Jordan coached the Kings and Wizards to a 230-288 record in 6 1/2 years before he was fired by Washington after a 1-10 start in 2007-08. He was the assistant head coach and Ed Stefanski (now the 76ers president) was the assistant GM on the Nets' 2001-02 and 2002-03 teams that went to the NBA Finals.

"He embodies all the qualities I was looking for in the next head coach of the Sixers, and we are very excited to have him in Philadelphia," Stefanski said.

In a conference call May 11 to announce that Tony DiLeo had stepped down as coach, Stefanski said he realized how important this decision is.

"The coach is going to be the leader of these guys," Stefanski said. "We will get it right. We'll do our due diligence and get the best candidate to lead the Sixers where everyone wants us to be led."

Others interviewed included Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis and Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey. Both had brief stretches as head coaches -- Rambis compiled a 24-13 record to close out the Lakers' lockout-shortened 1999 season, and Casey went 53-69 in 1 1/2 seasons with the Timberwolves.

Philadelphia finished 41-41 this season, going 32-27 under DiLeo.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT: Andre Iguodala's buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the Sixers a 94-93 victory over the Lakers at the Staples Center on March 17. It capped a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback against the best team in the Western Conference and gave the Sixers a four-game win streak, not to mention plenty of confidence that they could play with elite teams, both home and away.

TURNING POINT: Signing Elton Brand to a five-year, $82 million free agent contract July 9. That gave the Sixers four players (Brand, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert and Andre Miller) earning at least $10 million this season and served to hamstring the Sixers financially for years to come. Unless Brand plays at a much higher level than he did in an injury-plagued 29-game first season in Philly, this could turn out to be a really bad move.