Allen Iverson

1975-

American basketball player

At six-feet, 160 pounds, Allen Iverson is one of the smallest players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). But opposing teams can't stop what they can't see, and by all accounts, Iverson is as fast as they come. His lightening speed, prolific scoring ability, and tough competitiveness took his Philadelphia 76ers to the 2001 NBA championship series. Yet Iverson's image as a hip-hop "bad boy" follows him around like a shadow. Covered in tattoos, dressed in baggy clothes, weighed down by diamonds and gold, and never seen with his hair out of its tightly braided rows, Iverson's unconventional and controversial style is unmatched in the NBA.

Tough Beginnings

Allen Iverson was born on June 7, 1975 in Hampton, Virginia. His mother, Ann Iverson, was fifteen years old when her son was born. Iverson's father, Allen Broughton, never had much contact with his son. Iverson's childhood was filled with constant hardship. As an infant he and his mother depended on his maternal grandmother, but soon after his birth she died from complications after surgery. Michael Freeman, who moved in with the family when Iverson was young, served as

Iverson's father and taught him the game of basketball. But Freeman moved in and out of jail after a work-related accident caused him to lose his job, and he turned to distributing illegal drugs.

Iverson and his two half-sisters lived with his mother in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Hampton. When his mother couldn't afford to pay the bills, the family would go without water, lights, and heat. A ruptured sewer line under the house filled it with a noxious smell and would sometimes seep onto the floor. Iverson spent his childhood dreaming of making things better for his family, but everything around him pulled him back into the ghetto. During his youth eight of his friends were murdered, including his best friend.

Despite poor school attendance, frequent confrontations with teachers, and troubles at home, Iverson kept it together just enough to be eligible to participate in sports. Football was his first love. As quarterback at Bethel High School, Iverson, nicknamed Bubbachuck by his friends, led the team to the state Class AAA football title in 1992. Only after his mother encouraged him did Iverson agree to try basketball, and the game soon replaced football as his favorite sport. Early on Iverson believed that basketball would be his ticket out of the slums. He had what he called "the Plan," to make it through high school, get to college, and earn a place in the NBA. Most warned him of his slim chance for success, but Iverson was determined.

First Legal Troubles

It appeared that Iverson's promise to someday buy his mother a red Corvette would go unfulfilled after the seventeen-year-old was arrested on February 14, 1993 for being involved in a mob scene at a local bowling alley. Iverson was hanging out with friends when a confrontation quickly developed into a large brawl divided along racial lines. Accused of throwing a chair that hit a woman, knocking her unconscious, Iverson was charged and tried as an adult. Although he had no previous criminal record, he was sentenced to five years in prison and denied bail pending an appeal. Of approximately fifty people involved in the incident, only four arrests were made; all four were black, causing accusations of racism. Iverson, who denies any direct involvement in the incident, spent four months in prison before being granted conditional release by the governor of Virginia. Two years later the conviction was overturned in a state appeals court due to insufficient evidence, and the crime was stricken from Iverson's record.

Refusing to be detoured from his plans for the NBA, Iverson continued to hone his basketball skills and spent five days a week with a tutor to earn his high school diploma. After passing his final exams in 1994, Iverson accepted an athletic scholarship to Georgetown University. As a member of the Georgetown Hoyas, Iverson immediately became the team's star. During his freshman year he averaged twenty points, 4.7 assists, and 3.5 steals per game and was named the 1995 Big East Rookie of the Year and Big East Defensive Player of the Year. His performance was equally impressive during his sophomore year, and he was once again named Big East Defensive Player of the Year as well as named to the Associated Press's 1996 First Team All-American.

Rookie of the Year

Selected as the first overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Iverson quickly became the team's leader and one of the premiere point guards in the country. His $9.4-million contract was an instant ticket out of poverty for him and his family. During his rookie season, he led his team in per-game statistics, including points (23.5), assists (7.5), steals (2.1), and minutes played (40.1). During the final eight games of the season he averaged thirty-nine points per game, and on April 12, in a 125-118 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he became the second youngest player in NBA history to score fifty points in a game. (Iverson was twenty-one years, 310 days; Rick Barry scored fifty-plus at the age of twenty-one years, 261 days). He was named Rookie of the Year. In his second season, Iverson moved from the point guard position to shooting guard, which provided him with even more opportunities to score. In his third year in the NBA, he clinched the NBA scoring title for the 1999 season with 26.8 points per game and was named to the All-NBA First Team.

