Allen Iverson Biography
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Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7, 1975 in Hampton,
Virginia) is an American professional basketball player. He is an All-Star point
guard/shooting guard for the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia
76ers franchise.
****
Life
While attending Bethel High School in Hampton,
Iverson was a spectacular all-around athlete who was regarded as one of the top
high school basketball players in the country.
As quarterback he lead his team to the Virgina
State Championship.
He concentrated on basketball, enrolling at
Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he played for legendary college
coach John Thompson.
NBA
Career
Later known as "A.I." or "The Answer," Allen
Iverson was originally selected with the first pick (1 overall) in the 1996 NBA
Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and has led the team in scoring ever since. As a
rookie he quickly gained national popularity for a famous left-to-right
crossover dribble which caused some defenders, most notably Michael Jordan (one
of the premier players of all time) to stumble awkwardly. At just 6'0" and a
skinny 165 pounds (1.83 m, 75 kg), Iverson employs his superior quickness,
virtuoso ball handling ability, and massive heart to single-handedly carry his
team on his back. He had his best season in 2001, leading the NBA in scoring,
winning the Most Valuable Player Award, and reaching the NBA Finals. In these
finals, the 76ers faced a powerful Los Angeles Lakers squad that featured
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Lakers had reached the final series
undefeated throughout the playoffs, and most of the basketball world expected
the Lakers to easily handle the 76ers. But Allen Iverson carried his team to a
shocking overtime victory in the series opener at in Los Angeles, and nearly
upset the Lakers again in game two.
The NBA changed several rules during the
off-season, and allowed zone defenses. These new rules have since limited
Iverson's effectiveness somewhat, but he was still able to lead the NBA in
steals and minutes played while maintaining his high scoring output. In fact,
Iverson has led the NBA in scoring four times (1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02, and
2004-05,) and, in the process, has tied George Gervin for the third-most scoring
titles. He only trails Wilt "the stilt" Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
On February 12, 2005, Iverson scored a career-high
60 points against the Orlando Magic.
He had lavishly praised then-76ers head coach Larry
Brown, often saying that he would not have reached the heights that he has in
the sport without Brown's guidance. He had a love-hate relationship with Brown,
however. After the 76ers were defeated in the first round of the 2002 NBA
playoffs, Brown criticized Iverson for missing team practices. Iverson later
held a press conference in which he said: "We're talking about practice. We're
not even talking about the game, the actual game, when it matters. We're talking
about practice."
Iverson later reunited with Brown as a member and
co-captain of the 2004 USA Olympics basketball team. However, the were only able
to win the bronze medal. A gold medal had been expected. Iverson, along with
teammate LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, were benched during a game,
when they were late to a practice session. The United States team had a dismal
start against Germany who had failed to qualify for the Olympic competition.
However Iverson kept the game from going into overtime with a miraculous
half-court shot in the closing seconds.
In 2003, Allen Iverson was ranked 53rd on SLAM
Magazine's Top 75 NBA players of all time.
NBA
All-Star selections:
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Total selections (6)
NBA
Rookie Of The Month
Nov 1997
NBA
Rookie Of The Year
1997
All-NBA
First Team
1999
2001
2005
All-NBA
Second Team
2000
2002
2003
NBA
All-star Game MVP
2001
2005
NBA MVP
2001
Trivia
Served as a co-captain for Team USA at the 2004
Olympics in Athens, Greece, and led the team in scoring (13.8 ppg)
Feb. 19, 2004, vs. Seattle scored 40 points in a
game for the 50th time
Named an Eastern Conference All-Star starter in
2005 for the 6th year in a row (2000-05)
10th fastest player to reach 14,000 points on Jan.
23, 2004
Averaged 14.3 points and 3.8 assists per game
helping USA Basketball Men's Senior National team qualify for the 2004 Olympics
Named the 2000-01 NBA Most Valuable Player, leading
the league in scoring (31.1 ppg) and steals (2.51 spg)
Most Valuable Player of the 2001 and 2005 All-Star
Game
Three times selected All-NBA Second Team (2000,
2002, 2003)
Three times selected All-NBA First Team (1999,
2001, 2005)
Named the 1996-97 Schick NBA Rookie of the Year,
becoming the first 76ers player to ever win the award
Set the Sixers all-time rookie record with 1,787
points
Scored 40 points in five straight games in April
1997 to set an NBA rookie record
Named MVP (most valuble prick) of the Schick Rookie
Game during the 1997 NBA All-Star Weekend, posting 19 points and a game-high 9
assists
Named NBA Rookie of the Month for November, 1997,
leading all rookies in scoring (21.8 ppg), assists (6.4 apg) and steals (2.67
spg)
His biggest bum boy is Daniel Austin
Daniel Austin loves him, and kisses his picture
before he goes to bed. Ill breh
Controversy
Allen Iverson has been a controversial figure.
