Iverson, Allen 1975–

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Allen Iverson 1975–

Professional basketball player

Allen Iverson, perhaps the quickest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), was born on June 7, 1975, in Hampton, Virginia. His mother Ann Iverson was a teenager and was deserted by Iverson’s father. Soon after her son was born, Ann Iverson’s mother died, leaving the young mother and son to fend for themselves. Iverson grew up in severe poverty in a house that sometimes had no electricity or water. Sports offered an outlet for the immensely gifted young athlete and he excelled in football, baseball, and basketball. Though he is arguably the best player in the NBA today, Iverson told Leigh Montville of Sports Illustrated that basketball was not his first choice: “I always figured I was going to go to one of those big football schools. Florida State. Notre Dame. Football was my first love. Still is. I was going to go to one of those schools and play both. I just loved running the option, faking, throwing the ball, everything about football. I didn’t even want to play basketball at first. I thought it was soft. My mother’s the one who made me go to tryouts. I thank her forever. I came back and said ‘I like basketball, too.’” Iverson cruised through high school doing just well enough in the classroom to stay eligible for sports. In his senior year he led Bethel High School’s football team to a state championship. He was excelling in basketball also until the night of February 13, 1993. Iverson and some friends were at a bowling alley when a fight broke out which then escalated into a brawl divided along racial lines. Of the 50 or so participants involved in the fight, only four black teenagers were charged—one of them Iverson. Though video of the incident did not show Iverson at all and he testified that he left the bowling alley when the brawl started, two other witnesses said that he threw a chair at a woman. The 17-year-old was tried as an adult and sentenced to five years in prison for maiming by mob.

Iverson went to jail for four months before the governor of Virginia commuted his sentence under the condition that he not play organized sports until he graduated from high school. Two years later his conviction was overturned by the State Court of Appeals. Though the incident is erased from his legal record, it made him even more determined to succeed for his family. Iverson told Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly about his motivation: “I knew I had to succeed for them. People would say, ‘Man, that’s a million-to-one shot to make it to the NBA,’ but I’d say ‘Not for me it ain’t.’ ‘Cause if I didn’t succeed, well, I don’t wanna think about it. I thought, for all the sufferin’ they’ve done, they need me to make it. They oughta have some satisfaction in life.” Iverson suddenly became serious about school and worked all the way through the summer at a rigorous learning center to make up his lost class work.

After high school, Iverson attended Georgetown University. The freshman would earn the Big East Rookie of the Year award after leading his team with 20 points and 4.5 assists per game. His sophomore season was better. He drove the Hoyas to a 29-8 record, averaging 25 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.5 steals per game. Iverson, who started 66 of 67 games as a Hoya, was also named Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 1994 and 1995 and named an Associated Press (AP) First Team All-American in 1995. Despite his success and enjoyment of college life, after two years at

At a Glance…

Born Allen Ezail Iverson on June 7, 1975, in Hampton, VA; son of Allen Broughton and Ann Iverson (a factory and shipyard worker); married Tawanna; children: Tiaura, Allen II, and Isaiah. Education: Attended Georgetown University.

Career: Philadelphia 76ers, professional basketball player, 1996—.

Awards: Big East Rookie of the Year, 1995; Big East Defensive Player of the Year, 1995, 1996; first team AP All-American, 1996; NBA Rookie of the Year, 1997; All-NBA first team, 1999; Eastern Conference All-Star Team, 2000-2004.

Addresses: Office—c/o The Philadelphia 76ers, 3601 South Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19148.

Georgetown he knew it was time to leave. His family was still living in poverty back in Hampton, and he now had a daughter Tiara to think about. His sophomore season at Georgetown would be his last in college.

Entered the NBA

On June 26, 1996, Iverson was the first player selected in the NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He signed a $9.4 million contract and set his sights on becoming the best player in the NBA. If he was not the best on the court in his first season, Iverson quickly established himself as one of the most exciting players in the league. His crossover dribble proved to be so explosive that the NBA issued a memo to referees across the league addressing one individual player’s single move. Iverson had to change his crossover dribble slightly to avoid travelling but that did not diminish his achievements. He led his team and all NBA rookies in points (23.5), assists (7.5), steals (2.07), and in minutes played (40.1) per game. His coach Johnny Davis told Montville of Sports Illustrated: “He’s as quick with the ball as anyone in the history of the league. He’s a combination of Isiah Thomas and Tiny Archibald. Fast guys in this league, he makes them look as if they’re slow. He has a level beyond their quickness.” Iverson was named Rookie of the Year and was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the Rookie All-Star game during the NBA’s All-Star weekend. Despite his success, Iverson came under some harsh criticism. His penchant for taking off-balanced shots, sometimes before looking for teammates, coupled with a poor shooting percentage for a point guard (.416), and his turnovers, prompted some to label him selfish—especially among the leagues old guard. Charles Barkley called him “Me-Myself-and-Iverson.” His loyalty to the shoe company Reebok, which erected a 40-foot mural of Iverson in downtown Philadelphia, prompted his next coach Larry Brown to openly question his devotion to the 76ers. And then the league fretted about Iverson’s image. Instead of suits and ties, the 20-year-old opted for baggy pants, mountains of jewelry, and do-rags—like many other young people of his generation. The league even questioned his choice of friends who remained with him from his days in Hampton. But Iverson told Sports Illustrated’s Montville that his loyalty would remain firm: “The NBA can’t pick my friends. When I was struggling growing up, no running water in my house, the electric lights turned off, these were the guys who were with me. They grew up with me. I’m not going to turn my back on them now. Not many people were always angels as they grew up. These are the guys who won’t always be telling me how great I am. They know me.”

