The Perfect All Time Sixers Jersey Collection

2. Allen Iverson- Black 1997-2009

Allen Iverson is the greatest Sixer of my generation. That really is not saying much since my generation of Sixers basketball has been mostly bad, but AI is far and away the greatest Sixer in the past 25 years. Iverson set off a culture movement off and on the court. I could write a zillion words about Allen Iverson and how great he was/is (can you tell that he is my favorite athlete of all time yet?), but in fairness to the others I will keep it short.

Iverson played 12 seasons during his two stops in Philadelphia. He finished with averages of 41.4 minutes (!), 27.6 points, and 6.1 assists. In the magical, MVP season of 2001-02 Iverson averaged 43.7 minutes (meaning he would get just over four minutes of rest per game), 31.1 points, 4.6 assists, and 2.5 steals.

He put the Sixers on his back and led them to the Finals. In the Finals Iverson averaged 35.6 points and went off for 48 points (and an awesome step-over on Tyron Lue) in a game one victory on the road. The Sixers ultimately fell to the clearly superior Lakers in five games, but the fact that Iverson got that Sixer team to that point was a colossal feat in itself.

Iverson also tallied nine All-Star appearances and one All-Star game MVP. The Answer currently sits second on the 76ers all-time list in minutes played, points, free throws, and steals.

Out of all of the jerseys that I own, this is my favorite one. Whenever I wear it people always tell me how cool they think that jersey set is and how the team should bring them back as their regular uniforms. To their surprise I always say that I disagree for one reason. These jerseys represented the Iverson era in Philadelphia. Every other jersey set in the Sixers history consisted of the colors red, white, and blue and the logo sets were generally the same. But these jerseys had the colors white, black, and red and had a different set of logos. They were different from the other jersey sets, just as Iverson’s Era was different from Wilt’s Era or Doc’s Era.

Iverson never won a ring like Erving, Moses, or Wilt. He probably is not even the greatest Sixer of all-time (something that would be almost impossible to clearly declare). But what The Answer was able to do was win over one of the toughest fan bases in sports by throwing around his 165-pound body with abandon on a nightly basis. Critics can knock him all they want for his antics off the court but when that ball was tossed in the air Iverson played like his life was on the line, something you do not usually see from superstar players. Iverson and Philadelphia just clicked, and as one of the most beloved Philadelphia athletes of all-time his jersey is a must have.

Next: Julius Erving