We’re Talking About The Game

• 

We’re Talking About The Game! When I was younger there were a lot of players who were the among best to play basketball. I was really glad to be able to see “AI” in his heyday. He was always appreciative of this fanbase “I love my fans in Philadelphia”. Allen, nicknamed AI or The Answer grew up in Hampton Virginia. Went to Bethel High School, and was what they would call a dual-sport athlete, playing football and basketball. After he graduated, he spent two years at Georgetown University. In 1996 the Sixers drafted him with the first overall pick in the NBA draft.

Looking to rebuild a team, it was Allen who would they bring in as the Sixers made their decision for the future. They drafted Iverson, who was only a sophomore in college. After being selected by the Sixers he would make Philadelphia his second home and was becoming a fan favorite any given night.

Looking to rebuild a team

There was one game as a rookie when the Sixers were playing the defending NBA Champion Chicago Bulls and Allen would have a career-high 37 points. He also broke Wilt Chamberlain’s rookie record with at least 40 points in 3 straight games. Also doing so in 5 straight games, including a 50-point effort against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After that season he would be the named NBA Rookie of the Year. In a strike-shortened 1998-99 season, he was a scoring champion that year after the season. Iverson would sign a six-year contract with the Sixers, and later on, he would make the Eastern Conference All-Star Team in only his second year.

The 2000-01 season

The 2000-01 season was a season that was probably the best time to be a Philadelphia 76ers fan for me and for many fans who were at the First Union Center or watching at home They were the talk of the town. The Sixers started out with a 10-0 record. Allen would begin to build a great relationship with head coach Larry Brown. That season AI was named as the starter for the 2001 NBA All-Star Game and was the MVP of the All-Star Game.

But that’s not all, what Iverson did that year was special as he led the Sixers to a 56-26 record and the best team in the Eastern Conference, he was also a scoring champion again for that season for the second time in his NBA career. Iverson was showing he was the odds-on favorite for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. After beating the Indiana Pacers in the first round, they would face the Toronto Raptors. He was having himself numbers that were second to none on any given night during the playoffs.

He would become the league’s MVP and would take his team to the Conference Finals and a win in 7 games against the Milwaukee Bucks, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career. They faced the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 and Allen Iverson shocked the Lakers with a clutch shot to seal the win for Iverson and the Sixers.

Unfortunately, after that game, they would not win another game in that series and would lose to the Lakers in 5 games. After that NBA Finals run, he would win the 2001-02 scoring champion for the second consecutive year. They would not make the finals again in Brown’s tenure. Two years later he would see his head coach get fired in 2003.

• 

We are talking about the game. After Brown’s departure, he would be in a controversy with new head coach Randy Ayers and later on Ayers was fired after one season. The Sixers then brought in coach Chris Ford and Iverson wasn’t taking a liking to the new head coach. With incidents and  Ford also suspending Iverson for missing practice, also the continuous many errors for Iverson were becoming a huge factor. Iverson would miss a career-high 34 Games that season and miss the postseason for the first time since his rookie year.

          After that year in 2004-2005, the Sixers would bring in Jim O’Brien. It was back to Iverson of old one time beating the Pacers at the buzzer and then they would make the postseason but would lose to the Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Pistons and was a scoring champion again for the third time in his career he was also the MVP of 2005 All-Star Game. also Won a scoring title for the fourth time in his career. In the 2005-06 Season on Fan Appreciation Night he along with Chris Weber arrived late for the game and if you were thinking it was the bitter end for Iverson, you would think right.

Allen Iverson and the Sixers vs Kobe Bryant, Shaq and the Lakers 🏀

NBA Finals 2001 Game 1 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aCcDFuVWQQ

— In My Mind (@MeAloneInMyMind) July 9, 2021

After trips to the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons in the 2009-10 Year. The Sixers would bring him back as a player for the 76ers. And wouldn’t last long. He would then spend a year in Turkey in 2010-11 until the 2013-14 season when he would officially retire. He was an 11-time All-Star seven-time All-NBA. Three-time NBA steals leader. Seven-time NBA minutes leader In 2016 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. For a lot of Sixers Fans like myself who got to see him play every night. He was certainly a Sixer who was fun to watch any given night. Iverson showed me that he was one of the greatest players that ever played the game of 76ers Basketball. Check out this and all other philly sports coverage on the EOP Website.

Allen Iverson Quotes

“We’re sitting here, and I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we’re talking about practice. I mean listen, we’re sitting here talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, but we’re talking about practice. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last, but we’re talking about practice man. How silly is that?”

“When you win, everything is everything. But when you lose, it’s all about Allen Iverson and Larry Brown. When we win, I know that I get the praise and Larry Brown gets the praise, but when we lose, it’s on me and Larry Brown. That’s something that I have to learn to accept and deal with.”

“I love my fans in Philadelphia”

“I love my fans in Philadelphia, but this is the hardest place in the world to play in. It’s the hardest place to play in to be a superstar. Just to be the No. 1 guy. All eyes on you because everybody wants you to be perfect, but not themselves.“I gave everything I had to basketball. The passion is still there, but the desire to play is not. It was a great ride.”

Iverson started dating his high school sweetheart Tawanna Turner. When they were 16 and married her at The Mansion on Main Street in Voorhees, New Jersey. They have five children: Tiara, Allen II, Isaiah, Messiah, and Dream. If you liked this article check out it’s author James Scorza every Saturday morning at 9 am on the Pattison Ave Phanatics Show.

•