Grizzled Veteran: Looking Back at the Career of Allen Iverson

Iverson enjoyed two brilliant seasons at Georgetown University under legendary head coach John Thompson.

As a freshman, he led the Hoyas in scoring (20.4 points per game ) and assists (4.5 per game) and was named the Big East Rookie of the Year.

His sophomore campaign was even better.

Iverson led Georgetown to a 29-8 record and averaged 25.0 points and 4.7 assists per game.

In addition, he was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year in both seasons.

Iverson then announced that he would forgo his final two years of college eligibility to enter the NBA Draft.

He was the first Hoya to leave early in the Thompson era.

Iverson was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the first overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.

He was chosen over promising college stars like Marcus Camby, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

His rookie season in Philly was nothing less than spectacular.

The lightning-quick guard became the first rookie in NBA history to score at least 40 points in five consecutive games.

He was also named MVP of the Schick Rookie game after recording 19 points and nine assists.

Ultimately, he wound up winning the 1997 Rookie of the Year award as he averaged 23.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game for the season.

In 1998-99, Iverson led the league in scoring with 26.8 points per game and was named to the All-NBA First Team.

He also led the Sixers to their first playoff appearance in eight years.

The following season, Iverson was selected to his first All-Star game. The fans voted him in as a starter for the Eastern Conference.

He scored a game-high 26 points and handed out nine assists in a losing effort.

In 2000-01, Iverson won his first and only regular season MVP after leading the league in scoring (31.1 points per game), steals (2.51), and minutes (42.0).

More importantly, he led the Sixers to a 56-win season—tops in the East.

The Sixers made it all the way to the Finals, where they unfortunately lost to the Lakers in five games.

After 10 seasons as a Sixer, Iverson packed his bags for Denver.

He was traded along with Ivan McFarlin to the Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two future first-round draft picks in December 2006.

And for the first time in his career, he was no longer "The Man" on his team, as he took the back seat to Carmelo Anthony.

A.I. helped the Nuggets reach the postseason in both of his two seasons in Denver. However, they never got past the first round.

On Nov. 3, 2008, Iverson was dealt to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheikh Samb.

And he changed his jersey number from his famous No. 3 to No. 1.

He never quite fit in with the Pistons, averaging a career low 17.1 points per game in his only season in Detroit.

Nevertheless, Iverson was selected to his tenth consecutive All-Star Game, as he started for the Eastern Conference squad.

Later in the season, Pistons head coach Michael Curry decided to bring him off the bench to back up Rodney Stuckey and Rip Hamilton.

Iverson didn't take the news very well, later stating that he would rather retire than come off the bench.

With that being said, he didn't play the rest of the season and became a free agent at the end of the year.

In the 2009 offseason, Iverson was rumored to be in talks with teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, and Charlotte Bobcats.

Ultimately, he chose the Memphis Grizzlies, signing a one-year, $3.5 million deal.

In 2009-10, Iverson may very well be asked to come off the bench and play behind rising star O.J. Mayo.

And if that's the case, hopefully he'll do the right thing to patch up the tarnished image that he picked up in Detroit.

Iverson's role will be to provide veteran leadership to a young, inexperienced Grizzlies team that's on the brink of something special.