The

2003–04 NBA season The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. The 2003–04 NBA season was the culmination of ...

was the 76ers' 65th season, and their 55th in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. During the offseason, the Sixers acquired All-Star forward

Glenn Robinson Glenn Alan Robinson Jr. (born January 10, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Dog" and "the Chosen One", he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1994 to 2005 for the Milwaukee Bucks, Atl ...

from the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

and rookie

Kyle Korver Kyle Elliot Korver (born March 17, 1981) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for ...

, who was drafted by the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

. After Larry Brown left to become head coach of the Detroit Pistons, the Sixers hired

Randy Ayers Randall Duane Ayers (born April 16, 1956) is an American basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach (through a coaching advisor position) for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Ayers grew up in Springfield, Ohio ...

as his replacement. However, at midseason, Ayers was fired after a 21–31 start, and interim head coach

Chris Ford Christopher Joseph Ford (January 11, 1949 – January 17, 2023) was an American professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mad Bomber", Ford played most of his NBA career on the D ...

took over for the rest of the season. Superstar guard

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson ( ; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as both a shooting guard and point guard. As an NBA rook ...

had a rough year in which he had clashed with coaches and skipped a number of practices. Despite Iverson playing only 48 games due to injuries, he still was voted to start in the

2004 NBA All-Star Game The 2004 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 15, 2004, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the Lakers and Clippers. This game was the 53rd edition of the North American National Basketball ...

. Robinson finished second on the team in scoring averaging 16.6 points per game, but played just 42 games due to ankle and elbow injuries. The Sixers lost 15 more games than the previous season, finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 33–49 record and missing the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for the first time since

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. Following the season, Eric Snow was traded to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

Derrick Coleman Derrick Demetrius Coleman (born June 21, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Coleman attended Syracuse University and was selected first overall in the 1990 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets. Throughout his career, the ...

was traded to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, and Ford was fired.

Key dates

* June 26: The

took place in New York City. * July 1: The

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

period started. * October 7: The Sixers pre-season started with a game against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. * October 28: The Sixers season started with a game against the

Offseason

Draft picks

Draft day transactions

The 76ers selected French point guard

Paccelis Morlende Paccelis Morlende (born 19 April 1981) is a French basketball coach for U-17 team of the Hermine de Nantes Atlantique of the LNB Pro B and a former professional basketball player. Professional career Morlende's career started with JDA Dijon, w ...

with the 50th overall pick in the

. On draft day, the Sixers purchased

from the

. They also traded Morlende to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

for

Willie Green William Julius Green (born July 28, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played professionally in the NBA with th ...

. Green would play with the Sixers for seven seasons.

July

On July 16, the Sixers signed Amal McCaskill. McCaskill would play in more games with the Sixers than with all of his other previous NBA teams combined. One week later, the Sixers were involved in a four-team trade with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, the

, and the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. The Sixers traded

Keith Van Horn Keith Adam Van Horn (born October 23, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. A forward, Van Horn played for five teams in a National Basketball Association (NBA) career that spanned from 1997 to 2006. Van Horn finished his ...

to the Knicks, as well as

Randy Holcomb Randy Alfred Holcomb Jr. (born August 8, 1979), also known as Raed Farid Elhamali, is an American-Libyan businessman and former professional basketball player. After being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2002 NBA draft, Holcomb went on ...

and a 2007 first-round draft pick to the Hawks. The Hawks did not receive the draft pick because it was lottery protected, so they received cash instead. The Hawks traded

and a 2006 second-round draft pick to the Sixers. The Timberwolves traded

Marc Jackson Marc Anthony Jackson (born January 16, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2000 to 2007. He is a current television analyst of the Philadelphia 76 ...

to Philadelphia. Robinson would start all of the games he played in for Philadelphia. Jackson would only play in 22 games with the 76ers.

August–October

On August 8, the Sixers waived

Efthimios Rentzias Efthimios "Efthimis" Rentzias (alternate spellings: Efthymios, Efthymis; Greek: Ευθύμιος "Ευθύμης" Ρεντζιάς; born January 11, 1976) is a retired Greek professional basketball player. During his pro club career, he was most ...

. On October 11, the Sixers waived William Avery.

Roster

Roster Notes

* Center

Todd MacCulloch Todd Carlyle MacCulloch (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 47th overall pick in the 19 ...

Key dates

Offseason

Draft picks

Draft day transactions

July

August–October

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Record vs. opponents

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also