Sixers

Sixers

Sixers

6 Jun 2001: Allen Iverson #3 of the Philadelphia 76ers in game one of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The 76ers won 107-101. D

This season, the Sixers gave Allen Iverson yet another honor. They already retired the number 3 in his honor. But now he has taken his rightful place on the 76ers Legends Walk. He joined the likes of Dr. J, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain, Maurice Cheeks, Billy Cunningham, Hal Greer, Bobby Jones and Dolph Schayes.

They unveiled an AI statue, depicting his famous crossover of Michael Jordan. 

Allen Iverson Statue

Allen Iverson is one of the greatest Sixers players ever. He never won the Finals here, but that has more to do with them failing to find him a co-star than it did with his performance.

AI even dragged the Sixers to the Finals in 2001. They ran into the juggernaut that was the Shaq and Kobe Lakers, and lost in 5 games. But he gave us some legendary performances along the way.

AI Loves Philly and Sixers Fans

He also remained as part of our city and culture after his career. We have seen players do great things for our teams, but then they don’t really stick around. AI has a special connection with the city and the fans though. We always see him at Sixers games, and he is always supportive of the next generation of players. Something we cant say for every Sixers legend.

We got the honor of hosting him at  Fan fest a few years back, and it was clear what the love of the fans means to AI. He got emotional while addressing the crowd. That relationship, makes AI even more of a legend.

Natalie Egenolf on Twitter: "The @alleniverson gives an emotional speech to the fans of Philadelphia at @975TheFanatic #FanFest."This is how Michael Jordan made me feel, this is legendary."❤️ pic.twitter.com/hqxS0WlIF3 / Twitter"

The @alleniverson gives an emotional speech to the fans of Philadelphia at @975TheFanatic #FanFest."This is how Michael Jordan made me feel, this is legendary."❤️ pic.twitter.com/hqxS0WlIF3

But what are his best moments. In a career full of amazing accomplishments and performances, which stick out the most? I honor of Allen Iverson getting his own statue, we wanted to count down the 6 best Allen Iverson moments.

Did the Crossover they made into the statue top the list? Where does The Stepover land on it? What about his rant about Practice?

Here are the 6 Best Allen Iverson Moments With The Sixers:

  • 6) AI Scores 50 As A Rookie

    50 is not AI’s career high. We will get to that game later in this list. But his 50 point game in his rookie season was his announcement that he was a true star. He made 7 total shots on 32 attempts, including 5 from deep, to score the most points any rookie from the 1996 class scored that season.

    Mind you that class included Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash. He went to win Rookie of The Year in that stacked draft class.

  • 5) AI Scores 60 On The Magic

    His best individual performance came in 2005 against the Magic. He dropped a career high 60 points on them, including a buzzer beating 3 to end the 3rd quarter, and then 20 points in the 4th. He took Jameer Nelson’s lunch money in that game.

  • 4) AI Wins The 2000-2001 MVP, then Drops 52 Points Against The Raptors

    2000-2001 was a magical season for AI and the Sixers. We will get to something that happened in the NBA Finals that year in a bit. But first, we have to talk about him claiming the MVP.

    AI led the league in scoring, averaging 31.1 points per game. He also led the league with 2.5 steals per game. He received 87 1st place votes, running away with the award. Tim Duncan finished 2nd place with 18 votes. Shaq was 3rd with 7.

    The same night he was given the trophy, he scored 52 points in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They crushed the Raptors, to take a 3-2 series lead. it was the 2nd 50 point performance of that series for Ai after he dropped 54 in game 2.

  • 3) The "Practice" Rant

    When you think of Allen Iverson, you think of the word practice. The media asked Ai about rumors that he had poor practice habits, and he unleashed into one of the greatest rants in sports history.

    “We’re sitting in here, and I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talking about practice. I mean, listen, we’re talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, we talking about practice. Not a game. Not, not … Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last. Not the game, but we’re talking about practice, man. I mean, how silly is that?”

    people still quote it to this day. And it makes it ironic that his statue was immortalized at the Sixers Practice Facility.

  • 2) The Stepover

    If any moment besides the one they picked was going to be made into a statue, this was the one. Not only was it on the biggest stage, game 1 of the NBA Finals, but it is one of the most disrespectful moments in NBA history. Not only did AI send Tyron Lue tumbling to the floor, but he hit the shot, and stepped right over Lue.

    It was all part of a 48 point game that led the Sixers to a win. In the end, it didn’t matter, because the Lakers took every other game in the series. but we will always have the Stepover, and that amazing game, where for a moment, we thought the Sixers might have a chance.

  • 1) The Crossover

    Number 1 had to be the Crossover. There is a reason the Sixers chose this moment to be immortalized with his statue.

    Iverson used the crossover a lot in his career. But when you say The Crossover, everyone knows what you are talking about. Its one thing to use it on a mere mortal. But he crossed over the GOAT, and lived to tell the tale. And this wasn’t old Wizards MJ. It was prime MJ, who was on his way to his 2nd 3-peat. There is no moment more worthy of being cast into a statue.

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