Greatest NBA Playoff Heartbreak: The Philadelphia 76ers Blowing a 3-1 Lead Over Boston in 1981

In late 1976, the Philadelphia 76ers pulled off a deal with the New Jersey Nets to acquire Julius Erving, better known as "Dr. J". It was quite a coup, getting the most exciting, electrifying player in the game of basketball at the time, adding the good doctor to an already solid team. With Dr. J soaring and swooping over opponents with highlight reel dunks, finger rolls and gravity defying grace around the rim, the 76ers went all the way to the NBA Finals.

Unfortunately, after taking a 2 games to none lead over the Portland Trailblazers, the team folded, losing the last four games in unlikely fashion. That started a trend of losing in the NBA Finals or losing in the Eastern Conference Finals every season for the next 4 years. The following year, 1978, the Philadelphia 76ers adopted the motto "we owe you one" in an attempt to soothe the feelings of their long-suffering fans. They lost to the eventual NBA Champion Washington Bullets. In 1980, the Sixers even lost in the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in the deciding game 6 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sidelined by an injury and rookie Earvin "Magic" Johnson taking over at center.

However, the unkindest cut of all was in 1981 when the 76ers lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the hated Boston Celtics in seven games. After leading 3-1 after 4 games.The Sixers dominated the first four games to the point where even a Boston homer like CBS' Dick Stockton was practically waving a white flag. Almost nobody outside of Beantown gave the Celtics a chance.

For those who weren't born yet or are too young to remember, in those days many of the games, even in the Conference Finals, were only shown on tape delay, hours after the games had been played. I had to work nights a lot then and was in disbelief after being told the Philadelphia 76ers had completed the "el foldo" in Game 7 after leading 3-1. I had to see it myself to believe it. I remember staying up well past midnight to watch. Though the NBA has never been my favorite sport, I took an interest in the league when the NBA and ABA merged and Julius Erving became a household name.

I was familiar with the ABA when my family lived in easrtern Arkansas with an ABA franchise in nearby Memphis. I was thrilled when the wide open ABA merged with the staid, older NBA. It brought exciting players such as Julius Erving, George Gervin and others into the mainstream. I didn't have a favorite NBA team until Dr. J joined the 76ers, after which I became a fan of the team. Even though the1977-80 seasons ended in disappointment for Philadelphia, to me those losses were nothing compared to losing to the Boston Celtics in 7 games after leading 3-1.

Nearly all of my friends and softball teammates were rooting for the 76ers to finally break through and win "the big one". There were a few Celtic fans in the area what with the team having won so much in the 60's and so many people of Irish or Scottish descent in Arkansas. I am one of them, but I still hated the arrogant Celtics with Red Auerbach and his obnoxious cigar even though he no longer coached the team.

There were not a lot of sports bars here then. Sometimes I would watch with friends, but mostly watched alone late at night due to the tape delayed games and my work schedule. Nearly everyone had conceded victory to the 76ers only to see it slip away with three consecutive losses to end the season. My friend and teammate Billy and I were in disbelief when we heard the news of game 7 and still had to see for ourselves.

Because it was on late at night, we didn't get a chance to compare notes and commiserate in our misery for a couple of days. And of all teams, it had to be the Boston Celtics with the incredible comeback. Of course, the Celtics went on to win the NBA Finals that year, beating the Houston Rockets easily. A victory that should have belonged to the Philadelphia 76ers in the opinions of me and most of my friends.