Will Sixers Ever Wear the Allen Iverson Era Throwback Jerseys?

The Philadelphia 76ers fan base has been waiting for Tuesday's announcement for a long time. Back in 2017, Sixers then-Rookie Ben Simmons asked Twitter followers if they would like to see the team donning black jerseys at some point.

76ers President Chris Heck made him a promise. Simmons was told if he won Rookie of the Year, Heck would make the uniform wish happen. The rookie point guard took home the hardware -- but a uniform combination involving the color black wasn't worn during the 2018-2019 run.

Then the 2019-2020 season came and went -- still nothing. A couple of weeks ago, Heck brought the topic back up on his own. He mentioned that after Simmons won Rookie of the Year and even picked up two All-Star appearances in three seasons, the Sixers are ready to get a black uniform in the plans for next year.

When Heck made it known a new combination was coming, the Sixers' President changed his Twitter profile picture to a photo of Allen Iverson rocking the black jerseys from the 2001 season when the 76ers were NBA Finals contenders.

That's when fans began connecting the dots. 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the 76ers' last Finals run. With a uniform reveal coming, many fans assumed this would be the time to bring the Allen Iverson-era jerseys back into the mix. On Tuesday, the 76ers revealed the 2020-2021 city edition jerseys, which are black -- but it's not exactly what everybody expected.

The court design looks solid #Sixers pic.twitter.com/Ib0C3T2eO8
— Justin Grasso (@JGrasso_) November 10, 2020

So, why didn't the Sixers roll with the throwbacks as fans expected? Well, it seems President Heck isn't too fond of the combination. "The one thing that always drove me nuts were those silly black uniforms with red and gold," Heck told ESPN's, Zach Lowe. "How could [the Sixers] become the Pittsburgh Pirates?"

According to Lowe, Heck vowed never to bring back the black uniforms that fans have been begging for, for years. While not everybody within the organization shares the same sentiment as Heck -- the team's President was able to get his way.

Are the black Iverson-era jerseys forever ruled out in the future? Not exactly. Sixers Vice President of Business Development Derson Dorset expects to have the 2001 jerseys in the mix at some point in the future. Considering the NBA only allows throwbacks during anniversary seasons, the Sixers might have to wait another five years to break them out since they missed their shot this year during the 20th anniversary.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_