Detroit Lions recreate nostalgia with touchdown celebration honoring NBA legend’s iconic moment

INDIANAPOLIS – The Detroit Lions brought back the nostalgia of the early 2000s during a touchdown celebration by honoring an NBA legend in one of his most iconic moments.

During Sunday’s (Nov. 24) eventual 24-6 victory against the Indianapolis Colts, running back Jahmyr Gibbs scored his first touchdown of the game.

It was first and goal with 12:09 remaining in the second quarter when Gibbs crossed the goal line on a running play up the left side for six.

While showing off his electric speed and elusiveness, Gibbs gathered wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to perform Allen Iverson’s iconic “Step over” in the 2001 NBA Finals against current Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and his then-Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers, led by a young Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and head coach Phil Jackson, were on a mission as they entered the finals against Iverson, former Detroit Pistons championship head coach Larry Brown, and their Philadelphia 76ers.

Prior to the series, the Lakers came into the finals with an 11-0 record, having swept the first three rounds of the playoffs. Then came the first game of the finals, in which the heavy underdog 76ers went to Staples Center, shocking the basketball world.

The 76ers won the overtime thriller 107-101, and Iverson scored 48 points, but the iconic moment that has lasted 23 years and counting was created. Iverson, who had five consecutive points, caught the ball on the right wing in front of the Lakers bench.

With the score at 101-99, Iverson drove to the right baseline and pulled the ball back, creating space between him and Lue, who contested the shot and fell to the ground as the ball swished the bottom of the net.

In disbelief, Lue sat on the ground, stunned, as Iverson scored his seventh consecutive point. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer showed dominance and stepped over Lue, which Gibbs and St. Brown recreated.

The Lakers went on to win the next four games to become back-to-back champions and set an NBA playoff record of 15-1 until the 2017 Golden State Warriors went 16-1.

But Iverson’s winning game one by his lonesome became one of his most iconic moments, inspiring Gibbs and the now 10-1-0 Lions, winners of nine consecutive.

Gibbs finished the day with 90 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

The second-year back became the third player in Lions history to produce 10 or more touchdowns from scrimmage in each of a player’s first two seasons, joining Barry Sanders (1989-1990) and Billy Sims (1980-1981).

An older Iverson, familiar with the city, was traded to the Pistons during the 2008-09 season. The Pistons ended the season with a 39-43 record before getting swept by Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Hopefully, like Iverson, Gibbs can lead his team to the championship game—in the Lions' case, the Super Bowl—where he’d have an opportunity to put on a one-game performance on the game’s biggest stage that would last a lifetime.