June 26, 1996: Allen Iverson is drafted first by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1996 NBA Draft. November 25, 2009: after playing just 3 games for the Grizzlies and leaving the team on November 7th, Allen Iverson announces his retirement through Steven A. Smith's website. Iverson has repeatedly said that he will not come off the bench and sees himself as a starter. I guess that is why he retired: the 10-time All Star thought he had a chance to start for the Grizzlies, but it didn't work out.
Iverson definitely had a Hall Of Fame career over his 14 NBA seasons. He was the 1997 NBA Rookie of the Year, the 2001 NBA MVP, the 2001 and 2005 All Star Game MVP, a four-time NBA scoring champion and made All-NBA First Team three times. Iverson averaged 27.0 points per game over the course of his career, the fourth-highest career average in NBA history, along with 6.2 assists per game and 2.2 steals per game. He is the only player in NBA history to record 10 steals in a game and to have five consecutive games with 40+ points as a rookie. Also, Iverson started 9 of his 10 All Star games and averaged 29.7 PPG in his 71 career playoff games.
Iverson had a very unique career, and he may have been the best point guard of all time. He said in his retirement statement that he still thinks he can play and compete at a high level, but for now, he's done. His decline clearly began with the trade to Detroit on November 3rd, 2008 (he averaged 26.4 PPG with Denver the season before he was traded). It just wasn't a good fit for him, like Memphis. But maybe there still is a good fit for him out there. Don't be surprised if he tries coming back and playing again. Remember, he didn't retire without a fight: he went more than half a year fighting off all the retirement suggestions. Nonetheless, Allen Iverson had a career that no one will ever forget.
1 comment:
and he's not done yet!
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