Issel played college basketball at the University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp. Issel was at UK 1966-1970 and scored 2,138 points (an average of 25.7 per game) while being named an All American for two of his three seasons there. Upon Issel's graduation in 1970 he signed to play basketball for the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In his first season, Issel led the ABA in scoring with a scoring average of 29.9 points per game, and pulled down 13.2 rebounds per game. He was named the ABA Rookie of the year in 1971, and was selected to the All-ABA Second Team. The following season, Issel raised his scoring average to 30.6 points per game, made the All-ABA First Team, and was named MVP of the 1972 ABA All-Star Game. In 1975, Issel won an ABA title with the Colonels. After the Colonels' championship season Issel was sold by the Colonels' owners to the short-lived Baltimore Claws franchise and ended up with the Denver Nuggets for the following season. Issel remained with the Nuggets following the ABA's merger with the NBA in 1976, and represented Denver in the 1977 NBA All-Star Game. He continued playing through the 1984-1985 season. Issel accumulated over 27,000 points in his combined ABA and NBA career. Issel was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. On the bottom right front tail is the "Rawlings" manufacturer's size 44 tag. Across the front is "COLONELS." Below and on back is the player number “44.”Across the back is the player name “ISSEL.” All lettering and numbering is done in blue tackle twill. There is an autograph on the front and back “4” , each done in black marker and rating a 9. The jersey shows game-use and appears to have no alterations of any kind. The autograph is accompanied by a LOA from JSA.