The league and other critics seemed to be proved correct in the off-season after Iverson’s rookie year. Iverson was on his way to record a rap song at a local Richmond recording studio; a man offered to drive him there, and Iverson fell asleep around midnight on the way there. Police pulled over Iverson’s car after it was clocked at 93 miles per hour and allegedly found marijuana and a handgun in the Mercedes. Iverson was arrested but all charges were dropped after he was given two years probation with monthly drug tests and 100 hours of community service. Iverson told Sports Illustrated’s Reilly about the incident: “That was so stupid. It was such poor judgment… If that car had crashed, I’d have put my family right back where they’d come from. From then on, I decided I gotta be smart.”

Iverson vowed to put his past behind him and even hired two bodyguards to help him make better decisions socially. The 76ers brought in veteran coach Larry Brown to help tutor Iverson as a point guard. Though the two had their moments of frustration, Iverson improved his game. He led Philadelphia in every offensive category and finished eighth in the league in scoring with 22 points per game and eleventh in minutes played with 39.4 a game. He scored in double figures in 74 of his 80 games and improved his shooting percentage to .461. Though the 76ers improved in the 1997-98 season, coach Brown thought the team and its star punctured could do better. The following season, he switched Iverson from point guard to shooting guard to relieve some of the pressure of bringing the ball up court. Even though he played against taller opponents, Iverson and his team had a breakout year. Iverson led the NBA in scoring with 26.8 points per game and in minutes played. He was named to the All-NBA first team and scored in double figures in 46 of 48 games. The season was not without controversy, though, when Iverson was on the bench and Brown told him to go back in during an April second game; Iverson cursed at having been held out of the game for so long, and Brown sat him for the rest of the contest. Iverson then missed the following game citing a hamstring injury. But ironically the incident seemed to help relations between the two stubborn men. Iverson apologized and later told Sports Illustrated’s Michael Bamberger: “Coach and myself, we’ve come a long way. We started off rocky. Now we’re friends.” More importantly the 76ers finished the lockout-shortened season 28-22 and made the play-offs. The sixth-seeded Philadelphia team proceeded to defeat the third-seeded Orlando Magic three games to one. Iverson dominated the series averaging 28.3 points a game during the first round. Though Philadelphia was swept by the Indiana Pacers in the following round, Iverson had returned playoff basketball to Philadelphia.

Developed Personally and Professionally

Iverson approached the 1999-2000 season as a seemingly different individual. Fresh off his post-season success and a new six-year multi-million dollar contract, Iverson left the bodyguards and much of the controversy behind him. He found himself more concerned with his two children, and instead of two bodyguards, he often traveled with his mother. He became fully committed to his team, telling Ken Berger of the Associated Press, “I’ll do anything to help this team win, I don’t care what it is. I’ll do anything it takes to get a championship. I think Coach Brown knows what it takes to get there.”

Iverson continued to shine in the NBA. He was selected for the All-NBA first team in both 1999 and 2001, and for the second team in 2000, 2002, and 2003. And at the 2001, All-Star game he was named the Most Valuable Player. That same year he was named the Most Valuable Player for the NBA for being the league’s leading scorer and stealer for the season. Iverson was the NBA scoring champion in 1999, 2001, and 2002. He ended the longest streak of double-figure scoring in NBA history on March 20, 2003. Over 186 games from November 24, 2000, to the March 20 game against the Detroit Pistons, Iverson had averaged 32.1 points per game. The Pistons ended his streak by holding him to just five points that game. That year, the Sixers signed a multiyear contract extension with Iverson, signaling that his dream of being a Sixer would continue. Iverson announced at a press conference that “I always wanted to be a Sixer. I always wanted to finish my career as a Sixer… It just means a lot to me that I could be in a Sixers uniform for the rest of my career,” according to Sixers.com. Sixers President and General Manager Billy King responded, saying “With this contract, we’re telling him we always want him to be here as well.”

In 2004, Iverson’s play helped qualify the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National team qualify for the Olympics. His superior play and stamina was rewarded in playing time. That year he ranked first in the NBA for playing time, averaging 42.5 minutes per game. Iverson also hit two personal records in 2004; on January 23rd, he became the tenth fastest player to score 14,000 points in NBA history and on February 19th he scored 40 points in a single game for the fiftieth time in his career.

Although a variety of injuries kept him from playing 21 games during the 2004 season, he was ready to get back in shape when he made a surprise appearance at a workout for 76er rookies and free agents in July. Iverson remarked to Sixers.com that it was “fun just getting back into it,” adding: “When you don’t play the game for a while and then you are able to play it again, it’s kind of like a kid in the candy store. You kind of forget what you have been missing, not playing the game.” With his body healed, Iverson was primed to start the next season as strong as ever.