Jan. 30, 2026, 2:59 p.m. ET

PHILADELPHIA — When the Philadelphia 76ers play host to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, they will honor their 2001 finals team led by MVP Allen Iverson. The Sixers will have plenty of members of that team in the building and there will be a special tribute at halftime of that game.

That 2001 Sixers team means a lot to the city of Philadelphia. Iverson threw that team on his bony shoulders, received timely buckets from guys like Aaron McKie, Dikembe Mutombo, Eric Snow, and others to get to the finals. The Sixers fell to Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, but Philadelphia also handed LA its only loss during its title run in Game 1 on the road.

“It’ll be great,” said Paul George. “Obviously, it’s a tradition here. Being a part of the Sixers family, organization, that group means a lot to the city. It’ll be awesome to kind of share the space, the moment, and play in front of them. We want to represent them the same way that they represented the city.”

Even for a younger players like VJ Edgecombe, who grew up in The Bahamas, is looking forward to playing in front of the last Sixers team to make it deep into the playoffs. A young player who loves YouTube, Edgecombe didn’t look up those Sixers teams on the website, but he also knows about the history of the team.

“I did not, but obviously, knowing the history, it’s an honor to just even be a part of the team, and to get to sit there and watch guys that came before us and watch them be honored in the city, in the arena,” Edgecombe explained. “So, it’s a blessing, man. I’m truly grateful just to be, just to be a part of it.”

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!

The way the city has embraced that ’01 team is how Edgecombe and this current Sixers group wants to be embraced. If they win a championship–or at least come close to one–then the city will immortalize them the way they do with the ’01 team.

“We want to win the championship,” Edgecombe added. “I feel like if we win the championship, we know the city’s gonna be behind us. So yeah, it’s great. We just want to win. That’s the main goal for our team is just win. Win and get better every day. So, I say we want to win. We know if we win the championship, we know how it would be.”

The Sixers and Pelicans will tip off at 7 p.m. EST on Saturday.