Allen Iverson

Born: 7 June 1975

Birthplace: Hampton, Virginia

Best Known As: High-scoring guard for the Philadelphia 76ers

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A guard standing six feet tall, 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 NBA, averaging 26.8 points per game. In 2000 he released a CD of rap music (under the name Jewelz), whose coarse "street" lyrics created a minor controversy (for which Iverson eventually apologized). In 2001 Iverson was named the Most Valuable Player in the league, the shortest player in NBA history to hold the title.

Iverson likes to draw and is reportedly a decent artist.

Allen Iverson (born June 7, 1975 in Hampton, Virginia) is an American basketball player. He is an all-star guard for the Philadelphia 76ers. In high school, Iverson was a spectacular all-around athlete who was regarded not only as one of the top basketball players in the country, but also arguably the country's top high school football quarterback. He opted for basketball, enrolling at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., which does not play top-level football.

Iverson was drafted with the first pick of the NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996 and has led the team in scoring ever since. As a rookie he quickly gained national popularity for a famous crossover dribble he made while being guarded by the legendary Michael Jordan. He had his best season in 2001, when he led the league in scoring, was awarded NBA MVP and reached the NBA Finals. In these finals, the Sixers faced Shaquille O'neal and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, who had reached the final series undefeated throughout the playoffs. Most of the basketball world expected the Lakers to sweep through the finals, but Allen Iverson carried his team to a shocking overtime victory in the opener at Los Angeles, and nearly upset the Lakers again in game two.

The NBA changed several rules the next off-season, most notably allowing zone defenses and outlawing the crossover dribble that made Allen Iverson famous. Both these rules limited his effectiveness over the next few years, but he was still able lead the NBA in steals and minutes played.

He has leveled lavish praise on Coach Larry Brown, often saying that he would not have reached the heights that he has in the sport without Brown's guidance. He had a love-hate relationship with Brown, however. After the 76ers were defeated in the first round of the 2002 playoffs and Iverson was criticized by Brown for missing practices, Iverson held a press conference in which he said "We're talking about practice. We're not even talking about the game, the actual game, when it matters. We're talking about practice".

Iverson has also occasionally been involved in incidents with the legal authorities, dating back to his teenage years.

Iverson also attempted to release a rap album under the alias Jewelz. The explicit lyrics of the album caused an uproar in Philadelphia which prompted him to stop the release before it hit the shelves.

Iverson was reunited with coach Larry Brown as a member and co-captain of the 2004 USA Olympics basketball team.

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It was 1975 and Ann Iverson was 15 years old, unmarried and newly arrived with her family from Connecticut when she gave birth in Hampton to her first child.

Allen Iverson was nicknamed Bubbachuck, a combination of two uncles' names. Iverson said his biological father rarely was in the picture during his childhood. "You know, he called me a little bit this year (1996)," Iverson said. "But, I mean, he can't take the place of Michael Freeman. Nobody ever will. That's who I feel is my father. Freeman said he was 18 and Bubbachuck was just a few months old when he and Ann Iverson began living together in 1975. Freeman said he later became a welder for the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., and the father of Allen's sisters, Brandy and Iiesha.

Ann Iverson held various jobs after graduating from high school - one on an assembly line at Avon Fashions, a clothes packaging and distribution factory where she worked from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. At times she was unemployed. But Allen Iverson said he never has forgotten his mother's efforts. "She took care of me for 20 years," he said. "I want to just do the same thing for her."

Freeman said he and Ann Iverson began living apart when Allen was in junior high school. Freeman said he helped support the family until he lost his job after a car accident. "Then things got tough," he said. "There were times when Allen never knew where his next meal was going to be," said Mike Bailey, Iverson's basketball coach at Bethel High. "Here's a kid who couldn't take a bath because he had no running water because it had been turned off. Sometimes you had to go to five, six, different places to find him," Bailey said. "You couldn't phone some places because there were no phones."

"My mom struggled. My dad struggled. Everybody in my family struggled," Iverson said recently. "It was nothing new, the lights being cut off or anything. I mean, it was something I had been dealing with my whole life. "Unemployed, Freeman said he "went the wrong way. I did what I had to do to support the family." In February 1991, midway through Iverson's ninth grade year, Freeman was convicted in Newport News, Va. of drug possession, with the intent to sell. "When I left my son to go to prison I told him he's got to hold down the fort until I got home," Freeman said. Iverson was 15. "I said, Basketball is your family's way out." Freeman was paroled in December 1992, but he was arrested in Hampton in March 1994 [again, and spent the next several years in and out of jail.] "I feel all the jail time he did was for us," Iverson said. "He couldn't stand to look at us living like that. So he went out and did what he had to do."

High school

While Iverson was leading Bethel to state football and basketball titles during his junior year, his coaches became increasingly concerned about the company and late-night hours he was keeping. One night in January 1993, Iverson was at a party in a hotel where a man was shot to death. On Valentine's Day in 1993, Iverson and friends involved in a gang fight at a Hampton, Virginia, Bowling Alley. Iverson's crowd was loud and had to be asked to quiet down several times, and eventually something of a shouting duel began with another group of youths. A huge fight erupted, pitting the local white kids against the blacks. It started as an argument between Iverson and a white youth. Iverson insists he left when trouble started. Another witness claimed to have seen him hit a white woman in the head with a chair. Iverson was tried as an adult, and the trial became a media circus. Iverson and three blacks were the only ones arrested and his celebrity bore on the case. Iverson was convicted of maiming by mob, and sentenced to five years in prison. Ann Iverson, meanwhile, began optimistically mapping out her 18-year-old son's future. On Oct. 10, 1993 she visited Allen in prison, where he signed an affidavit giving her power of attorney. "My name is Allen Iverson," the affidavit read. "I am in need for my mother to conduct any and all of my affairs and make any and all decisions for me . "One of Ann Iverson's decisions was to visit Thompson in early December 1993. "She was the reason why I helped her child," Thompson said. Several weeks later, Virginia's governor at the time, L. Douglas Wilder, granted conditional clemency to Iverson, citing sufficient doubt about his guilt. Iverson was free after four months at the City Farm. In spring 1994, Thompson visited Iverson at Hampton's Richard M. Milburn High, which caters to students who have dropped out of school or are at risk of doing so. "I never discussed that bowling alley incident:, never asked him, What really happened?' " Thompson said. "I told him I did not want to talk about whether the judge was fair or not."

