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Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7, 1975, in Hampton, Virginia), nicknamed A.I. and The Answer, is an American professional basketball player. He is an All-Star point/shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers franchise of the National Basketball Association (NBA). more...

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A ten-year veteran at the age of 30, he is considered by many to be among the greatest guards of his generation and one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the game.

In 2003, Iverson was ranked 53rd on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA players of all time.

Early years

In 1975, Allen Iverson was born on the Virginia Peninsula (where both Hampton and Newport News are located). While attending Bethel High School in Hampton, Iverson excelled at both football and basketball. As quarterback, he led his team to the Virginia State Championship, but focused on basketball after high school. He received a scholarship to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he played for the Hoyas under college coach John Thompson.

NBA career

Impact on the 76ers

Upon leaving Georgetown after his sophomore year, Allen Iverson was selected with the first overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and has led the team in scoring ever since. Iverson quickly established himself in the NBA by winning the Rookie of the Month award in November of his first season, and ending that season averaging 23.5 points per game (good for sixth in the NBA).

Iverson's talent almost immediately led to an increase in fan interest in Philadelphia and improved ticket sales at the Sixers' box office. Dubbed The Answer, Iverson had arguably his best season in 2001, leading the NBA in scoring, winning the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, and reaching the NBA Finals. Once there, and up against the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers, Iverson carried his team to a shocking overtime victory in the series opener in Los Angeles. The Sixers nearly upset the Lakers again in Game 2 before the Lakers managed to regroup and take the series in five games.

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 NBA scoring titles by one player. He only trails Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. On February 12, 2005, Iverson scored a career-high 60 points against the Orlando Magic.

Relationship with Larry Brown

For most of the early portion of Iverson's career, his head coach with the Sixers was Larry Brown. Iverson often praised Brown, saying that he would not have achieved so much in the sport without Brown's guidance. Iverson had a love-hate relationship with Brown, however, and the two frequently clashed, most famously after the 76ers were defeated in the first round of the 2002 NBA Playoffs. Brown criticized Iverson for missing team practices and Iverson defended himself with what would become a famous and oft-quoted monologue which some observers felt indicated a lack of appreciation by Iverson for the importance of practice.

Read more at Wikipedia.org