Questions about "The Answer"

While Iverson, who became known as "The Answer," was developing a reputation for his lightening speed and cross-over drill that could break down most defenses, he was also receiving his share of negative attention. On the court Iverson was criticized for selfish play and poor decision-making that led to off-balanced shots and turnovers. Critics pointed to Iverson's poor shooting percentage and large number of turnovers. Charles Barkley ruefully called him Allen Me-Myself-and-Iverson. He also came under fire for a perceived lack of respect for the NBA's veteran players. His cockiness and trash talk on the floor only added fuel to the fire. During his first years in the NBA, Iverson was notorious for missing practices, showing up late, and leaving early. His choice of clothes—baggy pants, pounds of gold jewelry, and a 'do rag'—fueled the media's talk of Iverson's past and annoyed his coach Larry Brown, who was also concerned about the friends Iverson chose to hang out with off the court.

Chronology

Southern Discomfort

Last Saturday 150 protesters marched through Hampton, chanting, "Free the Hampton Four" and "No justice, no peace," and singing, "Which Side Are You On?"… The moving force behind the demonstrations is a group called SWIS, an acronym for Simmons, Wynn, Iverson, and Stephens. To a large degree, the group is responsible for turning the case into a national cause celebre. Tom Brokaw, USA Today, The Washington Post —they've all gone down, as have the SCLC and the NAACP, which set up a local office to monitor the case…. Some SWIS supporters—and there are more than 3,000 throughout the country—describe the case as a "judicial lynching" of "uppity" blacks by the white establishment. "Let's be honest," says Joyce Hopson, the Hampton teacher who heads the SWIS, "if this weren't Allen Iverson, these kids don't go to jail. That's it."

Source: Sports Illustrated 79 (October 25, 1993): 46.

The public's reaction to his attire, braided hair, and twenty-one tattoos frustrated Iverson. He told Sports Illustrated, "I got rows, but that don't mean I'm no gangbanger. I ain't never been in a gang. Why do people want to judge me like that?" For Iverson his appearance is simply part of who he is, and serves as a reminder that he will not forget where he came from. While the NBA establishment shakes its collective head in disbelief, Iverson is a hero and an idol to youth around the nation who don the same oversized clothes and braid their hair into rows. His endorsement of Reebok products was highly successful, and Reebok's signature Iverson shoe was a hot seller in the mid-1990s.

Although he insists that he has often been unfairly judged, Iverson's arrest in 1997 on marijuana and firearms charges did little to enhance his image. Iverson was pulled over for speeding, and the trooper discovered a marijuana cigarette and a .45-caliber pistol in the car. Iverson insisted that the joint belonged to the two other men in the car, but admitted that he had used very poor judgment.

By the end of the 1997-98 season Brown was fed up with his young star's poor work ethic, increasing focus on off-court matters such as his Reebok responsibilities, and his aspirations as a rap artist. Rumors began to circulate that a trade was in the works. Eventually Iverson and Brown, both known for their stubborn, determined natures, developed a working, if sometimes volatile, relationship, and in January of 1999 Iverson re-signed with the 76ers for $70.9 million over six years. "When I first got him, I couldn't tell him anything," Brown told Sports Illustrated. "He went crazy on the court. Now he'll listen a little bit." After winning the 1999 NBA scoring title with 26.8 points per game, in October of 2000 Iverson was once again the center of controversy when he released a single of a rap album he cut under his artist name Jewelz. "40 Bars" came under fire for numerous derogatory references to women and gays. Eventually Iverson agreed not to release the full album.