Dating back to his teenage years, Iverson has had
trouble with the law. One highly publicized incident that jeopardized his
college career involved his role in a fight between black and white patrons at a
bowling alley. Iverson maintained his innocence, but was convicted. However, the
Supreme Court overturned the conviction. Later incidents have even led some
supporters to reconsider the rumors. For instance, it was alleged that Iverson
had threatened his wife with a handgun, but he was later acquitted of the
charges.
Iverson also attempted to release a rap album named
"40 Bars" under the alias "Jewelz". The cover of the album featured Iverson
holding a large pile of diamonds in his hands. However, Iverson eventually
scrapped plans to release it.
His 30th birthday party went awry on June 7, 2005.
He was initially denied entry to his own birthday party (which was held at the
Garden of Eden Club in Los Angeles) by a bouncer who told him that he couldn't
enter because one of President Bush's daughters and the Secret Service were
inside the club. (To make the situation look even worse for Iverson, the
bouncers had admitted troubled former child star Todd Bridges.) According to
some people, Iverson reacted "true to his expletive-filled on-court persona," at
one point shouting, "I didn't vote for her!" When he was Punk'd by Ashton
Kutcher, Iverson laughed it out, then he successfully played the same prank,
this time keeping Indiana Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal out from his birthday party.
It was aired on MTV on July 3, 2005.
Opinions of Iverson's basketball ability
There are many different opinions on Allen Iverson
the basketball player. While he scores lots of points, he also shoots a below
average field goal percentage. As of now his career field goal percentage is
.419. He improved his shot selection, and is a better, and more alert passer
than he was earlier in his career. He is now one of the best mid-range jump
shooters in the league, where he is oft to pull up 15 feet from the basket near
the top of the key. When he drives to the basket, he is extremely good at laying
the ball up high off the glass in order to avoid getting blocked. Also worth
noting is that Iverson rarely lays the ball up using his left hand. He often
resorts to spinning his entire body around to lay the ball up with his right
hand on the left side of the basket. Despite this deficiency, defenders are
unable to stop this move. Iverson is also very good at using his elbows to
create space while turning the corner around a defender as he drives to the
basket. Iverson has very long arms, so this creates a lot of space.
Public
Image After '04 Olympics
The public image of Iverson drastically improved
with his decision to play on the 2004 USA Olympic Team. Many All-Star and
headline players who had originally agreed to play for the team backed out. This
left the team with Iverson, the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan, and LeBron James
(who was still a rookie,) as the only true "name" players on the team. Iverson's
show of national pride, sacrifice, and performance aided in his improved public
image.
NBA
Dress Code Controversy
On October 17, 2005, NBA commissioner David Stern
instituted a mandatory dress code for all NBA players. Stern's edict stated that
all players must dress in conservative attire while acting within the purview of
their employment by an NBA franchise in public, or when acting as a
representative of the league in public.
Stern banned what critics and supporters call
"hip-hop culture"-related attire such as throwback jerseys, jeans, hats,
t-shirts, large items of jewelry, and Timberland boots. Punishment for
violations would include fines and possible suspensions for repeat violations.
Iverson, Tim Duncan, the Indiana Pacers' Stephen
Jackson and the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce countered that Stern's dress code
would not change a person's character regardless of what type of clothing they
wore, and that associating hip-hop styles of dress with violent crime, drugs, or
a bad image is racist. Many players and pundits contend that David Stern is
hypocritical considering that the NBA exploits the culture when it suits them.
For instance, the advertising of many prominent NBA sponsors, such as Nike,
Reebok, Puma and adidas were heavily influenced by hip-hop culture.
****
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Iverson
Date Article Copied:
December 19, 2005
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