Allen Ezail Iverson (/ˈaɪvərsən/; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player.[1][2] Nicknamed "the Answer" and "AI", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iverson won NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1997 and was an 11-time NBA All-Star, won the All-Star game MVP award in 2001 and 2005, and was the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2001. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. In October 2021, Iverson was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[3] Iverson is often regarded as one of the greatest ball handlers and as one of the most influential players in NBA history.[4][5][6][7][8]

Iverson attended Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia, and was a dual-sport athlete. He earned the Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in both football and basketball, and won the Division 5 AAA Virginia state championship in both sports.[9] After high school, Iverson played college basketball with the Georgetown Hoyas for two years, where he set the school record for career scoring average (22.9 points per game) and won Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards both years.[10]

Following two successful years at Georgetown University, Iverson declared eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the first overall pick. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 1996–97 season. A four time scoring champion, winning the NBA scoring title during the 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, and 2004–05 seasons, Iverson was one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, despite his relatively small stature (listed at 6 feet, 0 inches, or 183 centimeters). His regular season career scoring average of 26.7 points per game ranks seventh all-time, and his playoff career scoring average of 29.7 points per game is second only to Michael Jordan. Iverson was also the NBA Most Valuable Player of the 2000–01 season, and led his team to the 2001 NBA Finals the same season. Iverson represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal.[11]

Later in his career, Iverson played for the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and the Memphis Grizzlies, before ending his NBA career with the 76ers during the 2009–10 season. He was rated the fifth-greatest NBA shooting guard of all time by ESPN in 2008.[12] He finished his career in Turkey with Beşiktaş in 2011. He returned as a player-coach for 3's Company in the inaugural season of the BIG3.