Basketball throwbacks are second only to football throwbacks as the hottest sellers of the throwback craze. The main sources of this craze were professional athletes and hip hop stars. Many pro basketball stars such as Allen Iverson took to wearing this gear both as a tribute to former stars, and as a fashion statement. In some cases, stars had to be informed by their coaches what jersey they were wearing, and in a few cases the management was not too pleased with the choice of garb. On more than one occasion players would show up in the colors on the opposing team or in the gear of hated rivals. Usually though there was no such problem and the choice of jersey was an intentional tribute to such former players as Wilt Chamberlain, Dr Julius Erving, or Larry Bird.

Uniforms of the '70s were known for their outlandish use of color and bold logos. This was undoubtedly a reflection of the times as the disco era was in full swing.