Ranking the top 5 small forwards in Philadelphia 76ers history

The small forward position is always one of prestige. A lot of great athletes have played the position from Larry Bird to LeBron James to Julius “Dr. J” Erving. The position is marked by greatness and guys who can do a lot of different things and for the Philadelphia 76ers, that goes for them as well.

Considering the free agency frenzy is done, and the offseason moves for the Sixers are just about wrapped up, now is the time to debate some basketball of the past and Philadelphia history.

We have already made our lists for the top five point guards in the franchise’s history as well as the list for the shooting guards. Naturally, we move on to the small forwards as we go down the list of positions:

Honorable mention

Clarence Weatherspoon

Weatherspoon was a part of the 90’s Sixers teams that were pretty bad, but he was one of the few reliable parts of that team. He averaged 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds with 2.0 assists during his time in Philadelphia. He wasn’t flashy, but he kept his nose to the grind and he worked hard for everything he got.

5. Robert Covington

A true champion of the “Process”, Covington turned himself into a starter in the NBA. With Philadelphia, he averaged 12.2 points and 5.4 rebounds across two stints in Philadelphia and he is second on the Sixers' all-time list in 3-pointers made with 724. He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 2018.

4. Chet Walker

A Hall of Famer, Walker was a big part of the 1967 title team. He was an All-Star three times in Philadelphia and he averaged 16.2 points and 7.9 rebounds in a Sixers uniform. He was an important piece next to Wilt Chamberlain back in those days.

3. Andre Iguodala

Iguodala gets a bad rep amongst Sixers fans due to his inability to step up and be “the man” the team was hoping he would become, but his impact on the franchise cannot be understated. He was named an All-Star in 2012, he’s fourth in Sixers history in steals, he’s sixth in assists, and he’s ninth in points. He was a good 2-way player.

2. Billy Cunningham

Cunningham was a ‘tweener as he was able to swing between both the 3 and the 4 and he was able to produce at either spot. He spent the first seven seasons of his career in Philadelphia before leaving for the Carolina Cougars of the ABA for two seasons before returning. He averaged 20.8 points and 10.1 rebounds in his time with the Sixers and was named an All-Star in four seasons.

1. Julius Erving

Just like with Allen Iverson and the shooting guards list, was there any doubt who number 1 was going to be? The good doctor threw the Sixers on his back on plenty of occasions and he averaged 22.0 points and 6.7 rebounds while being named an All-Star in all 11 of his seasons in Philadelphia. When the Sixers won the title in 1983, the MVP may have gone to Moses Malone, but there was no doubt that that was Erving’s team.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Ranking the top 5 small forwards in Philadelphia 76ers history