The NBA has yet to officially confirm all of the uniforms that each team will be wearing during the 2026-27 season, but as usual, the sickos at NBA Uniform Tracker are doing the Lord’s work this offseason.
In late July, they revealed that the Sixers would be bringing back their 2017-18 “City Edition” jerseys this year.
A few weeks later, NBA Uniform Tracker followed up with confirmation of the Sixers’ two standard jerseys—the white “Association” and the blue “Icon” jersey—plus the red “Statement” jerseys that they’ve also been wearing since 2019.
Notably absent from that list? The Iverson-era “Classic Edition” jerseys that the Sixers brought back last year, much to the delight of fans throughout the greater Philadelphia region.
In fairness, it isn’t the Sixers’ call to shelve the Iverson jerseys this year. According to the NBA’s “LockerVision” website, Classic Edition uniforms are only “worn by teams commemorating anniversaries or key moments in franchise history.” The Sixers brought back the Iverson jerseys last year since it was the 25th anniversary of their run to the 2001 NBA Finals. (LeBron James signing with the Sixers on a veteran-minimum contract apparently doesn’t qualify as a key moment in franchise history.)
If ever there was a time to make an exception, it would be this year.
After the Sixers added LeBron and Jaylen Brown this offseason—not to mention Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Labaron Philon Jr. and Ariel Hukporti—the fanbase is feral with excitement. The Sixers even capitalized on that by opening the team store at Xfinity Mobile Arena for two days so fans could purchase officially licensed gear, since Fanatics almost instantly sold out of LeBron’s Sixers jersey. And fans turned out in droves for that opportunity.
Not seen at the team store, though? The Iverson-era throwback jerseys for this year’s squad.
You can’t buy a customizable version of those throwback jerseys on the team’s online shop, either. You can only do so for the standard Association and Icon jerseys, as well as the Statement jersey and their 2024-25 City Edition one. (Admittedly, a Spectrum LeBron jersey would go pretty hard.)
Still, not allowing the Sixers to bring back the Iverson jerseys is an enormous missed opportunity for the NBA. After all, ESPN photoshopped LeBron into one of those jerseys in its tweet announcing that he’d be joining the Sixers.
The Sixers also sent Brown a way-too-tight Iverson-era jersey of his own.
You know who won’t be getting those jerseys, at least from an official NBA retailer? Sixers fans.
In an era where the NBA’s primary, secondary and tertiary focus appears to revolve around making more money above all else, not allowing Sixers fans to buy Iverson-era LeBron jerseys or Brown jerseys is the ultimate definition of an own-goal. Hell, it was nearly impossible to find Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey throwbacks last year, and if memory serves correctly, they didn’t even sell a VJ Edgecombe one online. (Another own-goal.)
There is one way that the NBA could right this wrong, though.
In the 1996-97 season, the Sixers donned blue Hardwood Classics jerseys “celebrating the 1966-67 team.” Allen Iverson wore that jersey in one of the most iconic SLAM Magazine covers of all time.
If last year’s throwbacks aren’t coming back, can the NBA at least bring back the ’66-67 ones in honor of the 60th anniversary of that team? I’m literally begging you to take my money here, Adam Silver.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
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