By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Philadelphia 76ers icon Allen Iverson will be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday and he'll be presented by three people who greatly influenced his career. Former Sixers coach Larry Brown, former Georgetown coach John Thompson and Sixers great Julius Erving will be on hand for Iverson's special day.
Brown took over as the coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1997, Iverson's second year in the league. Brown was one of the few people who seemed to be able to connect and get through to Iverson as the duo paired up for some of the most memorable years of Sixers basketball. The run included an appearance in the 2001 NBA Finals and Iverson taking home Most Valuable Player in 2001 as well.
During Iverson's two years at Georgetown, he was coached by John Thompson in 1995 and 1996. In those two seasons, the Georgetown Hoyas made it to the Sweet 16 (1995) and the Elite 8 (1996). In his two seasons with the Hoyas, Iverson averaged 22.9 points per game en route to being the first overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft.
Erving, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer of the 1993 class, is one of the greatest players all-time in the league and a member of the Sixers 1983 World Championship Team.
Iverson made eight playoff appearances in his 14-year career, six times with the Sixers and two with the Denver Nuggets. In those 71 combined playoff games, A.I. averaged 29.7 points, six assists and 2.1 steals per game. During his final year with Philadelphia, in 2004-05, Iverson averaged 31.2 points per game in the five postseason contests.
The Answer will be honored on Friday along with Shaquille O'Neal, Yao Ming, Tom Izzo, Sheryl Swoops, Jerry Reinsdorf, referee Darell Garretson and coach John McLendon.
