Sixers are all over Bleacher Report’s “50 Worst Trades Ever” list and it’s both painful and hilarious

Bleacher Report ranked the 50 worst trades in NBA history and the Sixers are plastered all over it. Not once. Not twice. Eight different times.

Some of these are the classic Philly self-inflicted disasters that set the franchise back years. Others are the rare moments where another team completely lost their mind and handed the Sixers a franchise changer.

Either way, it’s the full Sixers trade history experience in one list, so let’s run through every Philly entry with the full packages and the LUKA and fan vote ranks included.

No. 50: The Jeff Hornacek Trade That Quietly Screwed the Sixers

76ers get: Jeff Malone, 1st-Rd Pick
Jazz get: Jeff Hornacek, Sean Green, 2nd-Rd Pick
LUKA Rank: 19th
Fan Vote: 54th

Most younger NBA fans only know Jeff Hornacek as the clean-cut third wheel next to John Stockton and Karl Malone, like he was born to hit corner threes and file taxes on time. But Hornacek was a real player before Utah.

He was an All-Star caliber guy, and in his lone full season with the Sixers he averaged 19.1 points and 6.9 assists while shooting 39% from three. That is not “nice role player” production. That is “why are we trading this guy” production.

So of course, the Sixers traded him anyway.

In return, they got Jeff Malone, who made a couple All-Star teams back in the 1980s and then came to Philly and played 71 games total. He made his last NBA appearance in 1996, two years after the Hornacek trade.

Hornacek, meanwhile, turned into a core piece on deep playoff Jazz teams. This is ranked 50th, which tells you it is not the flashiest disaster, but it is the purest form of Sixers dysfunction. Find value. Panic. Trade value. Repeat.

No. 33: Brooklyn Hands Philly James Harden, Then Regrets It Immediately

76ers get: James Harden, Paul Millsap
Nets get: Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons, 2 1st-Rd Picks
LUKA Rank: 28th
Fan Vote: 35th

This one being on the list is hilarious because it is not even really a Sixers L. It is a Nets L. Brooklyn’s superteam with Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant imploded so fast it should be studied by NASA. By the time the deal happened, Harden leaving felt inevitable, but he was still Harden, averaging 22.5 points and 10.2 assists at the time.

And the big “star” coming back was Ben Simmons, who had already missed the first half of the season due to a back injury and/or a holdout, and was fresh off the infamous Hawks series meltdown that basically broke his reputation in real time.

By the time Simmons reached Brooklyn, his career was already trending toward the cliff. He wound up playing just 90 games for the Nets, averaging 6.5 points, and as of now is no longer in the league.

The Nets still have one of those first-rounders coming, so maybe they salvage this a little. But right now, it reads like Brooklyn traded a sports car for a broken treadmill and two mystery boxes.

No. 23: Trading Up for Markelle Fultz, a Move That Still Haunts the City

Celtics Get: 2 1st-Rd Picks (Jayson Tatum later selected with one)
76ers Get: 1st-Rd Pick (Markelle Fultz)
LUKA Rank: listed in the Top 50
Fan Vote: listed in the Top 50

We do not even have to do the whole “in hindsight” thing here. Everybody knew what this trade became the second the Celtics turned around and drafted Jayson Tatum.

The Sixers traded up for Markelle Fultz, the pick swap became an instant nightmare, and it is still the type of move that gets brought up whenever someone tries to argue the franchise has learned from its mistakes.

This is the ultimate example of the Process-era curse. Not just missing on a player, but missing on a player while handing a rival the guy you should have taken.

No. 18: Trading Charles Barkley and Getting Back a Pile of Guys

Suns Get: Charles Barkley
76ers Get: Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, Tim Perry
LUKA Rank: listed in the Top 50
Fan Vote: listed in the Top 50

Trading Charles Barkley is an all-time “what are we doing” moment. It does not matter what era, what context, what contract situation, none of it. Barkley is Barkley. He is a generational monster.

You do not trade him and then walk away with a return that does not come close to matching his value. That deal set the tone for years, and if you ever wonder why older Sixers fans are naturally suspicious of the front office, this is part of the reason.

No. 11: Four-team Dwight Howard deal that brought Andrew Bynum to Philly (2012)

Lakers get: Dwight Howard, Earl Clark, Chris Duhon
76ers get: Andrew Bynum, Jason Richardson
Magic get: Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Christian Eyenga, Josh McRoberts, Maurice Harkless, Nikola Vucevic, 1st-Rd Pick, 2nd-Rd Pick
Nuggets get: Andre Iguodala
LUKA Rank: 23rd
Fan Vote: 14th

This trade is the definition of “I understand why they did it” and also “this ruined everything.”

Andrew Bynum was 24 years old coming off a season where he averaged 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds, made the All-Star team, and was Second Team All-NBA. He was a key contributor on two Lakers title teams. There is a universe where he comes to Philly and turns into a superstar. That is what the Sixers were chasing.

Instead, he played zero games. Not one. Injuries prevented him from ever suiting up, and by 2014 he was out of the league entirely. In hindsight, losing Andre Iguodala, the bridge from the Allen Iverson era, for absolutely nothing and one season of post-prime Jason Richardson is an unforgivable franchise disaster.

No. 9: 76ers trade Wilt Chamberlain to the Lakers (1968)

Lakers get: Wilt Chamberlain
76ers get: Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark, Darrall Imhoff
LUKA Rank: 17th
Fan Vote: 10th

Wilt wanted more money and reportedly wanted an ownership stake after retiring, and the Sixers decided to move the walking cheat code. Bleacher Report notes the numbers he was averaging in the seasons leading up to it: 27.3 points, 24.2 rebounds, and 7.2 assists over the three prior seasons.

The return was not “nothing,” but it was also not Wilt. Four years later he wins a title with the Lakers, because of course he does.

No. 5: Warriors trade Wilt Chamberlain to the 76ers (1965)

76ers get: Wilt Chamberlain
Warriors get: Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer, Paul Neumann, 1st-Rd Pick, Cash
LUKA Rank: 4th
Fan Vote: 2nd

Now for the fun part, where the other team is the one wearing the clown shoes. The Warriors trading Wilt to Philly is ranked fifth-worst ever on Bleacher Report’s list, which tells you everything. Philly got a franchise-altering superstar and Golden State got a pile of names plus a pick plus cash.

No. 3: Nets trade Julius Erving to the 76ers (1973)

76ers get: Julius Erving
Nets get: Cash
LUKA Rank: 1st
Fan Vote: 4th

This one is basically a felony. The Nets trading Julius Erving for cash is ranked third-worst trade ever, with Bleacher Report’s LUKA putting it at No. 1 overall.

If you ever needed a reminder that pro sports used to be run like a loose group chat, here it is.

The full Sixers experience in one scroll.

Philly has managed to be both the team that fumbles obvious value and the team that occasionally benefits from another franchise doing something that should have required adult supervision. It is painful, but it is also kind of perfect.

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