Allen Iverson

Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player.

Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions.

Iverson played for the "Boo" Williams-led AAU basketball team and won the 1992 17-and-under AAU national championship.

This team was coached by Williams, who has been credited by Iverson as his most inspirational coach of all time.

On February 14, 1993, Iverson and several of his friends were involved in an altercation with several other patrons at a bowling alley in Hampton, Virginia.

Allegedly, Iverson's crowd was raucous and had to be asked to quiet down several times, and eventually a shouting duel began with another group of youths.

Shortly after that a fight erupted, pitting the white crowd against the black crowd.

During the fight Iverson allegedly struck a woman in the head with a chair.

He and three of his friends, who were also black, were the only people arrested.

Iverson, who was 17 at the time, was convicted as an adult of the felony charge of maiming by mob, a rarely used Virginia statute that was designed to combat lynching.

A videotape surfaced of the incident that shows Iverson leaving shortly after the fighting began.

Of the incident, Iverson said: "For me to be in a bowling alley where everybody in the whole place know who I am and be crackin' people upside the head with chairs and think nothin' gonna happen? That's crazy! And what kind of a man would I be to hit a girl in the head with a damn chair? I rather have 'em say I hit a man with a chair, not no damn woman."

After Iverson spent four months at Newport News City Farm, a correctional facility in Newport News, he was granted clemency by Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder, and the Virginia Court of Appeals eventually overturned the conviction in 1995 for insufficient evidence.

This incident and its impact on the community is explored in the documentary film No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson.

Following two successful years at Georgetown University, Iverson declared eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the first overall pick.

He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 1996–97 season.

Iverson won NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1997 and was an 11-time NBA All-Star, won the All-Star game MVP award in 2001 and 2005, and was the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2001.

A four-time scoring champion, winning the NBA scoring title during the 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, and 2004–05 seasons, Iverson was one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, despite his relatively small stature (listed at 6 feet, 0 inches, or 183 centimeters).

His regular season career scoring average of 26.7 points per game ranks seventh all-time, and his playoff career scoring average of 29.7 points per game is second only to Michael Jordan.

Iverson was also the NBA Most Valuable Player of the 2000–01 season, and led his team to the 2001 NBA Finals the same season.

Iverson represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal.

He was rated the fifth-greatest NBA shooting guard of all time by ESPN in 2008.

Later in his career, Iverson played for the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and the Memphis Grizzlies, before ending his NBA career with the 76ers during the 2009–10 season.

He finished his career in Turkey with Beşiktaş in 2011.

He returned as a player-coach for 3's Company in the inaugural season of the BIG3.

Iverson was born in Hampton, Virginia, to a single 15-year-old mother, Ann Iverson.

His father, Allen Broughton, was not involved in raising him.

During his early childhood years in Hampton, Iverson was given the nickname "Bubba Chuck".

A childhood friend, Jaime Rogers, said that Iverson would always look out for the younger kids and that "He could teach anybody."

When Iverson was 13, father figure Michael Freeman was arrested in front of the teen for dealing drugs.

Iverson then failed the eighth grade because of absences and moved to get out of the projects.

He attended Bethel High School, where he started as quarterback for the school football team while also playing running back, kick returner, and defensive back.

He also started at point guard for the school basketball team.

During his junior year, Iverson was able to lead both teams to Virginia state championships, as well as earn The Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in both sports.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

In October 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

Iverson is regarded as one of the game's greatest scorers, ball handlers, and guards, as well as being one of the most influential athletes in American sports.

Iverson attended Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia, and was a dual-sport athlete.

He earned the Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in both football and basketball, and won the Division 5 AAA Virginia state championship in both sports.

After high school, Iverson played college basketball with the Georgetown Hoyas for two years, where he set the school record for career scoring average (23.0 points per game) and won the Big East Defensive Player of the Year award both years.