Are The Sixers Teasing a Return of The Iverson Era Jerseys?

With the Eagles on their Bye Week, there’s not much to talk about when it comes to sports in Philadelphia.

But for one reason or another, Philly has been getting a lot of attention worldwide. Gritty and the Phillie Phanatic are all over Twitter along with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia clips and classic news footage of crazy Eagles fans from the past decade.

What could possibly draw all of this attention?

Why, it has to be the recent teases by Allen Iverson and Ben Simmons of a new look for the 76ers!

 

 

Two images in a dark shade that hides the appearance of a franchise icon and one of the faces of the franchise? That could mean the Sixers are about to reveal a new uniform look . . . again.

If there’s one thing that’s certain in the NBA, it’s that uniform designs are inevitable and almost annual. Even historic franchises with iconic jerseys like the Lakers and Celtics wear all black unis (the Lakers at least do for a more meaningful reason with the Black Mamba jerseys.)

Despite being a historic NBA franchise with plenty of legendary names to wear a Sixer jersey, the uniform has had plenty of updates, especially in recent years. Everything from the red white and blue PHILA jerseys to the ones with stars surrounding the numbers, to the font and color of the Declaration of Independence, the Sixers have been constantly searching for an era-defining look.

With the recent teases by Allen Iverson? The Sixers maybe dipping their toes back in the nostalgia pool, only this time it’s recent nostalgia. While Iverson began his Sixer career wearing the classic PHILA uniform, everyone pictures him wearing the black-and-white jersey from the 2000s. When Iverson left it seemed pointless for the team to wear those jerseys without him, so they went back to a more traditional look.

Since “The Process Era” of Sixers basketball has not gone as well as everyone hoped, the organization has rebooted in significant ways. They hired NBA champion coach Doc Rivers and legendary general manager Darryl Morey as team president. Now, it looks like they’ll be playing their games this December with an updated Iverson-Era look.

Although the Sixers were only great for one season during that era, it was a pretty special season. Despite losing the NBA Finals to the mighty Kobe/Shaq Lakers, Philly still has a deep love of the 2001 Sixers. The ’01 squad had one extraordinary offensive player in A.I., a Hall of Fame head coach in Larry Brown, a Hall of Fame defensive specialist in Dikembe Mutumbo, and a series of scrappy supporting players like Aaron Mckie, Eric Snow, Tyrone Hill, George Lynch and Todd MacCullouch. Their nail-biting series wins over Toronto and Milwaukee remain talked about this day and their victory in Game 1 of the Finals in LA remains a part of NBA lore.

The Sixers haven’t reached the same heights of 2001 since, so maybe with uniforms of that same resemblance this rebooted squad can finally get over the hump.

 

 

By Mike McCarrick | November 9, 2020
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