Iverson Turkish Invasion

Photo courtesy of Yahoo!

The Iverson Turkish Invasion has begun and the Turks are ecstatic to have him, check after the jump for video of his arrival and the subsequent chaos surrounding it.

Turkey? We Talkin' Bout Turkey?

On Friday, Allen Iverson made it official and signed with Turkish team Besiktas on 2-year/$4 million contract. Iverson, 35, following in the footsteps of Josh Childress and Stephon Marbury, has become the biggest NBA star to take his talents overseas.

A.I. is Falling Apart

Iverson's Starting Spot in Jeopardy

Well, this should be an interesting little bit of entertainment: “Allen Iverson has started each of his 22 games as a 76er this season. When Iverson sat out four games in mid- to late December with knee arthritis, Sixers coach Eddie Jordan always said Iverson would start when he returned. But after Monday’s practice, which Iverson again missed due to his daughter’s illness, Jordan wouldn’t commit to Iverson starting when he comes back. ‘That’s a topic we have to discuss,’ Jordan said. Later, Jordan said, ‘We’re going to talk about that as a staff. We’ve had some of those discussions. We’ll cross that bridge when we cross that bridge.’ The 19-31 Sixers have won three in a row - all against teams with a .500 or better record at the time - with Iverson absent and Willie Green starting in his place. The 6-foot-3 Green and 6-4 rookie Jrue Holiday have given the Sixers better size and matchups in the backcourt than when the 6-1 Lou Williams and 5-11 Iverson started. They’ve also cut down on opponents’ dribble penetration, allowing teammates to stay on their man rather than having to rotate over to help on the ball.”

ViaSLAM Online

Highlights from Iverson's Return

Sportcenter highlights of AI's return last night.

Iverson Interview with John Thompson

In a piece on NBA TV, Iverson's college coach John Thompson sat him down for a one on one interview. All three parts are below.

Rough Homecoming

The Answer made his long-awaited return to the Wachovia Center tonight to a sellout crowd as the Sixers took on the Denver Nuggets. The pre-game player introductions gave the feeling that it was Game 1 of the NBA Finals rather than a 5-15 team in the middle of a dreadful losing streak. But that was the point, this was what this team and this fanbase, most importantly, needed. When Iverson was announced to a raucous crowd and he kissed the logo at center court, it was yet another moment in the memory book of Allen Iverson's time in Philadelphia. He may not be the player he was when he won Rookie of the Year, or when he won MVP and carried a team to the NBA Finals. He may not even be the player he was in 2007 when he still was scoring over 25 points per game. But what is not debatable is that he is still a hero to this city and the fans showed their appreciation for him tonight. Even if it was just for tonight, Philadelphia was the capital of the NBA and all eyes were on the city and their prodigal son.

However, after the love fest, there was a game to be played. The Sixers came out playing inspired basketball, especially Andre Iguodala who scored 31 points on 11 of 21 shooting. The Sixers led most of the way but could never seem to pull away from the Nuggets, even with Carmelo Anthony being held to under 20 points for the first time all season. Chauncey Billups, who dropped 31 points along with 8 boards and 8 dimes, led a 22-3 run between the third and fourth quarters that distanced the Nuggets from the Sixers. As for Iverson, he finished with a pedestrian 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting and 6 assists in 37 minutes, a lot of playing time for someone who hasn't played in 34 days. Iverson received a standing ovation as he was taken out of the game with 45 seconds left. The Sixers losing streak is now at 10 games, however tonight, if only for tonight, they had a spark that has not been in the building in years.

Sidenote: The most spectacular play of the night didn't even count. As the end of the first half wound down, Andre Iguodala threw up a full-court heave just for fun and he drained it. The crowd erupted, unfortunately it did not count as time had already expired.

Iverson Press Conference

The Answer was officially introduced today in a press conference to a packed room of excitement and nostalgia. The 34-year old is eager to prove he still has a lot to offer. Now that the excitement of the signing is over and it's time to play ball, what kind of impact will Iverson have on the court?

ESPN NBA Experts discuss The Answer's return

Interesting article from ESPN.com regarding the return of Allen Iverson to Philadelphia. Six ESPN NBA Analysts break down various aspects of the move and where they see the Sixers going from here.

