CAREER AVERAGES

26.7

Points

6.2

Assists

0.2

Blocks

2.2

Steals

3.7

Rebounds

41.1

Mins

Allen Iverson Honored With Sculpture on '76ers Legends Walk'

The Philadelphia 76ers hosted a sculpture unveiling ceremony honoring Allen Iverson on Friday, April 12 at Penn Medicine Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. As one of the most decorated athletes ever to play for the organization, Iverson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 and selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2001. This announcement comes on the 10th anniversary of Iverson’s No. 3 being retired by the franchise.

Allen Iverson #3 of the Philadelphia 76ers claps his hands during game one of the 2001 NBA Finals

Allen Iverson #3 of the Philadelphia 76ers enjoys a break in the action

Kobe Bryant #8 of the Los Angeles Lakers chats with Allen Iverson #3 of the Philadelphia76ers

Allen Iverson #3 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on

The Answer

Selected as the first overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, Allen Iverson, the superstar from Georgetown University, was as highly touted as any prospect in NBA history. After two stellar NCAA seasons, the first-year Sixer delivered immediately, winning NBA Rookie of the Year and eventually becoming one of basketball's most prolific scorers.

The highlight of Iverson's 76ers career came in 2001, when "The Answer" would claim both the league's scoring and steals titles, as well as the league's Most Valuable Player award, while leading his team to an Eastern Conference Championship. He played six more seasons in Philadelphia before stints with the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and Memphis Grizzlies. He returned to the 76ers in the 2009-2010 season and his jersey was retired to the rafters of The Center in 2014.

His time with the Sixers, combined with years he spent in those other NBA cities, make Iverson undisputedly one of the greatest players, pound-for-pound, in NBA history. In the first ten seasons of his illustrious career, Iverson collected four scoring titles, three single season steals crowns, and was named to seven All-NBA teams.

Among Iverson’s many career accomplishments, one of the most impressive came at the expense of another 76ers legend, Wilt Chamberlain. In his freshman season, Allen Iverson broke Chamberlain’s rookie record of three straight games with at least 40 points, doing so in five consecutive contests, including when he scored 50 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 12, 1997.

HIGHLIGHTS

Sixers' great Allen Iverson returned to Philadelphia for Game Six of the 2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals to present the official game ball before tip-off. Watch the Philly crowd give The Answer a warm welcome back to The Center.

AWARDS + Recognition

2 time NBA Most Valuable Player

Allen Iverson’s 2000-01 campaign is perhaps his most impressive single season. He claimed his second scoring title, his first steals title, his first All-Star Game MVP, and led those 76ers to an Eastern Conference title on his way to winning MVP.

11 time NBA All-Star

In his career, Iverson was voted into 11 total NBA All-Star Games, 9 with the 76ers, and a named a starter for all of them. His highest scoring effort came in 2003, when he dropped 35 in a losing effort to Kevin Garnett and the Western Conference.

2 time NBA All-Star Game MVP

Iverson’s two NBA All-Star Game MVPs came in 2001 and 2005. Between the two contests, he combined for 50 points, 9 rebounds, 17 assists, and 10 steals as he led the Eastern Conference to a pair of victories.

7 time All-NBA Team

Iverson’s seven All-NBA nominations spanned eight seasons, with five consecutive nods from 1999-2003 (2 First Team, 3 Second Team); another First Team selection in 2005; and a Third Team selection in 2006, a season in which he split time between Philadelphia and Denver.

1 time NBA Rookie of the Year

In 1996, listed at 6’0”, Iverson became the shortest player to ever be selected first overall in the NBA Draft. Averaging 23.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game, Iverson was nearly a unanimous choice for the league’s Rookie of the Year honor.

1 time NBA All-Rookie First Team

The 1996 NBA Draft is widely believed to be the best class in league history. Iverson was joined on the All-Rookie First Team in 1997 by Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Marcus Camby, Stephon Marbury, and Antoine Walker. The Second Team included Basketball Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen.

4 time NBA Scoring Champion

In his four seasons of being the NBA’s scoring leader, Iverson averaged more than 30 points per game in three of them. To date, he remains the only member of the Philadelphia 76ers to ever win the crown more than twice, with Wilt Chamberlain and Joel Embiid both having two titles.

3 time NBA Steals Leader

Allen Iverson is one of only two Philadelphia 76ers to ever win the single season steals title, and one of only five players in NBA history to win it in three different seasons. He shares second place for most occurrences with Michael Jordan, Micheal Ray Richardson, and Alvin Robertson.

NBA Anniversary Team

In 2022, Allen Iverson was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, making him one of the greatest 75 players in league history. He was joined on the list by eight other former 76ers; Charles Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham, Julius Erving, Hal Greer, Moses Malone, Bob McAdoo, and Dolph Schayes

Iverson’s 2000-01 Season

In 2000-01, Iverson led the charge as the Sixers started the season with a franchise record 10 consecutive wins and a 13-game road winning streak that started in December and stretched through January. These separate efforts helped to solidify Iverson as one of the game’s greats, and 76ers as one of the league’s elite teams, as A.I. was one of Philadelphia’s three representatives in the 2001 NBA All-Star Game in Washington DC (Head Coach Larry Brown, Theo Ratliff).

Scoring 25 points and dishing out five assists in a come-from-behind victory for the Eastern Conference, Iverson earned his first of two career NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player awards.

Following a blockbuster trade deadline deal that brought Dikembe Mutombo to Philadelphia, Iverson and the Sixers clinched their first Atlantic Division crown since 1989-90, and claimed the top seed in the Eastern Conference, ending the regular season with a 56-26 record. Iverson was named the 2000-01 NBA MVP and he would go on to inspire in the postseason, exerting his dominance on the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, and Milwaukee Bucks for the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance since 1983.

Iverson’s gutsy 48-point performance in Game 1 in Los Angeles against the Lakers is remembered as fondly as any memory in 76ers franchise history, even though The Answer and the Sixers eventually fell to the Lakers in 5 games. He averaged 32.9 points, 6.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 22 games in the 2001 playoffs.