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Rookie guard Tyrese Maxey, who basically saved the team from elimination Friday night, is featured on the hottest piece of Sixers merch this season. Have you seen it?
Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan rocked one for the Sixers’ first round clincher against the Wizards. A week later, Brian Nadav, who owns Philly sneaker and streetwear store Lapstone and Hammer, wore his jacket while chatting courtside with Meek Mill and Lil Baby.
The limited edition piece was one of only 76 such jackets designed by prominent artist, clothing brand owner, and Philly native Gianni Lee.
It’s a funky denim Levis jacket featuring hot pink arm bones, a hand-painted interpretation of the team’s snake logo, and a painted promenade of Lee’s five favorite 76ers: Shake Milton, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Maxey — in the artist’s signature skeleton style.
“If you got one,” Lee wrote of the lucky six-dozen Philly VIPs, who appear to include Alan “Sixth Man” Horowitz, “just know this is special and you have a collectors item.”
The pandemic held up the release of his special edition garment, the designer said on Instagram.
“Seemed like the universe told us to wait,” Lee wrote, “and now with a possible run to the finals this year, it made perfect sense to gift the archive to 76 select, home-grown Philadelphia natives.”
Lee is a West Philly native native who relocated to Los Angeles to co-launch his celebrity-worn fashion label, Babylon Cartel, with partner Aaron Ramey, another Philadelphia expat. Lee has lived in Brooklyn for the last three years, but has remained close to his native city, helping organize and participating in The Big Clean Up initiative.
Last fall, Lee released a collection of rugs depicting his art that he said sold out in just three hours. More recently, he’s dealt in NFT artwork sales, selling his first digital piece for more than $1k.
Meanwhile, his hometown team is suffering in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the NBA Playoffs. Gianni angonized with all the other Philly fans when the Sixers blew double-digit leads two games in a row to give the Atlanta Hawks a 3-2 lead in the best of seven series.
But in Game 6 on Friday night, one of Lee’s favorites stepped up.
Tyrese Maxey had 16 points, including several in the very close final minutes. Beyond that, he battled on defense and added a spark of needed energy to the floor, sports commentators and fellow players said.
Gianni called it with the placement of the first-year player on his special jean jacket.
If the Sixers make it to the next round, maybe the designer will add a Maxey homage to his streetwear brand, Babylon Cartel, which has been promising a return.
