Philadelphia Raises the Banner: The 76ers Are NBN Champions

Philadelphia 76ers finished the NBN postseason with a statement four-one victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals, clinching the championship in Game 5. Across the city, the rallying cry was simple: Penny Hardaway had carried the Sixers over the finish line and been crowned the NBN Playoff MVP.

This was not a fairy tale that began with a surprise title run. Philadelphia sharpened its act at the right time, eliminating the New York Knicks 4-1 in Round 1, sweeping past the Washington Wizards 4-2 in the conference semifinals and rolling through the Brooklyn Nets 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Then came the heavyweight test: Dallas, the last Western Conference survivor.

The Mavericks had survived one of the postseason’s nastiest roads, but the Sixers turned that into rubble. Philadelphia won Game 5 and completed the final push. The NBN’s 2005 season now belongs to the 76ers—champions, standard-bearers and the team nobody could ignore once the playoff lights came on.

Series Scorecard: Two Giants, One Ring

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Hardaway’s Road to Playoff MVP

Penny Hardaway’s playoff résumé reads like a blueprint for total team control. The Sixers never entered a series as the star of the narrative; they became it by winning four straight games against the Knicks, erasing Washington in six and dismissing Brooklyn in five.

The Nets presented a bruising challenge with Shawn Marion averaging 29.2 points and a league-best 12.2 rebounds per game during the regular season. Philadelphia absorbed that physicality, kept its composure and closed the door before Brooklyn could turn a deep run into a fairy tale.

Then Dallas arrived. The Mavericks had a legitimate claim to the trophy, with Ron Mercer pouring in 29.9 points per game and Norm Van Lier adding 25.5 points and 9.5 assists. Game 5 was not merely the final game; it was the elimination game for one of the league’s most complete teams.

Hardaway seized the moment. His poise, playmaking and command of the closing possessions gave Philadelphia the edge, earning the series-clinching performance and the Playoff MVP trophy. When the horn sounded, the Sixers had completed their climb through every round without surrendering a series.

Why Dallas Came Up Short

The Mavericks’ journey was hardly a stroll. They opened by eliminating the Seattle SuperSonics 4-1, outlasted the Utah Jazz 4-3 and then delivered the postseason’s most emphatic statement by sweeping the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-0 in the Western Conference Finals.

That sweep revealed the problem, however. Dallas was excellent when it could dictate pace, especially against Oklahoma City, but Game 5 against Philadelphia offered far less room for error. The Sixers attacked the gaps, made Dallas defend its own momentum and forced the Mavericks into a pressure-cooker closing game.

Mercer’s scoring and Van Lier’s orchestration had powered the regular-season attack, but Dallas lacked the decisive advantage once every possession became playoff-critical. The Mavericks finished one win short. A 4-1 Finals defeat does not erase a conference championship, yet it magnifies the final lesson: one step from the summit is not the summit.

Three Biggest Postseason Surprises

  • The Raptors dethroned Atlanta. The Toronto Raptors eliminated the Atlanta Hawks 4-1 despite the Hawks’ star-heavy regular season. Carmelo Anthony averaged 29.7 points and 8.3 rebounds, while Chris Paul produced a ridiculous 28.3 points and 10.3 assists per game. Those numbers were magnificent in April; they ← All Articles