The Philadelphia 76ers unveiled an absurdly small statue of franchise legend Allen Iverson on Friday and I can’t help but feel insulted as a basketball fan at the way they’ve tarnished his legacy.
Iverson was all smiles Friday, consummate professional that he is, as he attended the unveiling of his statue.
the unveil from the 🔝. pic.twitter.com/njB9wWwanj
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 12, 2024
Iverson, who’s listed on official rosters as standing six feet tall (but many speculate he’s shorter than that,) was taller than the statue, which had a significantly large base. The statue itself was quite tiny.
This is how the city of Philly treats its legends? Iverson is responsible for perhaps the most iconic moment in 76ers history when he stepped over then-Lakers guard, now Clippers coach, Ty Lue in the 2001 NBA Finals.
His statue is laughable. But it’s not quite the worst I’ve ever seen.
Tennis legend Arthur Ashe has a statue in Richmond, Virginia that shows him dangling books over the heads of some children as if he’s a bully who just robbed their knapsacks.
Here’s the Arthur Ashe statue in Richmond, Va. He holds the books higher than the tennis racquet as he valued education more than sports pic.twitter.com/WFLs7wE47x
— Randy Walker (@TennisPublisher) August 17, 2017
Soccer legend Diego Maradona also has his likeness represented in a bizarre fashion when this crude statue was erected of him in India. (RELATED: NBA Announcer Bleats Like A Goat After Amazing Highlight Dunk)
Diego Maradona is in India & a statue of him was unveiled at a charity event in Kolkata.
Good to see the chap that did the Ronaldo one is still in business pic.twitter.com/p5IDzgfExw— GOLAZO (@golazoargentino) December 11, 2017
And then, of course, there’s the Mona Lisa of shitty craftsmanship. Ronaldo.
A 2017 gold bust of the Portuguese soccer star was unveiled in 2017 and the world went wild, clowning the sculpture that looks like it was put together by a disabled chimpanzee who lost his thumbs in a boating accident.
the cristiano ronaldo statue that looks like kristaps porzingis will never not kill me https://t.co/wqP61jTNPJ pic.twitter.com/62jV1jBbcZ
— thao 🍉 (@holycowitsthao) April 12, 2024
So, while the Iverson’s statue ain’t great, it’s certainly not as bad as Ronaldo’s