New Focus

During the 2000-01 season Iverson showed a new sense of maturity. He arrived for practices on time, fulfilled team obligations, and began involving his teammates in the offense. He averaged 31.1 points and 4.6 assists per game. Because his teammates were also getting their shots, thanks to Iverson's decision to pass the ball sometimes rather than shoot every time it touched his hands, the 76ers began to see themselves as a team, a team with a shot at an NBA title. They made it into the 2001 NBA finals, but lost the title bid to the Los Angeles Lakers. Iverson was named the NBA Most Valuable Player. The following year he improved to 31.4 points and 5.5 assists per game, and for the second year in a row and the third time in his career, Iverson won the NBA scoring title.

In August of 2001 Iverson married long-time girlfriend Tawanna Turner, with whom he already had two children, a daughter Tiaura, born during Iverson's days at Georgetown, and a son, Allen II, born three years later. Once again Iverson made the news in July of 2002 when he faced arrest on criminal charges stemming from an altercation with his wife that allegedly resulted in Iverson carrying a handgun on a hunt to track down his wife, who had failed to return after Iverson kicked her out of their house. Charges were eventually dropped.

Iverson has more than proven himself as a basketball player, but how history writes the final chapters of his life in the NBA remains an uncertainty. Some view him a "bad boy" from the ghetto who could never leave trouble behind; others see a basically good person who occasionally makes bad decisions and has been unfairly vilified by the press. Iverson has, certainly, fulfilled his "Plan." He bought his mother a red Corvette, as well as a new house, and financially supports an extended family. Evidence of his ongoing impact on the American culture is Reebok's decision in 2002 to extend Iverson's $50 million, 10-year endorsement contract.

Awards and Accomplishments

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Philadelphia 76ers, 1 Corestates Complex, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19148. Phone: (215) 339-7676.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 24. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000.

Newsmakers Issue 4. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001.

Sports Stars. Series 1-4. Detroit: U•X•L, 1994-98.

Who's Who Among African Americans, 14th ed. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001.

Periodicals

"Allen Iverson Clinches NBA Scoring Title." Jet (May 24, 1999): 48.

Ballantini, Brett. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Iverson." Basketball Digest (May 2001): 26.

"Basketball's Bad Boy." Newsweek (November 6, 2000): 58.

Bradley, Michael. "Can He Last?" Sporting News (April 2, 2001): 40.

D'Alessandro, Dave. "Iverson Hasn't Changed; He Has Changed Us." Sporting News (June 18, 2001): 26.

Edelson, Mark. "You Don't Know The Answer." Sport (April 2000): 28

Montville, Leigh. "Flash Point." Sports Illustrated (December 9, 1996): 58.

"NBA Rookie of the Year Arrested on Marijuana and Firearm Charges." Jet (August 18, 1997): 53.

Pearlman, Jeff. "It's About Time." Sports Illustrated (November 13, 2000): 44.

Reilly, Rick. "Counter Point." Sports Illustrated (March 9, 1998): 82.

Rushin, Steve. "No. 3 with a Bullet." Sports Illustrated October 23, 2000): 21.

Samuels, Allison. "Will Iverson Foul Out?" Newsweek (July 22, 2002): 32.

Smallwood, John, Jr. "Brotherly Love Like." Basketball Digest (March 2001): 46.

Smallwood, John, Jr. "The Right Answer." Basketball Digest (Summer 2001): 26.

Smith, Gary. "Mama's Boys." Sports Illustrated (April 23, 2001): 54.

Starr, Mark, and Allison Samuels. "Going Hard to the Hoop: Allen Iverson is Talent and Tumult: Which Will Win?" Newsweek (October 27, 1997): 52-53.

Taylor, Phil. "A Turn For the Better." Sports Illustrated (March 15, 1999): 42+.

Tyrangiel, Josh. "Little Big Man." Time (September 17, 2001): 65.

Zeman, Ned. "Southern Discomfort." Sports Illustrated (October 25, 1993): 46.

Other

"Allen Iverson." National Basketball Association. http://www.nba.com/ (December 11, 2002)

"Allen Iverson." Sports Stats.com. http://www.sportsstats.com/bball/national/players/1990/Allen_Iverson/ (December 10, 2002)

Sketch by Kari Bethel

Career Statistics