Long before the NBA’s marketing juggernaut placed it’s time, money and television network fully behind the Orlando Pro Summer League and the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the only time a hoop head like me got to watch his favorite pro ballers in the off-season was on the rare occasion where one of them would drop in for a run at the local summer Pro Am.  

Back in the day, tales of appearances by NBA players at the Drew League, Rucker Park, the Goodman League (a.k.a. Barry Farms), Seattle Pro Am, North Carolina Pro Am, etc., were passed on by word of mouth.  In the 90’s and early 2000’s grainy mixtapes preserved the efforts of guys from the League at “playground” games against eager local cats.  In the era of the iPhone and Go Pros, Youtube is now filled with crisp, clean HD video of these summer basketball sightings.

After the jump I pulled together a few of my favorite legends of summer basketball that involve former or current players from Philadunkia’s home team.

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In front of a crowd of reporters at the Wells Fargo Center today, Allen Iverson finally closed the book on his basketball career. It was a decision which had taken Iverson three years of contemplation, before he finally decided what he believes is the best route for him and his family at this stage of his life.

Iverson statistically is one of the most decorated Sixers players of all time and — like LeBron James stated earlier this week — is likely the best pound-for-pound basketball player to ever play the game.

He was the 2001 NBA MVP and an 11-time All-Star. He won four NBA scoring titles, three steals titles, was a part of three NBA First Team’s and Second Team’s and won the 1997 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

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Businessinsider.com has a quick but funny post and pictures on the progression of Andrew Bynum’s hair which apparently is having an impact on the style trends of NBA players…

“…one of the most talked about players in the NBA this season because of his hair…The NBA world only has so much room for fashion and style…Last year, it was dominated by outrageous shirts, pants, and glasses at post-game press conference.  This year, it’s all Bynum. “

We were hoping this year woyld be “all Bynum” as well — only on the court for the 76ers, not in the online fashion world. 

To bad that bumb knee won’t progress as nicely as his hair.

After the jump, read the rest of the businessinsider.com story and a look at some of the best hair-dos in 76ers history…

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The Sixers are home again.  The mountains of the west coast are in the rear-view(for now) as the bright lights of City Hall and the skyscrapers of Liberty Place shine in the near-distance of the Wells Fargo Center.  The red-seats inside the structure have been unoccupied by Sixers fans since Lou Williams nailed a game winning heave to beat the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the playoffs back on April 24^th, 2011.

Since then Josh Harris and the new ownership have arrived and it’s hard not to notice how hard they are working to get Philadelphians to watch this team, to care about this team, and to embrace this team.  They’re giving fans new commercials, new ticket prices, and trying to instill a new sense of pride. The best part about it, is that the team has been buying into it all and feeding off of it as much as they can.  As Evan Turner put it, “It’s cool to see somebody pushing to grow with you.  The new ownership is willing to dig in and grow with us and get more excitement in the arena by getting fans out to the games.  They’ve gotten us a better practice facility and when everybody is on the same page and clicking it does wonders for an organization.” 

Wonders it has because while most Philadelphians were home unwrapping presents and popping champagne bottles for the holidays, the Sixers were busy out-working opponents and showing the NBA why their team is going to pose problems for teams throughout the league.  The “young” Sixers fought their way to a 3-2 record on a tough road trip out west to start this season.  Some fans have already taken notice and one can only hope that, that number will grow ten-fold by seasons end.

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76ers legend Julius Erving stars in a series of new Converse commercials known as “The Procession”.  Dr. J appears with Carlos Arroyo, Kenny Anderson, God Shammgod, Jim Jones, Doug E. Fresh and playground hoops star “A-Butta”.  Catch the spot below.

ESPN.com’s John Hollinger has posted his 2010-11 NBA team forecasts.  With regards to our 76ers, Hollinger predicts 43 wins and a playoff appearance.  No lie…check it out for yourself.

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Late last week, ESPN.com launched a project that with the help of online fan voting attempted to determine the five ultimate players (by position) in every NBA franchise’s history.  It’s a great and fun post and if you haven’t voted yet, we highly suggest you take five minutes of your time to do so. 

You can view the up-to-date results of the voting for the 76ers all-time team by clicking here. 

In our opinion the voting for the Sixers all-time starting five has been very predictable and while there’s nothing “wrong” with the all-time lineup the fans have assembled for the 76ers franchise, Philadunkia’s Tom Sunnegren believes that by bending a few of the voting rules he was able to put together a squad that would trump the team the voters have put out on the floor.

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That’s right, all of us here at Philadunkia would like to wish Julius “Dr. J” Erving a very happy 60th birthday. 

For the record, in his 11 seasons in a 76ers uniform the good Doctor…

Totaled 18,364 points (22 ppg. average) and left in third place on the team’s all-time scoring list.

Racked up 5,601 rebounds to go with 3,224 assists and is the franchise’s all-time leader in blocked shots.

Was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game in each of his 11 seasons and was chosen MVP of the All-Star Game on two occasions (1977, 1983).

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