1994–95 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1994–95 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 46th season for the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association, and their 32nd season in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[1] The 76ers received the sixth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected power forward Sharone Wright out of Clemson University.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agents Scott Williams,^[5] Jeff Grayer, undrafted rookie power forward Derrick Alston, and then signed Willie Burton during the first month of the regular season.^[6][7][8] The 76ers also hired John Lucas as their new head coach and General Manager.^[9][10]

Under Lucas and with the addition of Wright, Burton and Williams, the 76ers struggled losing six of their first seven games of the regular season. After a 10–16 start to the season, the team posted a nine-game losing streak between December and January, as Jeff Malone only played just 19 games due to a sprained ankle, and was out for the remainder of the season.^[11][12] After holding a 14–34 record at the All-Star break,^[13] the 76ers posted an eight-game losing streak in March, and finished in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 24–58 record.^[14]

Dana Barros averaged 20.6 points, 7.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and led the 76ers with 197 three-point field goals; he shot .464 in three-point field-goal percentage, shot .899 in free-throw percentage, and was named the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year.^[15][16][17] In addition, Malone averaged 18.4 points per game, while Clarence Weatherspoon provided the team with 18.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and Burton contributed 15.3 points per game and 106 three-point field goals. Meanwhile, Wright provided with 11.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and second-year star Shawn Bradley played a full season, averaging 9.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game. Grayer contributed 8.3 points per game in only just 47 games, Williams provided with 6.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and Alston averaged 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.^[18]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Barros was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his first and only All-Star appearance.^[19][20][21] In addition, Barros also participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the third consecutive year,^[22][23] while Wright was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Green team,^[22][24] and Tim Perry participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest for the third time.^[22][23]

The 76ers finished 25th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 507,806 at the CoreStates Spectrum during the regular season, which was the third-lowest in the league.^[18][25] Following the season, Barros signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics,^[26][27][28] while Burton and Grayer were both released to free agency, and first-round draft pick B.J. Tyler was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Toronto Raptors expansion team.^[29][30][31]

For the season, the 76ers redesigned their home and road uniforms, adding blue side panels to their jerseys and shorts; these uniforms would remain in use until 1997.^[32][33]