By Michael Malone
With Dr. J., Moses Malone and Charles Barkley long since departed or retired, the City of Brotherly Love had little love for their 76ers until Pat Croce, a tattooed and goateed biker and former team trainer, took over the club. With earnings from his chain of physical therapy centers, the hyperkinetic Philly native stepped in as minority owner and president in 1996. His first order of business was drafting a gifted ex-con named Allen Iverson to pilot the team's offense. The metamorphosis didn't occur overnight, and the Sixers finished the '96 campaign a lowly 22-60. But as the win total grew significantly each year, fans began coming back, and the Sixers have restored much of their former glory.
Croce's charges currently sit atop first place in the Eastern Conference, though this season has been anything but a joyride. The combustible Iverson cut a hip-hop album that makes Eminem sound like a modern-day Pat Boone, and mercurial coach Larry Brown went AWOL following a volatile team meeting in December. Croce has had his hands full keeping the Sixers on top amid the mayhem.
Speaking in exclamation points, doing magic tricks and hopping around an office decorated with a tricked-out Harley, an antique gas pump and an enormous framed photo of Jimmy Buffett in a Sixers uniform, Croce has put the full court press on life since a motorcycle accident nearly took his life a year and a half ago. With a muscle from his shoulder presently keeping his ankle together, it's now Croce's turn to take orders from a physical therapist.
A black belt in karate and the author of the gushy new self-help book, I Feel Great and You Will Too, Croce, 46, has rejuvenated not just the Sixers, but the NBA in general. He's part of a coterie of overachieving young team owners who have injected some serious vigor into the league. Dallas Mavericks boss Mark Cuban told Playboy.com, "The NBA is the best game on earth, and Pat embodies that spirit better than anyone else on the planet. Every time I go to Philly, I get at least five great ideas that I can use in Dallas -- royalty free!"
Croce spoke to Playboy.com about quarter-billion dollar salaries, Iverson's MC skills and the ultimate Christmas gift.
Playboy.com: How much has the 76ers' resurgence meant to this city?
