Philly Plain Dealer

It’s been sixteen LOOOONG years since the Sixers last wore the all-black Iverson era jerseys and there’s a noticeable buzz online about it. I mean, for those of us who grew up in and around Philly in the early 2000s, this typography invokes a certain feeling. A warmness of simpler times when someone could just turn on their CRTV, turn off their brain and watch AI dice up any team on any given night.

The Sixers’ Chief Operating Officer Lara Price said in a statement about the classic edition theme that these jerseys are “more than just a piece of fabric.” They represent “an era of franchise history that embraced a distinct identity and captured the attention of the entire city,” and I must agree. In 1997, the Sixers leaned into the popularity of Philly’s black culture hard with a change to the logo, embracing the bold brash yellow lettering. Even going as far as shifting their mascot to a rabbit named Hip-Hop. Seriously. This paired well with Iverson’s arrival in 1996. Drafted #1 overall, Sixers fans dubbed him “The Answer” and put their hopes into him. They were rewarded with legendary playoff performances and iconic cultural moments borne of Iverson’s authenticity. I didn’t grow up playing basketball but I told people I wanted to play in the NBA in elementary school. I think that’s because I saw how much people loved A.I. and how infectious the energy was at the time around basketball. That’s powerful.

But why now? Why is the 76ers’ organization reembracing this once beloved cultural signifier now in 2025? Well, Lara Price also said in the statement, “To see these uniforms back out on that court will bring back a lot of nostalgia, and we are excited to share that in many different ways with our fans this season.” Hmm. I find that very interesting for a number of reasons but primarily, I find the timing quite interesting. I remember clearly how the Sixers ownership group incited chaos in the city with their plans to build an arena in Chinatown over the last few years. These plans forced community members to build a coalition in order to stop this development from taking place instead of directing our energy and attention to any of the multiple issues that are plaguing Philadelphians to this day. The Sixers organization only relented after teaming up with Comcast Spectrum to build an entirely unnecessary stadium in South Philly for a squad that last year had the 5th worst record in all of the NBA. This same team has even received the ire of generational NBA player Joel Embiid this past summer, who critiqued the organization for not protecting him more.

As a former fan, I have to agree. I personally think that this ownership group has no problem selling out their players or Philadelphians and that this attitude trickles down all the way through the organization. So please, don’t rush to forget who this organization has shown you who they are because they’re cosplaying as a more adept version of who the Sixers once were.