Allen Iverson

Allen Ezail Iverson is an American former professional basketball player who played for four teams for 14 years. Allen was born on June 7, 1975. Iverson won the All-Star MVP award in 2001 and 2005 and he was an eleven-time NBA All-Star. He originally played shooting guard position but he absolutely can play point guard position.

Iverson was a dual-sport athlete and he attended Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia. He played football and basketball and won the Division AAA Virginia State championship and he earned the Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in both sport. Iverson attended Georgetown University for two years after he graduated from high school. Playing in Georgetown University, he set the average for school record for career scoring with 22.9 points per game and won the Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards for both years.

Following two successful years at Georgetown, Iverson was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the number one pick of the 1996 NBA draft and dominate the league with his fast pace game and killer crossover. He outclassed the other big time rookies with his monster game such as Marcus Camby, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant, proving the league that he is the league’s best rookie and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 1996–97 season. He continue to dominate the league and won the NBA scoring title during the 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2004–05 seasons, proving that Iverson was The Answer for the prayers of the Philly fans and became one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, despite his small stature (listed at 6 feet, 0 inches). He averages 26.7 points per game in his regular season and ranked sixth of all-time, and his playoff career scoring average of 29.7 points per game following the league’s best, Michael Jordan. Iverson was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the 2000–01 season, beating Shaquille O’neal and Kobe Bryant and led his team to the 2001 NBA Finals the same season where the 76ers couldn’t defeat the Los Angeles Lakers. Iverson maintained his dominance in the league and then represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal. Iverson also played for the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and the Memphis Grizzlies, before ending his NBA career with his home team, the 76ers during the 2009–10 season.

He was rated by ESPN as the fifth-greatest NBA shooting guard of all time in 2008. Iverson officially announced his retirement from professional basketball on October 30, 2013.