554) in 460 games. In 58 playoff games, Brown had a record of just 28-30 (.483). He would be named the NBA Coach of the Year for the 2000-01 season and was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame on September 27, 2002, while still with the Sixers.
7. Dolph Schayes (1964-1966) – Schayes is another product of the Al Cervi coaching era, a member of the 1955 championship Nationals team, and 12-time All Star. He played for the Nationals and Sixers from 1948-1964. Schayes was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame and was named one of the NBA 50 Greatest Players in 1996. Upon retirement in 1964, Schayes held the NBA records for career scoring (19,249 points) and games played (1,059). In 240 regular season games coached, Schayes has a record of 129-111 (.538). In 21 playoff games, Schayes is 9-12 (.429).
8. Jack Ramsay (1969-1972) – Aside from Cunningham and Brown, the Sixers most notable coach is Dr. Jack Ramsay, although he is not all that well known for being a coach in Philly. Ramsay started his coaching career in 1955 with the Saint Joe’s Hawks in Philadelphia where he coached until 1966. Immediately after leaving the Hawks, Dr. Jack was hired as the general manager of the Sixers and just a couple seasons later he would become the team’s coach. During his four seasons as coach of the team, Ramsay took the Sixers to the playoffs three times. Nevertheless, his tenure in Philadelphia is better known for his time in the front office then on the bench. Ramsay was responsible for trading away fan favorite and arguably the best big man in NBA history, Wilt Chamberlain, to the Lakers for considerably lesser talent in return. The Wilt trade, as well as a poor trade sending away Chet Walker, put the team on the road to oblivion. After the 1971-72 season, Ramsay could see the writing on the wall and left to be the head coach of the Buffalo Braves. He would later go on to be the coach of the Bill Walton led Portland Trailblazers, winning the franchise’s only title in his first season. In four seasons as coach of the Sixers, Dr. Jack had a record of 174-154 (.530) in 328 games. In 17 playoff games, Ramsay has the second worst record in team playoff history at 5-12 (.294).
9. Jim Lynam (1988-1992) – Lynam has spent most of his career with the Sixers, whether as the head coach, general manager, or assistant coach. Lynam was sitting on the bench in Philadelphia as an assistant as recently as last season, as an assistant to Maurice Cheeks and Tony DiLeo. Lynam replaced Matt Guokas midway through the 1988 season after the team started with a record of 20-23. Lynam would finish the season with a record of 16-23, ending up 36-46 on the season. He was an assistant to Guokas before being named as the head coach. It was the first time the Sixers did not reach the playoffs since the 1974-75 season. Lynam would ultimately coach 267 games as head coach of the Sixers, with a record of 194-173 (.529). In 21 playoff games, Lynam was 8-13 (.381).
10. Jim O’Brien (2004-2005) – Many people may be surprised, as was I, that O’Brien would make this list, but it goes to show how the Sixers’ best years have been grouped together in just a few top coaching tenures. The Sixers made the playoffs in O’Brien’s only year as coach, despite not making the playoffs the season before, or making the playoffs after he left until 2008. His year in Philadelphia was rather unfortunate, as it was initially seen as a homecoming for a guy who attended Roman Catholic High School and later St. Joe’s University. O’Brien is the son-in-law of Ramsay, who coached the Hawks before he became the coach of the Sixers. During O’Brien’s single season with the Sixers, Iverson was moved back to point guard from the shooting guard position and had perhaps his best season. Many people were pleasantly surprised with Iverson’s willingness and ability to get other players involved in the game. During that season the Sixers acquired Chris Webber and then rookie Andre Iguodala was named to the All-Rookie First Team. The team ended the season with a record of 43-39 (.524), but lost in just five games in the first round of the playoffs to Larry Brown’s Detroit Pistons.

*Tony DiLeo’s winning percentage of (.542) from a record of 32-27 are actually seventh best in team history, just after Larry Brown, but his 59 games coached did not meet my 82 game minimum criteria.