Allen Iverson

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Allen Iverson
Position	Guard
Nickname	"A.I.", "The Answer", "BubbaChucks"
League	NBA
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Team	Philadelphia 76ers
Nationality	United States
Born	June 7, 1975 Hampton, Virginia
College	Georgetown University
Draft	1^st overall, 1996 Philadelphia 76ers
Pro career	1996 – present
Awards	NBA Rookie of the Year (1997) NBA Most Valuable Player (2001) NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (2001) NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (2005)

Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7, 1975, in Hampton, Virginia)^[1], nicknamed A.I. and The Answer, is an American professional basketball player. He is an All-Star point/shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers franchise of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A ten-year veteran at the age of 31, he is considered by many to be among the greatest guards of his generation and one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the game.

In 2003, Iverson was ranked 53rd on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA players of all time.

[edit] Early years

In 1975, Allen Iverson was born on the Virginia Peninsula (where both Hampton and Newport News are located). While attending Bethel High School in Hampton, Iverson excelled at both football and basketball. As quarterback, he led his team to the Virginia State Championship. Only three months after that, he won a state basketball championship with his high school team.[1] After high school, Iverson decided to focus on basketball. Allen received a scholarship to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he played for the Hoyas under college coach John Thompson.

[edit] NBA career

[edit] Impact on the 76ers

Upon leaving Georgetown after his sophomore year, Allen Iverson was selected with the first overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and has led the team in scoring ever since. Iverson quickly established himself in the NBA by winning the Rookie of the Month award in November of his first season, and ending that season averaging 23.5 points per game (good for sixth in the NBA).

Iverson's talent almost immediately led to an increase in fan interest in Philadelphia and improved ticket sales at the Sixers' box office. Dubbed The Answer, Iverson had arguably his best season in 2001, leading the NBA in scoring, winning the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, and reaching the NBA Finals. Once there, and up against the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers, Iverson carried his team to a shocking overtime victory in the series opener in Los Angeles. The Sixers nearly upset the Lakers again in Game 2 before the Lakers managed to regroup and take the series in five games.

Iverson has led the NBA in scoring four times (1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2004-05) and, in the process, has tied George Gervin for the third-most NBA scoring titles by one player. He only trails Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. On February 12, 2005, Iverson scored a career-high 60 points against the Orlando Magic.

[edit] Relationship with Larry Brown

For most of the early portion of Iverson's career, his head coach with the Sixers was Larry Brown. Iverson often praised Brown, saying that he would not have achieved so much in the sport without Brown's guidance. Iverson had a love-hate relationship with Brown; however, and the two frequently clashed, most famously after the 76ers were defeated in the first round of the 2002 NBA Playoffs. Brown criticized Iverson for missing team practices and Iverson defended himself with what would become a famous and oft-quoted monologue which some observers felt indicated a lack of appreciation by Iverson for the importance of practice.

If somebody tell you that I've missed practice, if-if the coach says I missed practice and ya'll hear it, then thats that. I mean I might have missed one practice this year, but if somebody say he 'doesn't come to practice', then it could be one practice, out of all the practices this year that's enough. . .If i can't practice I can't practice man, if I'm hurt I'm hurt, I mean simple as that. . .It ain't about that, its not about that,at all you know what I'm saying? I mean. . . But it-it's easy to talk about it, it's easy to sum it up when you just talk about practice. We sitting here and I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we're in here talking about practice. I mean listen, we're talking about practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game We're talking about practice. Not a game, not the-not the , not the game that I go out there and die for, and play every game like it's my last. Not the game. We're talking about practice, man. I mean, how silly is that? We're talking about practice. I know I'm supposed to be there. I know I'm supposed to lead by example . . . I know that, and I'm not shoving it aside you know like it don't mean anything I know it's important. . . I do. . . I honestly do. But we're talking about practice, man. What are we talking about? Practice? We're talking about practice, man . . . We're talking about practice. We're talking about practice. We ain't talking about the game, we're talking about practice, man. When you come to the arena, and you see me play, you see me play don't you? . . . you see me give everything I got, right? But we're talking about practice right now. We're talking about pract- Man look I hear you it's funny to me too, and I mean it's strange to me too. But we are talking about practice. We're not even talking about the game, the actual game, when it matters. We're talking about practice. . . How the hell can I make my team better by practice?

— Allen Iverson at a press conference on May 8, 2002

He said "practice" more times than he's actually practiced.

— Larry Brown speaking to reporters the next day

Nonetheless, when Brown left the 76ers in 2003, both he and Iverson indicated that the two were on good terms and genuinely fond of one another. Iverson later reunited with Brown when Iverson became a member and co-captain of the 2004 United States Olympic men's basketball team.

