This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/11/2023.
The Philadelphia 76ers finished the 1976-77 regular season with a 50-32 record, for first place in the Atlantic Division. They then disposed of the Boston Celtics, four games to three, and the Houston Rockets, four games to two. The Sixers were led by Julius “Dr. J” Erving who played in every game that season and averaged a team-high 21.6 points per outing. He also was named MVP of that season’s All-Star Game after scoring a game-high 30 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Offered in this lot is the Philadelphia 76ers warm-up jacket worn by Erving throughout the 1976-77 season as well as at the 1977 NBA All-Star Game. The red, white and blue Sixers jacket has been photo-matched to two images: 1) ‘77 NBA All-Star Game MVP trophy ceremony photo (Getty 515404234); and 2) an undated photo from a game against the Buffalo Braves (Getty 1293285925). Dating from the country’s bicentennial year, this rare, tri-color warm-up jacket/shooting shirt is one of the most attractive basketball pieces we’ve seen. The fact that it was worn by one the league's greatest players during his rookie season in the NBA and in his MVP All-Star performance, makes it extraordinary. The button-down blue knit warm-up jacket/shirt features a likeness of Philadelphia’s famed Independence Hall on the front left, with ten white stars running along each side of it. The 76ers team logo in red and white appears on the front right chest, above which is a circle of 13 white stars (representing the original 13 colonies). On the reverse side the team’s city (“Philadelphia”) and logo is lettered in red and blue upon a large representation of the Liberty Bell. All letters, stars and logos are applied in either tackle twill or embroidery. The trim around the blue collar and sleeves is in red and white, adding to its patriotic theme. Both the year (“76”) and Erving's uniform number ("6") are embroidered in white upon a blue strip tag in the collar, directly below a "Wilson 42" manufacturer’s label with washing instructions and an adjacent white flag tag (3" X Long) written in black faded marker. A faded "11" in blue marker also appears on the flag tag. What’s more is a special swatch of white tackle twill bearing Erving's signature in black marker ("Julius 'Dr. J' Erving") has been applied along the base of the right front tail. The signature rates 8/10 in our opinion. The autograph is done on a separate piece of material added after the fact to the jersey for aesthetic purposes. Erving joined forces with the Sixers at the start of the 1976-77 NBA season after playing his first five professional seasons in the ABA, starting with the Virginia Squires and then joining the New York Nets. He would go on to play 10 more seasons with Philadelphia before retiring. The Sixers made the playoffs every season in which he played and won a title in 1983 after sweeping the L.A. Lakers in four straight games in the NBA Finals. His induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame took place in 1993. This warm-up is properly tagged, was presented to us as game-used and in our opinion shows excellent wear. Accompanied by an additional LOA from MEARS and an LOA from Photo-Match.com. Also accompanied by a full JSA LOA.