College At Georgetown, Iverson majored in fine arts. Iverson said he has an interest in drawing, and friends say he is an outstanding caricaturist. "I want to continue to draw," Iverson said. "Every talent God gave me, I want to use it. I can't play basketball forever. "But his primary mission at Georgetown seemed to be improving his basketball skills. Recalling his first day on campus, Iverson said, "Alonzo Mourning an NBA star and ex-Hoya was in the gym talking to Coach Thompson. I mean, I was excited even before I got to Georgetown. But once I got there I was even more excited. All I wanted to do was play basketball. "During his two seasons with the Hoyas, Iverson averaged 23 points a game and twice was named Big East Conference defensive player of the year. From his first game, the 6 foot, 165 pound Iverson was an electrifying presence on the court. He had astonishing speed while dribbling and explosive jumping ability. Thompson allowed and sometimes even asked Iverson to dominate games as few Georgetown guards have. Some Thompson watchers were surprised by the offensive freedom he gave Iverson. "You teach according to the student," Thompson explained. "Allen had talent - exceptional talent. So he was permitted to have more leeway. You don't crush creativity. "Deciding to Leave Evidently, Iverson also had a knack for blocking out distractions, which seemed to be everywhere. At some games, he was taunted by opposing fans who yelled "jailbird, jailbird" or waved bowling pins in the air. In the midst of his freshman season, Ann Iverson used her power of attorney to file suit - in Allen's name - against the lawyer who had defended him free of charge in the bowling alley case, Herbert V. Kelley Sr. The lawsuit alleged that Kelley had been negligent and that Iverson would suffer "mortification, shame, vilification and financial loss" because of the guilty verdict. The complaint sought $100 million in damages. Then there was Freeman's incarceration. While Iverson was settling into his comfortable dormitory suite at Copley Hall to begin his sophomore year last fall, his "dad" was living just a few miles a way at the Fairfax County Correctional Field Unit, one of several state facilities in which he was housed. Iverson said he didn't visit Freeman in Fairfax because "I'd visited him in another prison and it just hurt me so much. I'd given him the tennis shoes off my feet because the sneakers he had, they were so bad, all messed up. So I went home barefooted that day. "As the season progressed, and reporters began wondering if Bubbachuck would become the first Georgetown player to enter the NBA draft before his senior year, Thompson became increasingly aware of the hardships in Iverson's life. In early April, shortly after the Hoyas were eliminated from the NCAA tournament, Thompson invited Iverson and his mother to a meeting at McDonough. The subject should Iverson leave school to turn pro? Two of Thompson's most trusted confidants - Falk, his Washington based agent, and Mary Fenlon, his long-time aide decamp, also were invited.Falk has provided free counsel to Thompson's athletes for more than 15 years and has represented virtually every Hoya who has played in the NBA, including Mourning, Patrick Ewing and Dikembe Mutombo. "John makes no bones of the fact he recommends us to his players," said Falk, who also represents Michael Jordan, Iverson's childhood hero. Falk said he "very, very aggressively" advised Iverson to stay in school because he could earn more money, particularly from endorsement contracts, after another year of TV exposure. But in that meeting and in another in his office on upper Wisconsin Avenue, Falk said he heard some compelling reasons why Iverson should turn pro. "Allen told me his mother's living conditions were deplorable," Falk said. "There was a sewage problem in her house. Sewage was seeping through the floor and Allen said there was a stench that was just unimaginable. "The condition of younger sister Iiesha also had worsened; she had just suffered another seizure. "His sister needed a brain specialist," Falk said. Meanwhile, Freeman had been paroled and was unemployed. "Allen didn't feel that staying in school was a viable option," Falk said. Thompson said outside influences also were competing for Iverson's attention this spring. Agents were on the prowl, and "you had people running around trying to get him involved in rapping," Thompson said. Iverson had spent some evenings in a studio, recording a rap song, which he played for teammates. Thompson said he told Iverson, "You are a basketball player. You're not going to make your living rapping. "As for the agents, Falk was the odds-on favorite to represent Iverson. Shortly after Georgetown's season ended, Falk arranged for Iverson to have a private phone conversation with his childhood hero. "Michael told me he had heard a lot of good things about me," Iverson said, "and he said he was going to have to tighten up his game for me. Which was definitely a joke. I just laughed. But everything he said to me made me feel good. "On April 30, Iverson signed a contract with Falk. The next afternoon, with his mother, Thompson and Falk by his side, Iverson announced he was turning pro. A Georgetown official said Iverson withdrew from the university the same day. With two months to go before the draft, Iverson asked a bank for a line of credit, which was granted on the basis of his seven figure earning potential. Iverson then hired a specialist for Iiesha and discussed with Falk the possibility of moving his entire family to the NBA city where he soon will reside.