Sixers Unveil Tiny, Yet Awesome Allen Iverson Statue

Iverson loved the pint-size sculpture.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia 76ers unveiled a statue honoring Allen Iverson on Friday outside their practice facility in Camden, New Jersey. Iverson was on hand for the event and all smiles as he unsheathed it in front of a decent crowd and plenty of local media. The Hall of Famer, who spent parts of 12 different seasons with the franchise, even gave the statue a kiss.

So it was a very nice moment for everyone involved. But pretty much everyone laying eyes on it for the first time had the same Derek Zoolander-like reaction. Because, while technically a statue, the work of art is certainly on the diminutive side.

the unveil from the 🔝. pic.twitter.com/njB9wWwanj

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 12, 2024

Perhaps that's the point. Iverson weighed 160 pounds soaking wet during his playing career and yet was one of the toughest players year in and year out. He was a classic example of it not being the size of the dog but the amount of fight in the dog. And anyone who gets a statue — enormous or otherwise — clearly has an enduring legacy.

It's actually a very clever move. Every statue in the history of the world has made the subject larger. What this one presupposes is ... what if they didn't?

Anyway, Iverson seems jazzed about the whole thing. Probably because he understands the only way to get a bigger depiction in that city is to be a movie character.