One of the most storied players in Philadelphia 76ers history in the past 20 years, Allen Iverson, has been nominated for the 2016 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Iverson joins 13 other finalists who hope to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The 2016 class will be announced on April 4th, 2016 at the NCAA Final Four in Houston. Iverson finished his 14-year career with 26.7 points, good for seventh all-time in the NBA, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Allen Iverson named as one of the 14 finalists for enshrinement in Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this September.
— Brian Seltzer (@brianseltzer) February 12, 2016
Iverson was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers first overall 20 years ago, in the 1996 NBA draft. The Georgetown alum went on to win Rookie of the Year in 1996-97 after averaging 23.5 points, 7.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game. Iverson was a two-time All-Star Game MVP and won the NBA Most Valuable Player award in 2000-01, leading the Sixers to the NBA Finals against Kobe Bryant and fellow 2016 Hall of Fame nominee Shaquille O'Neal. That year, A.I. averaged 31.1 points, 4.6 assists and 2.5 steals, shooting 42 percent from the floor.
“I’m a product of Michael Jordan, Isaiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, all those guys that paved the way for us,” said Iverson during the announcement event, which was held at the Sheraton Centre hotel in Toronto and televised on NBA TV. He added that those players have “no idea” the extent to which they influenced him. [Sixers.com]
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.
On December 19th, 2006, the Sixers parted ways with their franchise cornerstone, trading him to Denver in exchange for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first round picks that seemingly never panned out. Iverson returned to Philadelphia to play for the Sixers in December of 2009. He averaged 13.9 points in 25 games played that season, shooting just under 42 percent.
A.I. finished his career in Philadelphia second in franchise history in points (19, 931), second in steals (1,644), first in three-point field-goals (885), second in points per game (27.6), first in steals per game (2.3) and third in assists (4,385).
The 11-time All-Star is joined by nominees Shaquille O'Neal, Sheryl Swoopes, Tom Izzo, Kevin Johnson, Eddie Sutton (coach), Bo Ryan (coach), John McLendon (coach), Muffett McGraw (coach), Robert Hughes (coach), Darrell Garretson (official), Leta Andrews (coach), Charles Dreisell (coach) and 1954-58 Wayland Baptist University.
Brandon Apter, Managing Editor for Sixerdelphia.com
