Has any notable professional athlete kept it more real throughout his career than Allen Iverson? The same player who inspired the NBA’s dress code and popularized the trend of athletes wearing braids and tattoos showed up to his jersey retirement ceremony in Philadelphia Saturday dressed pretty much the way you’d expect. Iverson had on a hat, glasses and some chains heavy enough to sink the Titanic.
Any rumors about Iverson being broke must be false. All that jewelry around his neck has to be worth a lot of coin.
If you’re wondering where A.I. got the idea for his outfit, he probably stole it from DMC of Run-DMC fame:
While many athletes would dress up for the occasion of having their jersey retired by their team and probably put on a nice suit, Iverson dressed like he was heading to the bowling alley for a Friday night of fun. He had a baggy coat, and even baggier pants that went down to his loafers:
Someone tell A.I. it’s no longer the ’90s. Wait, is ’90s fashion back in?
To celebrate the occasion of Iverson’s jersey retirement, the NBA compiled highlights from Iverson’s rookie year in 1996-1997 when he was named Rookie of the Year:
The Sixers presented AI with a championship belt. They also gave him a boat called “The Answer,” which was Iverson’s nickname:
Below is video from Iverson’s retirement ceremony. It starts at the end of his speech and goes to the jersey being put up in the rafters:
