Philadelphia 76ers - Team Logos

Team Logos

• 1963–1977 logo

• 1977–1997 logo

• 1997–2009 logo

• 2009–present logo

While team colors have changed somewhat over the years, with emphasis alternating between blue, white, red, and even black and gold, the 76ers have always been closely identified with the logo featuring the number 76 with 13 stars arranged in a circle above the number 7 to represent the original 13 American colonies. The logo portrays the patriotic nature of the United States, prominently featuring the colors red, blue and white, and Philadelphia's reputation as the birthplace of American independence. The logo was used from 1962–77, after which it was slightly modified to feature the full team nickname and a basketball adorning the logo. This iteration was used from 1977–97. The 76ers also had an alternate logo with the '76' wordmark inside the silhouette of the Liberty Bell with 'Philadelphia' on top.

Uniforms during this era varied between blue and red. During much of the 1960s, the abbreviated city name 'PHILA' adorned the uniforms, ranging from fancy and contemporary two-tone script to classic block lettering, the latter of which was used during their 1967 title run. During the 1970s blue was the primary road color, with the more popular moniker 'SIXERS' written in Art Deco lettering. With various adjustments from block lettering to Bookman Old Style font, this version with stars in side stripes stayed until 1978. The uniforms from 1978–91 was a classic nod to their 1967 uniforms, except that the road color is red and the home lettering is blue with red trim. The name 'SIXERS' was featured in block lettering. This uniform was used in their 1983 title run. From 1991–94, the Sixers followed other teams in designing more graphic-laden uniforms by featuring a streaking blue splash with tricolored stars heading up to the word 'SIXERS' in Helvetica and in either red (home) or white (away). In addition, the word 'PHILADELPHIA' was added atop the team name. From 1994–97, the Sixers return to a more basic uniform design, featuring a more ornate lettering. The team name is in red (home) and white (away), with numbers in blue.

In the 1997–98 NBA season, the Sixers drastically changed their logo and colors, apparently in an effort to appeal to a more youthful, hip-hop oriented culture. The iconic 76 logo was dropped, and a new logo was introduced, featuring a bigger 76ers wordmark, with a single star behind the number 7 and a streaking basketball below. More controversially, gold and black became the primary logo colors, with red, white and blue being reduced to accent colors only. Uniforms were primarily white (home), and black (away), with slight adjustments in the home lettering (gold from 1997–2000, black from 2000–09) and piping. A blue alternate uniform was used from 1999–2006, while a red alternate uniform, featuring a return to the 'PHILA' script in then-current lettering, was used from 2006–09. This logo and color scheme were used until the 2008–09 NBA season.

During the 2008–09 season, while the previous logo was still in use, the original 'Stars and Stripes' 76 logo was revived to coincide with the team's 60th anniversary (counting the Syracuse years). The previous 1977–97 logo was reintroduced, with the addition of a red square and 'Philadelphia' inside a blue rectangle below it, although the partial logo without the square, city name and rectangles was also used. Uniform colors for this anniversary edition were white only, using the 1978–91 design. The anniversary uniforms proved so popular that they inspired the team to return to the old logo and color scheme full-time in the 2009–10 season, with red away uniforms completing the ensemble. This variation featured different striping patterns, team name in blue and numbers in red on the home uniforms, and monotone script. This combination continues to represent the 76ers to the present. A blue alternate uniform, which mirrors that of the red away uniform, was unveiled before the 2012–13 season.