In 2005, on Stephen A. Smith's ESPN talkshow Quite Frankly, Iverson was asked to outline his problems with Brown. Iverson declared that he was privileged and honored to have had Brown as his coach, without any qualms, reservations or criticism; he described Brown as an overwhelmingly positive influence on his basketall career and in his personal life. Smith then played a clip of Brown describing "The Answer" as an ideal role-model for American children, and Iverson wept.[2]

[edit] 2004 Olympics

Olympic medal record
Men's Basketball
Bronze	2004 Athens	United States

The team's performance at the Olympic Games, however, would ultimately prove to be a disappointment. Iverson, alongside teammate LeBron James, were benched for a game for having arrived late to a practice session. The United States' team had a dismal start against Germany, which had failed to qualify for the Olympic competition. Iverson did succeed in keeping the game from going into overtime with a miraculous half-court shot in the closing seconds.

Despite the dramatic win, the team continued to struggle. They would ultimately claim a bronze medal, a very disappointing showing by US basketball standards.

[edit] Player profile

Iverson is a prolific scorer who has averaged 28.0 points per game in his career, trailing all-time leader Michael Jordan in this category by only 2.1 points per game. Iverson's trademark crossover dribble is regarded as one of the most effective moves in the game, making him difficult for a defender to contain in one-on-one play. Iverson is also known for his ability to draw fouls, at times seeming to get the free-throw line almost at will. He is regularly one of the NBA's leaders in free throws attempted.[3]

On defense, Iverson is also an adept ball-thief and is known for playing the passing lanes. He again regularly ranks among the league leaders in steals.

Critics point out that Iverson's career shooting percentage (.421) is unremarkable. They also frequently accuse Iverson of being a ball hog: as of April 2006, he has taken ~15,800 shots in just under 700 games, averaging over 23 per game.

Despite these criticisms, Iverson is as of 2006 still generally regarded as one of the best guards in the game, as evidenced by Iverson's being named the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star Game for the past seven consecutive seasons. He was voted to the All-NBA third team in the 2005-2006 season.

Iverson's ability to effectively employ such a versatile combination of scoring methods — driving to the basket, drawing fouls, shooting from outside, and creating his own shot off of the dribble — all at only six feet tall, has made him one of the most unique players in NBA history.

[edit] Entire NBA career with one team

Iverson is tied with Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers (10 years) for second place among active NBA players who have played their entire career for only one team. Kevin Garnett leads all active players, having played 11 years for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

[edit] Controversy

Allen Iverson's controversial album 40 Bars, recorded under the name "Jewels".

Iverson has often been a controversial figure, dating back to his teenage years, including some troubles with the law.

[edit] 1993

A highly publicized incident that almost jeopardized his college career involved in a racially-charged fight at a Hampton, Virginia bowling alley. On February 14, 1993, Iverson and several of his friends became involved in an altercation with a group of white teenagers. During the fight, Iverson was accused of attacking a woman and hitting her in the head with a chair. He, along with three of his friends, also black, were the only ones arrested in the incident. Iverson, 17 years of age at the time, was convicted as an adult of the felony charge of "maiming-by-mob" and received a 15-year prison sentence (10 years suspended). To this day Iverson still says that he was innocent and jailed unfairly and says he left just after the fight started, this was backed-up by an amateur video shot of the incident in which Iverson was not found

This incident was profiled on the television newsmagazine 60 Minutes due to claims of racial bias in the adjudication of the case. L. Douglas Wilder, at the time Governor of Virginia, became convinced that Iverson had been treated unfairly and controversially granted Iverson clemency, releasing him from his sentence. Iverson's conviction was later overturned on appeal.

[edit] 1997

Iverson, along with his friends, was stopped by policemen for speeding late midnight and was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and for possession of marijuana. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to community service.

[edit] 2002

Iverson allegedly threw his wife Tawanna out of the mansion during a fight. The following night, an enraged Iverson later went looking for his wife at his cousin's apartment. His cousin wouldn't let him in (Iverson was the one who paid the rent for the house). According to the police report, Iverson repeatedly threatened to kill his cousin Charles Jones and Jones's roommate while showing them a semiautomatic gun. Iverson was arrested and charged with 14 different counts. All charges were ultimately dropped after conflicting testimonies from witnesses.

