The First Pick Philadelphia Gave Away
There is something almost cruel about looking at the Philadelphia 76ers in the spring of 1986. They were not rebuilding. They were not drifting through a decade of irrelevance, waiting for the lottery to rescue them. They were 54-28, two years removed from one of the most dominant championships in NBA history, and still carrying Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks and a 22-year-old Charles Barkley who had already become one of the league’s most difficult frontcourt matchups. Barkley had become a 20-point, 12-rebound force in his second season. Cheeks remained one of the league's best defensive point guards. Malone was still an All-Star center. Erving, at 35, remained productive enough to command attention every night. Philadelphia looked like a contender nearing the end of one era while somehow holding the best asset of the next one. The reason was a trade made seven years earlier. In 1979, the San Diego Clippers sent their 1986 first-round pick to Philadelphia for Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. By the time the 1986 lottery arrived, the Clippers were bad, Philadelphia was good, and the old trade ticket turned into the No. 1 selection. Boston owned Seattle's pick at No. 2. Golden State was third. Indiana fourth. Philadelphia also possessed another first-rounder at No. 21. The Sixers had a bridge between generations sitting in their hands. Then they traded it. Before the draft, Philadelphia sent the first pick to Cleveland for Roy Hinson and cash. Cleveland used the selection on North Carolina center Brad Daugherty. Boston chose Maryland forward Len Bias second. On the same day, Philadelphia also sent Moses Malone and Terry Catledge to Washington in a separate deal that brought back Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson. The reasoning was understandable in real time. Philadelphia's basketball people actually preferred Daugherty among the prospects at the top, and Hinson was a productive 25-year-old forward coming off a 19.6-point season. The Sixers believed they were replacing aging pieces with players who could help immediately. That belief collapsed quickly. Ruland's body failed him. Hinson lasted less than two seasons in Philadelphia. The old championship core disappeared faster than the organization expected. And Bias never played an NBA game at all. That is where the real history ends. The divergence begins with one decision. Philadelphia keeps the pick. Then, rather than taking the center its staff actually preferred, the Sixers bet on the most explosive forward in the draft. They select Len Bias No. 1 overall. Philadelphia already has Charles Barkley. Now the league has to figure out what to do with both of them.
June 17, 1986: Philadelphia Chooses Bias
The first part of the divergence is simple: Philadelphia says no to Cleveland. The second part requires a stronger choice. The actual Sixers had been prepared to draft Brad Daugherty before the Roy Hinson trade appeared. So this alternate history does not pretend Bias was always Philadelphia's inevitable selection. The organization has to change its evaluation. It has to decide that Barkley's presence is not a reason to avoid another forward, but a reason to collect overwhelming talent and solve the positional questions later. That is exactly what it does. Len Bias becomes the first pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. Boston, holding the second selection from Seattle, takes Daugherty. The Malone trade to Washington still happens. It had its own logic, negotiations and timetable. Philadelphia still receives Ruland and Cliff Robinson. But instead of pairing those veterans with Hinson, the Sixers add the most dynamic young forward available. Bias arrives as a 6-foot-8 scorer whose senior season at Maryland had established both production and polish. He could elevate over defenders in the midrange, run the floor, finish violently and attack without needing the same physical leverage Barkley used. His free-throw touch suggested a foundation for shooting development even if the three-point line was not yet central to forward play. The pairing looks awkward only if positions are treated as fixed addresses. Barkley is already a rebounder who can start the break himself. Bias can sprint the wing. Barkley can punish a smaller defender inside. Bias can rise over one from fifteen feet. Barkley creates collisions. Bias creates space above them. Julius Erving spends his final season as something more valuable than an aging scorer. He becomes the bridge. He has carried Philadelphia as a superstar. Now he shows two young stars how to live inside expectations, how to share attention and how to understand that a franchise can belong to more than one player without belonging to neither. Maurice Cheeks supplies order. Ruland's physical breakdown creates an immediate problem at center, but it also prevents Philadelphia from clinging too long to an old construction. The Sixers stop trying to recreate 1983. They start discovering what Barkley and Bias can become together.
Barkley and Bias: Basketball Without a TemplatePREMIUM
Continue this timeline
This section is available to Sports Rewritten members. Checking your membership access…
View MembershipDr. J Leaves the Keys BehindPREMIUM
Member-only section.
Detroit, Chicago and the Education of a ContenderPREMIUM
Member-only section.
1991: Philadelphia Breaks ThroughPREMIUM
Member-only section.
1992: The MVP and the Dream TeamPREMIUM
Member-only section.
1993: Philadelphia Builds Instead of BreakingPREMIUM
Member-only section.
Nick Van Exel and the Next Version of the SixersPREMIUM
Member-only section.
1994 and 1995: Houston TwicePREMIUM
Member-only section.
1996: Seventy-Two Wins Meet the Wrong OpponentPREMIUM
Member-only section.
The Rivalry That Replaces Magic and BirdPREMIUM
Member-only section.
1996: The Draft Falls Into Another UniversePREMIUM
Member-only section.
Mutombo and the Last Great ChasePREMIUM
Member-only section.
The Last RunPREMIUM
Member-only section.
Historical Anchors and Simulation NotesPREMIUM
Member-only section.
THE DISCUSSION
Comments
No approved comments yet. Start the conversation.