Philadelphia 76ers Allen Iverson: The Deep Thoughts of a Hall of Famer in Retrospect
On April 4, 2016 former Phildelphia 76er shooting guard Allen Iverson was elected into the James Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Iverson is heading to the HOF with ten additional members. He will be enshrined September 8-10, 2016 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Iverson is an eleven-time NBA All-Star, joining him are: Tom Izzo, John McLendon (first African-American coach in a professional league), Shaquille O’Neal, and Sheryl Swoopes. Yao Ming from the International Committee will also be inducted.
President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame John L. Doleva remarked that, “The impact the Class of 2016 has had on the game of basketball is gigantic.”
Allen Iverson played 14 NBA seasons and averaged 26.7 points and 6.2 assists per game. Aside from leading the NBA in scoring for four seasons, Iverson was a three-time All-NBA First Team selection. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1997 and NBA MVP in 2001.
Iverson represented the city of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia 76ers in so many ways. He brought a high level of success, but fell short of a championship. He boasted an amazing skill set which relied on skill and athleticism, but also had an unheralded and underrated headiness about him. Iverson was a brilliant offensive talent with NBA screen and roll basketball and “thought the game” as much as he reacted to it. He looked fancy and high-flying but he was good for his fundamentals on the ground.
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Iverson knew how to split a screen, refuse a screen, and read the next action to escape the defense. Part of his legacy is the series of Iverson cuts, and isolations; crosscourt actions to set up screen and roll for a new generation of players. In many ways, the memory fails to compete with the history.
The Philadelphia 76ers are on the cusp of a great draft year, thanks to Hinkie, even though the best selection we have had to date is the first overall selection of Iverson in 1996.
Here was the outlook then:
“Can Vernon Maxwell play the point? (No) What made anyone think he could? Who thought that Richard Dumas would become suddenly stable and mature? Why did the Sixers give up so quickly on Sharone Wright? Can Derek Coleman play? Who knows? Will Derek Coleman play? How well can or will he play? If Coleman sent the likes of Bill Fitch and Chuck Daly packing what chance will Head Coach Johnny Davis have of reaching the royal malcontent?”
It was an unusually strong draft for point guards. Stephon Marbury, Steve Nash and Drew Barry shared the same class with Iverson. As my friend George said for Hoopla way back when in regards to Allen Iverson. . .
"“Somewhere between franchise player and potential star is where you should find the real Iverson. Chock full of promise, he will soon leave mentor and coach, John Thompson to try his hand in the NBA game. He is likely to be the first point guard selected and possibly the would be first player overall.Iverson is an extremely dynamic defensive player, constantly working on his offensive game. He is thought by some scouts as having a slight NBA frame. Most point guards enter the league needing to add ten pounds anyway. Durability will an issue but he can play and control a game. A long prosperous career awaits. Did he make a mistake by leaving college? Not hardly.”"
Thankfully, his durability was never a question but the rest proved rather prophetic. A long and prosperous career did await and the city of Philadelphia was better for it.
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Go Sixers.