[edit] 2004

During the latter part of the 2003-2004 season, Iverson bristled under the disciplinarian approach of the Sixers' new head coach Chris Ford. This led to a number of contentious incidents, including Iverson being suspended for missing practice, fined for failing to notify Ford that Iverson would not attend a game because he was sick, and refusing to play in game because he felt "insulted" that Ford wanted Iverson to come off the bench as he worked his way back from an injury.[4]

On February 24, 2004, Iverson, a noted regular casino patron, was spotted at Bally's Park Place in Atlantic City urinating in a trash can in full view of staff and patrons. He was told by casino management not to return.[5]

When the 2004 United States Olympic team gathered in Jacksonville, Florida for its first exhibition game, Allen Iverson was late. He was suspended for the game.[6]

[edit] 2005

On December 9, 2005 after the Sixers defeated the Charlotte Bobcats, Iverson paid a late-night visit to the Trump Taj Mahal. After winning a hand at a three-card-stud poker table, Iverson was overpaid $10,000 in chips by a dealer. When the dealer quickly realized the mistake and requested the chips back, Iverson refused and a heated head-turning argument between him and casino staff began. Atlantic City casino regulations reportedly state that when a casino makes a payout mistake in favor of the gambler, he or she must return the money that they did not legitimately win by playing.

[edit] 2006

On April 18, 2006 Iverson and Chris Webber arrived late to the Sixers' fan appreciation night and home game finale. Players are expected to report 90 minutes before gametime, but both Iverson and Webber arrived around tipoff. Exasperated coach Maurice Cheeks notified the media that neither would be playing and general manager Billy King announced that Iverson and Webber would be fined.[7]. 2006 offseason has sparked many trade rumors that could send Allen to Denver, Atlanta, or Boston. No trade has been accepted and it appears that no deal will be made. Allen Iverson has made it clear that he would like to stay a Sixer.

[edit] Rap music

In 2000, Iverson recorded a rap single named 40 Bars. However, after being criticized for its controversial lyrics, he eventually was unable to release it. Going under his moniker, "Jewels", the album was alleged to have made derogatory remarks about homosexuals.

[edit] Punk'd

Iverson was initially denied entry into his own 30th birthday party at the Garden of Eden Club in Los Angeles by a bouncer who told him that he couldn't enter because one of the President's daughters and the Secret Service were inside the club.

[edit] NBA dress code

In 2005, NBA commissioner David Stern banned what critics and supporters call "hip-hop culture"-related attire such as Mitchell & Ness throwback jerseys, baggy jeans, crooked baseball caps, knee-length t-shirts, large items of jewelry, and Timberland boots. Punishment for violations would include fines and possible suspensions for repeat violations.

Iverson harshly criticized Stern's dress code, saying that it "would not change a person's character regardless of what type of clothing they wore", and that "associating hip-hop styles of dress with violent crime, drugs, or a bad image is racist." Iverson also said that the advertising of many prominent NBA sponsors, such as Nike, Reebok, Puma and Adidas were heavily influenced by hip-hop culture.

[edit] Trivia

Married to high school sweetheart Tawanna Turner (since August 3, 2001) and the couple have four children: Tiaura (born 1995); Allen II (born 1998); Isaiah Rahsaan (born August 8, 2003); and Messiah Lauren (born August 16, 2005).
Resides in the wealthy Philadelphia suburbs known as the Main Line.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan was Iverson's college basketball teammate at Georgetown, and is considered one of Iverson's close friends.
As a junior, Iverson quarterbacked Bethel High School's football team to the state championship title.
His favorite song is "Unbelievable" by Notorious B.I.G.
His favorite book is The Color Purple.
He enjoys drawing in his spare time.
Wears black/white tights (leggings) along with many other NBA players including Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant.
Wears a compression sleeve on his right arm during games due to right elbow tendonitis.
His favorite actors are Samuel L. Jackson and Al Pacino^[2].
Iverson now has an off-season home in Atlanta.
Iverson was the first major client of New Jersey attorney-agent Leon Rose. He is also a confidant of William Wesley.
His mom, Ann Iverson, is the owner of the Richmond, Virginia-based Richmond Warriors, a team of the American Basketball Association.
Has joined Reebok's I Am What I Am campaign.

[edit] See also

List of National Basketball Association players with 60 or more points in a game

[edit] External links

Basketball-Reference.com: Allen Iverson
Player Profile at NBA.com (including statistics)
Philadelphia 76ers' official site
Official U.S. Olympic Team bio ... includes Olympic Q&A
Allen Iverson Blog

[edit] References

Preceded by: Damon Stoudamire	NBA Rookie of the Year 1996-97	Succeeded by: Tim Duncan
Preceded by: Shaquille O'Neal	NBA Most Valuable Player 2000-01	Succeeded by: Tim Duncan
Preceded by: Shaquille O'Neal Tim Duncan	NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player 2001	Succeeded by: Kobe Bryant
Preceded by: Shaquille O'Neal	NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player 2005	Succeeded by: LeBron James