ESPN NBA Experts Discuss The Answer's return

The 1996 NBA Draft: Remix

With The Answer's return to Philadelphia and the nostalgia flowing all throughout the Philadelphia region, we have decided to take a look back on the draft that brought a guard from Georgetown to Philadelphia.

The 1996 Draft, in my opinion, is one of the three most important drafts in modern league history, along with the 1984 and 2003 drafts, respectively. The 1984 draft brought us Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and John Stockton, as well as the G.O.A.T. Michael Jordan. The 2003 Draft brought us the future (and present) of the NBA with Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and many other contributors. The 1996 Draft remains the deepest, most talented draft in recent memory. Filled with future Hall of Famers, former MVPs, scoring champions and NBA champions.



"And with the first pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select Allen Iverson..."

It was with those words that changed basketball in Philadelphia for the next decade (and then some). For a decade, Allen electrified the league with his dramatic flair, intensity and drive. He won an MVP in 2001, the same year he carried the 76ers into the NBA Finals. In Game 1 of the Finals he provided Philadelphia fans with arguably the most exciting game in 76ers history in an overtime upset of the powerhouse Lakers in the Staples Center. Although it was the only time the 76ers won a game in that series, that season gave all 76ers fans a great ride. Many scoring titles and All-Star game appearances later, Allen was eventually traded to Denver in 2006. As great as Allen was, he is still only the second best player to come from that draft. With the 13th pick, the Charlotte Hornets drafted Kobe Bryant from Lower Merion high school out of the Philadelphia suburbs. Kobe was traded to the Lakers on draft day for Vlade Divac, and over the next 13 years we witnessed Kobe win 4 NBA Championships, a regular season and NBA Finals MVP, 2 scoring titles and 11 All-Star Game appearances.

While Kobe and Allen are the two most notable names from that draft, it is littered with potential Hall of Famers and former All-Stars. With the 15th pick the Phoenix Suns selected Steve Nash, but it wasn't until his second stint with the Suns almost 10 years later when he really broke out and won 2 MVP awards. Ray Allen was selected 5th overall and is arguably the best shooter in NBA history and won an NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. Before Stephon Marbury was best known for his public standoff with the New York Knicks and making ridiculous YouTube videos, he was a pretty damn good ball player with career averages of 20 points and 8 dimes per game.

In that next tier of players to come from that draft were former All-Stars Jermaine O'Neal, Antoine Walker, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Marcus Camby, Peja Stojakovic and Zydrunas Ilgauskus. In what turned out to be a great night for the Lakers, they also drafted Derek Fisher with their 24th pick who turned out to be a great piece for their 4 championship teams and a great ambassador for the NBA.

The next tier of players would be filled with the likes of Malik Rose, Kerry Kittles, Erick Dampier and Tony Delk who were role players and Rose even won rings with the San Antonio Spurs.

The 1996 Draft class will forever go down as one of the deepest, most talented drafts in the history of the NBA. With many players still enjoying enormous success and with AI's career being brought full circle, only more great things can come for the guys who gathered in suits in East Rutherford, NJ on that June night in 1996.

Welcome Back

The Prodigal Son returns home. Not even 24 hours after the 76ers offered Allen Iverson a non-guaranteed contract for the rest of the 2009-10 season. Iverson is expected to make his debut Monday night against the Denver Nuggets at the Wachovia Center.
In 10 seasons with the Sixers, Iverson posted the highest scoring average in team history (28.1), was second on the points list (19,583) and holds the record for 3-pointers (877). He was a seven-time All-Star, won four scoring titles and two All-Star game MVPs. (Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com)

The Final Answer?

The buzz in the sports world, and particularly Philadelphia, is the impending return of 76ers great Allen Iverson back to the team that drafted him in 1996. Reports are that a contract has been offered for a prorated value of the veteran minimum. There has not been a buzz about the 76ers in god knows how long, but this is definitely making some noise. Iverson is 2nd all-time in 76ers career points behind Hall of Famer Hal Greer. He is also 2nd in career steals. IF Iverson does indeed sign, expect to see a large initial jump in ticket sales for a team that currently ranks 29th in the NBA in attendance, and last in the NBA in terms of the building capacity being filled. The first opportunity 76ers fans will have to see Iverson is Monday night against the Denver Nuggets. Iverson is expected to give an answer some time within the next 24-48 hours. As a lifelong 76ers fan I am keeping my fingers crossed.