Philly Sports: Each local team’s worst jersey this century

76ers: Road blacks, 1997-2009

This article’s cover photo of the Sixers’ “City Edition” uni was a red herring, although some of their alt-retro looks are kind of iffy in my book. The Sixers just never seem to be content and are always making modifications, at least as much as you can with a basketball jersey, which is the most boring canvas of any of the major sports leagues.

But with apologies to Allen Iverson, these black unis were just odd and look extremely dated today, just a decade after the end of their run. The Sixers should stick with some variation of red, white and blue. Cradle of liberty and all that. But this is the way the NBA was going in the 1990’s, and the 76ers seized the opportunity by going the black route and playing with some other shiny new colors.

It wasn’t as bad on the home jersey, but the road look just wasn’t the Sixers. And that’s a shame, because nearly all of Iverson’s career was spent in them. He’d have looked so much better in more traditional garb.

Maybe if the Sixers had won the title in 2001 or some other year, these things would have deserved to be remembered more fondly. But these jerseys shouldn’t hold a special place in the hearts of any self-respecting fan.

Dishonorable Mention: These throwback “duds” the Sixers wore twice in 2004. Enough.