Barkley, Malone, Dr. J
It is unfortunate that Charles Barkley joined the 76ers in 1984 and not sooner. If he had been born just a few years early, the Philadelphia big 3 of Barkley, Moses Malone and Julius Erving could be considered as the greatest ever. Malone and Dr. J had led the team to the NBA title in 1982-83, and were considered by many as one of the most exciting teams to ever grace the NBA. The team swept the Lakers in four games and Malone took home the NBA MVP award. Once Barkley arrived, the trio were only together for three seasons. The second of them was the team’s most successful as the 76ers won 58 games and qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals. Philadelphia was stopped there by the Celtics, and a year later, the Bucks would eliminate the 76ers in the Easter Conference Semifinals. It wouldn’t be until both Malone and Dr. J left Philadelphia that Barkley would cement himself as a top NBA player. The 1987 season marked his first of 11 straight NBA All-Star appearances.