The Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers have met twice before in the NBA Playoffs. The divisional rivals first squared up in 2001 and most recently in 2019. The winner of those series advanced to the NBA Finals both times. Could this 2022 matchup determine the Eastern Conference Champions again?
In 2022, these two franchises will try to out-duel each other again. There are familiar faces on both sides of 2019’s epic series thanks to Philadelphia stars Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris. Toronto still has championship-caliber talent in Pascal Siakam and Fred Vanvleet, among others.
New players like James Harden for Philly and rookie sensation Scottie Barnes for Toronto will also try to make their mark in this next chapter of the playoff rivalry between the City of Brotherly Love and The Six.
Here are some outstanding memories that a Toronto-Philly playoff series have produced. Be it Allen Iverson going supernova or a certain buzzer-beater that left the entire state of Pennsylvania comatose, these two are usually good for some fireworks.
Toronto Raptors-Philadelphia 76ers playoff history
1. Philly’s Answer has the answer to the Raptors in 2001.
More a series of moments than just one that stood out, the second-round series between Toronto and Philadelphia resulted in some high moments in the careers of both Iverson and Vince Carter.
In Games 2 and 5, Iverson lived up to his reputation, scoring 54 and 52 points, respectively. Both games resulted in key wins in a seven-game series that saw Philadelphia come out on top. Iverson also put up 21 points and 16 assists in what became the clincher.
Allen Iverson made his name against the Toronto Raptors.
Iverson, who averaged 31.1 points per game during that regular season, was no less amazing during the 2001 Playoffs, averaging over 30 points per game in all four series for Philly. Even though he lost to the Shaq-Kobe Lakers, his insane scoring output was not the reason why.
This shot sent the Raptors into such a deep funk that they didn’t win another playoff series until 2016. While the era of Raptors basketball in between those dates was the farthest thing from entertaining basketball at times, they did eventually get their revenge on their conference rivals.