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Allen Iverson

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Allen Iverson.

Position: Point Guard
College: Georgetown
NBA draft: 1996, 1st round,
1st overall,
Philadelphia 76ers
Pro career: Currently in his 10th season
Hall of Fame: none
(still active)

Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7, 1975 in Hampton, Virginia) is an American professional basketball player. He is an All-Star point guard/shooting guard for the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers franchise.


Life

Born in Newport News, Virginia (like other star athletes Michael Vick and Aaron Brooks). While attending Bethel High School in Hampton,he recieved several awards for his excellency in BaSkEtBaLl which he loved very much.

NBA Career

Later known as "A.I." or "The Answer," Allen Iverson was originally selected with the first pick (1 overall) in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and has led the team in scoring ever since. As a rookie he quickly gained national popularity for a famous left-to-right crossover dribble which caused some defenders, most notably Michael Jordan (one of the premier players of all time) to stumble awkwardly. At just 6'0" and a skinny 165 pounds (1.83 m, 75 kg), Iverson employs his superior quickness, virtuoso ball handling ability, and massive heart to single-handedly carry his team on his back. He had his best season in 2001, leading the NBA in scoring, winning the Most Valuable Player Award, and reaching the NBA Finals. In these finals, the 76ers faced a powerful Los Angeles Lakers squad that featured Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Lakers had reached the final series undefeated throughout the playoffs, and most of the basketball world expected the Lakers to easily handle the 76ers. But Allen Iverson carried his team to a shocking overtime victory in the series opener at in Los Angeles, and nearly upset the Lakers again in game two.

File:IVERSON ALLEN 3 172871 480 art R0.jpg
Allen Iverson makes up for his lack of size with speed, ballhandeling, and hustle

The NBA changed several rules during the off-season, and allowed zone defenses. These new rules have since limited Iverson's effectiveness somewhat, but he was still able to lead the NBA in steals and minutes played while maintaining his high scoring output. In fact, 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 scoring titles. He only trails Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. On February 12, 2005, Iverson scored a career-high 60 points against the Orlando Magic. He had lavishly praised then-76ers head coach Larry Brown, often saying that he would not have reached the heights that he has in the sport without Brown's guidance. He had a love-hate relationship with Brown, however. After the 76ers were defeated in the first round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, Brown criticized Iverson for missing team practices. Iverson later held a press conference in which he said: "We're talking about practice. We're not even talking about the game, the actual game, when it matters. We're talking about practice."

Iverson later reunited with Brown as a member and co-captain of the 2004 USA Olympics basketball team. However, the were only able to win the bronze medal. A gold medal had been expected. Iverson, along with teammate LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, were benched during a game, when they were late to a practice session. The United States team had a dismal start against Germany who had failed to qualify for the Olympic competition. However Iverson kept the game from going into overtime with a miraculous half-court shot in the closing seconds. In 2003, Allen Iverson was ranked 53rd on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA players of all time.






NBA All-Star selections:

  • 2000
  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2005
  • Total selections (6)

NBA Rookie Of The Month

  • Nov 1997

NBA Rookie Of The Year

  • 1997

All-NBA First Team

  • 1999
  • 2001
  • 2005

All-NBA Second Team

  • 2000
  • 2002
  • 2003

NBA All-star Game MVP

  • 2001
  • 2005

NBA MVP

  • 2001

Trivia

  • Served as a co-captain for Team USA at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, and led the team in scoring (13.8 ppg)
  • Feb. 19, 2004, vs. Seattle scored 40 points in a game for the 50th time
  • Named an Eastern Conference All-Star starter in 2005 for the 6th year in a row (2000-05)
  • 10th fastest player to reach 14,000 points on Jan. 23, 2004
  • Averaged 14.3 points and 3.8 assists per game helping USA Basketball Men's Senior National team qualify for the 2004 Olympics
  • Named the 2000-01 NBA Most Valuable Player, leading the league in scoring (31.1 ppg) and steals (2.51 spg)
  • Received the sole first place vote that did not go to Shaquille O'Neal for the 1999-2000 NBA Most Valuable Player. (That vote came from Fred Hickman.)
  • Most Valuable Player of the 2001 and 2005 All-Star Game
  • Three times selected All-NBA Second Team (2000, 2002, 2003)
  • Three times selected All-NBA First Team (1999, 2001, 2005)
  • Named the 1996-97 Schick NBA Rookie of the Year, becoming the first 76ers player to ever win the award
  • Set the Sixers all-time rookie record with 1,787 points
  • Scored 40 points in five straight games in April 1997 to set an NBA rookie record
  • Named MVP (most valuble player) of the Schick Rookie Game during the 1997 NBA All-Star Weekend, posting 19 points and a game-high 9 assists
  • Named NBA Rookie of the Month for November, 1997, leading all rookies in scoring (21.8 ppg), assists (6.4 apg) and steals (2.67 spg)

