As many speculated with the knowledge that the Philadelphia 76ers were bringing back the Allen Iverson-era black jerseys as an alternate uniform this season, the organization will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the squad that made a memorable run to the NBA Finals in 2001, before falling 4-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers. The team released a PR statement this morning about the celebration:
One team. One city. One unforgettable run.
This season, the Philadelphia 76ers will be celebrating the 25th
anniversary of the iconic 2000-01 Eastern Conference Championship team led by then-coach Larry Brown with stars Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo, Eric Snow, Aaron McKie, and more. The season-long celebration, presented by Crypto.com, will honor their legacy with alumni tributes, in-game and promotional throwbacks, custom merchandise, and much more. Fans can step over to Sixers.com to learn more about how to purchase tickets and be there in person to pay homage to one of the greatest teams in franchise history. Details of the celebration games will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Sixers also listed the 14 games which they are deeming 25th anniversary celebration nights, and which we can only assume will be when the team wears the black alternate jerseys. The first one comes on Nov. 8 against the Raptors in what we can only assume is a nod to the epic seven-game series against Toronto back in 2001. Game 7 was a movie in itself, with Iverson and Vince Carter both playing 48 minutes after Vinsanity had attended his graduation ceremony at Chapel Hill earlier that day. Carter’s final shot going long off the iron may have tipped the karmic scales for the Kawhi shot decades later.
Then, the Sixers sporting the jerseys on Dec. 7 when the Lakers come to town is a nice touch, but with the Bucks also included, they were just missing a Pacers game to include every opponent from that 2001 playoffs run. Remember how cathartic it was to finally beat that Indiana squad after they had eliminated the Sixers from the playoffs each of the previous two seasons?
25th Anniversary Celebration Nights, presented by Crypto.com:
- 11/8 vs TOR
- 11/9 vs DET
- 11/23 vs MIA
- 12/4 vs GSW
- 12/7 vs LAL
- 12/20 vs DAL
- 12/23 vs BKN
- 1/24 vs NYK
- 1/31 vs NOP
- 2/11 vs NYK
- 3/3 vs SAS
- 3/4 vs UTA
- 3/23 vs OKC
- 4/12 vs MIL
For more information, the organization put together a 25th anniversary website, and released a short promo video. It may not got better than hearing a clip of Marc Zumoff announcing a big Iverson play:
