Allen Iverson was one of the NBA‘s better players throughout the 2000s, and what he was able to accomplish despite being diminutive by the league’s standards was amazing.
He retired with four scoring titles, a regular-season MVP award in 2001, 11 All-Star Game selections, and seven All-NBA nods.
Iverson was also known as someone who was true to himself, and his “keep it real” ethos made him a cult favorite.
Stephen A. Smith recently appeared on Paul George’s podcast and recalled a time when he wrote a negative story about Iverson, and the two talked, which made Smith realize that he had wounded the star.
Years ago, Smith wrote for The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he covered the Philadelphia 76ers, the team Iverson spent most of his career with, which gave Smith a close look at the Hall of Famer.
In just Iverson’s fifth season, everything seemed to come together for him and Philly, as the team landed center Dikembe Mutombo, the Defensive Player of the Year that year, and Iverson won his MVP award.
The Sixers won 56 games and went all the way to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
But they were never able to recapture that success, as they haven’t gotten past the second round of the playoffs since.
Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets midway through the 2006-07 season, and he ended his career by playing for three different teams in his last two seasons, which included one last stint with Philly.
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