Controversy

File:Jewelz ivyalbum.jpg
seen here is the cover of Allen Iverson's contreversial album entitled, 40 bars, Iverson released this album under the alias of "Jewels

Allen Iverson has been a controversial figure, Dating back to his teenage years, Iverson has had trouble with the law. One highly publicized incident that jeopardized his college career involved his role in a fight between black and white patrons at a bowling alley. Iverson maintained his innocence, but was convicted. However, the Supreme Court overturned the conviction. Later incidents have even led some supporters to reconsider the rumors. For instance, it was alleged that Iverson had threatened his wife with a handgun, but he was later acquitted of the charges.

Iverson also attempted to release a rap album named "40 Bars" under the alias "Jewels". The cover of the album featured Iverson holding a large pile of diamonds in his hands. However, Iverson eventually scrapped plans to release it.

His 30th birthday party went awry on June 7, 2005. He was initially denied entry to his own birthday party (which was held at the Garden of Eden Club in Los Angeles) by a bouncer who told him that he couldn't enter because one of President Bush's daughters and the Secret Service were inside the club. (To make the situation look even worse for Iverson, the bouncers had admitted troubled former child star Todd Bridges.) According to some people, Iverson reacted "true to his expletive-filled on-court persona," at one point shouting, "I didn't vote for her!" When he was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher, Iverson laughed it out, then he successfully played the same prank, this time keeping Indiana Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal out from his birthday party. It was aired on MTV on July 3, 2005.

Opinions of Iverson's basketball ability

There are many different opinions on Allen Iverson the basketball player. While he scores lots of points, he also shoots a below average field goal percentage. As of now his career field goal percentage is .419. This low field goal percentage can be accounted for by the lack of high quality team mates; Iverson is often double and triple teamed because opponents game plan for stopping Iverson and not his team mates. He improved his shot selection, and is a better, and more alert passer than he was earlier in his career. He is now one of the best mid-range jump shooters in the league, where he is oft to pull up 15 feet from the basket near the top of the key. When he drives to the basket, he is extremely good at laying the ball up high off the glass in order to avoid getting blocked. Also worth noting is that Iverson rarely lays the ball up using his left hand. He often resorts to spinning his entire body around to lay the ball up with his right hand on the left side of the basket. Despite this deficiency, defenders are unable to stop this move. Iverson is also very good at using his elbows to create space while turning the corner around a defender as he drives to the basket. Iverson has very long arms, so this creates a lot of space. Iverson is also known for being one of the best defenders in the game, averaging two and a half steals per game. Iverson is one of the best passers in the game, most years Iverson is in the top 10 in assists.


NBA Dress Code Controversy

On October 17, 2005, NBA commissioner David Stern instituted a mandatory dress code for all NBA players. Stern's edict stated that all players must dress in conservative attire while acting within the purview of their employment by an NBA franchise in public, or when acting as a representative of the league in public.

Stern banned what critics and supporters call "hip-hop culture"-related attire such as throwback jerseys, jeans, hats, t-shirts, large items of jewelry, and Timberland boots. Punishment for violations would include fines and possible suspensions for repeat violations.

Iverson, Tim Duncan, the Indiana Pacers' Stephen Jackson and the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce countered that Stern's dress code 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. Many players and pundits contend that David Stern is hypocritical considering that the NBA exploits the culture when it suits them. For instance, the advertising of many prominent NBA sponsors, such as Nike, Reebok, Puma and Adidas were heavily influenced by hip-hop culture.

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