Allen Ezail Iverson ( EYE-vər-sən; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as both a shooting guard and point guard. As an NBA rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1997, Iverson was named NBA Rookie of the Year. He 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. 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, guards, and among the most influential athletes in all of 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.
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. 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 trails only Michael Jordan and Luka Dončić. 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.
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 was rated the fifth-greatest NBA shooting guard of all time by ESPN in 2008. 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 Iverson for dealing drugs. Iverson then failed eighth grade because of excessive 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, and was awarded the Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in both sports.
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 on 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. 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."
Iverson was sentenced to 15 years in prison with 10 years suspended. After he 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. Iverson's high school basketball coach stated: "They wanted to make an example out of Iverson." James Elleson, Iverson's lawyer, said: "Only defendants not given bond are capital murderers." Tom Brokaw and the public played a huge role in the release of Iverson. There were rallies and marches for all four black men who were incarcerated, and Brokaw did a special interview with Iverson from the jail. In this special, Iverson was very apologetic and somber. Brokaw even said: "I thought the sentence was surprisingly harsh."
Of his time in prison, Iverson said: "I had to use the whole jail situation as something positive. Going to jail, someone sees something weak in you, they'll exploit it. I never showed any weakness. I just kept going strong until I came out." The prison sentence forced him to complete his senior year of high school at Richard Milburn High School, a school for at-risk students, instead of competing in sports at Bethel. However, the three years Iverson spent at Bethel were enough to convince Georgetown University head coach John Thompson to come out and meet Iverson, and offer him a full scholarship to join the Georgetown Hoyas basketball team.
In his first season at Georgetown in 1994–95, Iverson won the Big East Rookie of the Year award and was named to the All Rookie Tournament First Team. That season, Iverson averaged 20.4 points and led the Hoyas to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels.
In his second and final season at Georgetown in 1995–96, Iverson led the team to a Big East championship and the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Massachusetts. He ended his college career as the Hoyas' all-time leader in career scoring average, at 22.9 points per game. Iverson was named a first-team All-American. Iverson was also named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in each of his two seasons at Georgetown.
Following his sophomore year, Iverson declared for the 1996 NBA draft. He was the first player under Coach Thompson to leave Georgetown early for the NBA.
Philadelphia 76ers (1996–2006)
After two seasons at Georgetown, Iverson was selected with the 1st overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft to the Philadelphia 76ers. Listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall, he became the shortest first overall pick ever, in a league normally dominated by taller players.
Iverson came to a Philadelphia team that had just finished the previous season with a dismal 18–64 record. In his NBA debut, Iverson recorded 30 points and 6 assists on a 103–111 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He tied Willie Anderson for the third highest scoring output by a rookie guard in his debut. On November 12, 1996, Iverson recorded a then career-high of 35 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals on a 101–97 road win over the New York Knicks. In a game against the 55–8 Chicago Bulls, Iverson scored 37 points and memorably crossed over Michael Jordan. He broke Wilt Chamberlain's rookie record of three straight games with at least 40 points, doing so in five straight games, including a 50-point effort in Cleveland against the Cavaliers. Averaging 23.5 points per game, 7.5 assists per game and 2.1 steals per game for the season, Iverson was named the NBA Rookie of the Year. Iverson was only able to help the Sixers to a 22–60 record in 1996–97.