Getty Pro Bowl WR A.J. Brown has embraced Philadelphia Eagles culture on the field and away from it.
Perhaps no player has come into Philadelphia and earned the city’s trust quicker than A.J. Brown. And done it with so much swagger and ease. He just seems to get his new town and, more importantly, Eagles fans.
On Saturday, Brown was filmed entering Hard Rock Stadium in Miami wearing a throwback Sixers jersey. Not just any style of uniform, though. The Pro Bowl receiver was donning a No. 3 Allen Iverson, the clean and classic black jersey that defined the Hall of Famer’s glory days in Philly.
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Iverson and the Sixers rode those jerseys all the way to the NBA Finals in 2001 before losing to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Twenty years to the day of this unforgettable scene with Allen Iverson, Ty Lue coaches the Clippers in a Game 7 at home against the Mavericks:
There has been a nostalgic push to bring the star-studded black jersey back as an alternate in recent months. They won’t be worn during the 2022-23 season, but there is hope of seeing them again one day. The one man who was thought to be standing in the way – Chris Heck, former Sixers’ president of business operations – resigned at the end of June. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the situation:
They won’t be worn next season to coincide with the 25th anniversary as the Sixers are not one of the teams authorized by the league to wear a throwback — or “classic” — uniform in 2022-23. But it’s safe to assume that the black uniforms are in the conversation to be worn as alternates the next time the Sixers are allowed to do so.
In a November 2020 interview with Uni-Watch, Heck said he “absolutely despised” the Iverson-era black jerseys, called it “blasphemy” to introduce silver and gold into the team’s logo, and said, “come hell or high water, we’re not going back to that uniform.”
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Eagles Sit Starters vs. Miami Dolphins
The Eagles sat their starters for the third and final preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night. The team also rested rookie center Cam Jurgens and undrafted cornerback Josh Jobe. Don’t read too much into Jobe’s absence as he has been nursing a bum elbow.
Other guys not in uniform because of injury were Christian Elliss (hamstring), Miles Sanders (hamstring), Jason Kelce (elbow), Greg Ward (toe), Javon Hargrave (toe), Josiah Scott (hamstring), and Andre Chachere (groin).
Brown Fitting Culture, with ‘Automatic Respect’
Brown has been winning over his new coaching staff and locker room just as impressively as he has scored points with Eagles fans. In fact, the $100 million playmaker might be doing that part even better.
Head coach Nick Sirianni was asked if Brown has fit into the team’s culture, away from the field and on it. His answer? Automatic respect.
“He’s awesome. He fits in great. Obviously, a guy comes in, and the amount of plays he’s made in this league, has automatic respect of everybody,” Sirianni told reporters. “The way he interacts with his teammates, the way he works on the practice field, he fits great into our culture. We want to get better every day at practice. We want to compete. We want to connect with our guys.
“And he speaks to all those things. I love having him on the team for his play-making ability, and I love having him on the team for the person and the teammate that he is.”
