Theo Ratliff relished the most memorable season of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers
Theo #Theo
As far back as Philadelphia 76ers die-hard fans can remember, the 2000-01 season was the best year of Allen Iverson’s illustrious NBA career. Some may have overlooked it, but it was also the year during which Theo Ratliff played the most memorable 50 games of his career as Philly’s anchor on the defensive end.
With AI and Ratliff leading the Sixers on both ends, the team became a serious championship contender, and Iverson finished the season as the rightful MVP. However, Ratliff was derailed by a hand injury that ultimately undermined his case for winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. Even worse, it prompted Philly to trade him. The Sixers went on to compete for the NBA title and Theo could only wish he was part of it.
“The 2000-01 season [with Philadelphia]. It was kind of bittersweet because that was the year I got traded as well, but we were at the top of the league at the beginning of the season. We had the best record in the NBA at the time. I made All-Star for the first time, but I ended up breaking my hand. You know, leading in all these categories with my man Allen Iverson. Then, I ended up getting traded to the Hawks, so it was bittersweet,” Ratliff told HoopsHype in 2020.
It was still a blast
That season, Ratliff was undoubtedly the most efficient shotblocker in the league, wrapping up his injury-shortened All-Star season with 3.7 blocks per game. But by the time the Sixers were making their emphatic run for title contention, Theo was already with the Atlanta Hawks.
Despite finishing the campaign with another team and without an individual award, Ratliff is still all smiles whenever he looks back at his final stint with the Sixers.
“But it was fun all the way up until that point. (laughs),” the three-time NBA blocks champion concluded.
Theo could’ve been the missing piece
Another key factor in the success of the Sixers at the time was former Chicago Bulls forward Toni Kukoc. Like Ratliff, Kukoc also thinks about the coulda, woulda, shoulda of the 2001 Sixers sometimes.
For Kukoc, who already won three NBA championships when he arrived in Philly, that team had a fighting chance to win the chip, if only he and Ratliff weren’t shipped to Atlanta.
“Theo got hurt in January and Larry Brown thought they needed to bring a center to the playoffs and Theo and I got traded [to Atlanta]. Then they [Philadelphia] lost the 10-game advantage, ended up second behind the Lakers, lost home court advantage, went to Los Angeles and won the first game but lost four straight. I really thought we had a chance. That team had a chance to win a championship,” Kukoc once reflected.