Allen Iverson Biography

Basketball Player

A lightening-quick guard with an attacking style, Allen Iverson played two years of college basketball for Georgetown University before being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996. He soon became their leading scorer, earning the nickname "The Answer." By 1999 he was the leading scorer in the entire NBA, averaging 26.8 points per game. Iverson's many tattoos, stylish cornrow braids and urban attitude made him a symbol of wider changes in the NBA. He recorded a rap CD (under the name Jewelz) in 2000; Iverson's coarse lyrics created a minor controversy (for which Iverson eventually apologized), and the album was never released commercially. Despite the off-court distractions, his on-court production continued and Iverson was optimistically considered the next Michael Jordan. Iverson was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2001, and at six feet tall he was the shortest player in NBA history to hold the title. He was traded in December 2006 to the Denver Nuggets, where he joined the budding NBA star Carmelo Anthony. Iverson was traded again in 2008 from Denver to the Detroit Pistons, but didn't play as well or as much. He missed several games in February and March, and was out for the rest of the season after the first week of April. The official reason was that Iverson was out due to a back injury, but the NBA gossip was that Iverson's unwillingness to come off the bench soured his relationship with the Pistons.

Extra credit: Iverson wore jersey number 3 until he went to Detroit, where he wore number 1... Besides "The Answer," he is also nicknamed "AI"... In the 2006 trade, Philadelphia got guard Andre Miller, forward Joe Smith and two first-round picks. Denver got Iverson and rookie forward Ivan McFarlin... His official NBA profile lists Iverson at 6'0" tall and 165 pounds.

Other NBA stars include Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd and 76er legend Julius Erving.