Brandon Apter (@bapter23), Managing Editor
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame released its annual list of candidates for induction on Monday. Among them were three former Sixers, most notably Allen Iverson. The Hall of Fame recently changed their rules for eligibility, allowing players who were retired for four years to be considered for the honor. Prior to that, it had been five years. It's the 124th anniversary of when James Naismith invented the game of basketball.
1997 NBA Rookie of the Year and 2001 Most Valuable Player Allen Iverson is among three Sixers on the list that also include first-time candidates Shaquille O'Neil and Yao Ming. During Iverson's career, he was named to 11 All-Star games, finished 28th on the all-time NBA scoring list, appeared in the playoffs eight times and was crowned All-Star MVP twice.
"The Answer" averaged 27.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.3 steals per game in a Sixers uniform. He played 722 games for Philadelphia. Overall, he finished with career averages of 26.7 points, 6.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. Iverson's 29,879 points scored rank 2nd on tin Sixers franchise history. He also dished out 4,385 assists, which puts him in third all-time on the Sixers assists list.
The two other Sixers on the list are Bobby Jones and Maurice Cheeks, both of whom were members of the Sixers 1983 championship team. Maurice Cheeks averaged 12.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game in 11 seasons with the Sixers while Jones earned the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award for his contributions off the bench during the 1982-83 championship run.
Finalists will be announced during All-Star weekend in Toronto on February 12th, 2016. The Class of 2016 will be inducted on April 4th during the NCAA Final Four in Houston, Texas.
