Video of the latest Hook-Up featuring Allen Iverson with rappers Malice and Pusha T. ESPN The Magazine One of the most controversial Basketball players of all time, Allen Iverson is one of the most loved and hated figures in Basketball. Born Allen Ezail Iverson in Hampton, Virginia, he grew up very poor to a struggling mother and a father who deserted him. Growing up, he was very athletic, playing football and basketball throughout most of his education prior to college. Iverson began focusing on basketball at his mother's insistence, despite wanting to be a football player. He proved to be a talented basketball player. At Bethel High School in Newport News, he began his high school basketball career. He developed a reputation of talking a lot and being uncoachable. To say he had a rough childhood is quite an understatement. On one of his places of residence, he walked through knee-deep sewage daily. During one summer, he witnessed the death of almost ten of his closest friends. Iverson first came to the national spotlight in 1993 in a controversial incident surrounding violent events at a bowling alley in Newport News. While the events that happened there will never be fully known, the generally accepted story is that some white students got into an argument with Iverson and his friends. The first question surrounding the event is whether he started it or if the white kids started it. Also, the question surrounded whether or not he assaulted a white woman by hitting her over the head with a chair. The prosecution insisted that surveillance tapes undoubtedly showed Iverson was the culprit, but in reality the tapes showed nothing conclusive. Two factors did him in at his hearing; first of all, two white people said they saw him assault the girl. Secondly, the judge was from the very conservative southeast Virginia establishment and did not have any sympathy for Iverson, his background or his talent. Seeing that Iverson requested a bench trial, this was crucial to his case. To add fuel to the fire, Allen Iverson flew in for the weekend from a tournament to be in Virginia for his trial. This played into the prosecution's hands and also upset the judge, both of whom saw this as evidence that Iverson did not respect the law. He was sentenced to a 5 -year jail term. This case sparked a tremendous amount of national attention. The case caught the interest of Bill Cosby and Spike Lee, who would be a fan and advocate of Iverson for many years. People all around the Newport News area started a movement to free Allen Iverson. He spent only four months in jail. Governor Douglas Wilder pardoned him. This move all but ended his political career and sparked another controversy. Wilder was also black, and white voters in Virginia viewed this move in a very racist light. Iverson was viewed now in much of white America as essentially a convicted felon who was out of prison only because a black man was governor of his state. Iverson got out conditionally, however. He had to adhere to a curfew and could not play basketball until he got his high school diploma. He could not accept a scholarship to the University of Kentucky but did get a scholarship once he completed his high school education in a learning center. During this time, he received his nickname, the answer. He was called such because his friends said he was the answer to basketball's conformity so to speak, people that conformed to this family friendly image, such as Charles Barkley, Isiah Thomas and most importantly, Michael Jordan, who was a childhood hero of his. He accepted a scholarship to Georgetown where John Thompson coached him. Thompson became somewhat of a father figure to him, but he was hard to manage, and the two had a workable but very turbulent relationship. Iverson completed only two years of his education where he became the top NBA draft pick in 1996. He was drafted by the ailing Philadelphia 76ers in 1996. Iverson is immersed in hip-hop culture. This made him an incredibly controversial figure in basketball. His clothing looked more like a gangster rappers than it did Michael Jordan's. On the court he seemed to embody the gangster rapper's image. He had an arm covering on one arm when he played, and also was one of the first players to have cornrows; a hairstyle up until that time was popular in prison. To make matters worse, he had an incredibly "in your face" style, which did not sit well with older players like Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and others. Jordan said of him when Jordan's Bulls played Iverson's 76ers, that he had no respect for the game. Despite this, no one denied Iverson's talent. He could hustle the ball, could get around even the tallest players. He became known for his fast drives to the baskets and his ability to fake the ball in a move called the crossover. Spike Lee lost respect for him when he turned down his invitation to star in the film He Got Game (1998). As a very pointed move, Lee cast former collegiate rival Ray Allen in the part. The Sixers found themselves suddenly a respectable team. They acquired a new coach, the unusual Larry Brown. As a player in the ABA almost twenty years ago, Brown was also a young outsider fighting the system. Larry Brown now was a button-down-suit-and-tie coach. The two did not get along well at first; in fact, their relationship at best was serviceable. Brown was always unhappy with Iverson for not showing up to practice. Iverson insisted his game was pure inspiration, and he had little need for practice. The two rarely saw eye to eye. He received a tremendous number of awards in his short career. He was named rookie of the year in 1997, and on more than one occasion, he was an All NBA First Team, NBA All Star, was an All Star MVP, and received perhaps what was his crowning achievement to date when he was NBA MVP in 2001. That year, Iverson led his team to the NBA finals, but had a rough ride against Kobe Bryant and 'Shaquille ONeal's Lakers. They lost the championship in game five of the series. It was still quite an achievement because the Sixers had not been to the finals since Dr. J (Julius Erving) and Moses Malone led them to victory over the Lakers in 1983 in a 4-0 sweep. Iverson has over 20 tattoos. Each tattoo is a symbol of his life. One denotes the name of his group of friends he has known since childhood, Cru Thik, another who says the answer, another who is dedicated to his mom who is a strong presence as Sixers games, and many others. He married his high school sweetheart Tawanna Turner and they have two children. Won the gold medal at World University Games with the US Team in 1995. Named Big East Rookie of the Year 1995 Named Big East Defensive Player of the Year 1995, 1996. 1st pick in NBA Draft 1996 Was named MVP of the 2000-01 NBA season. Attended Georgetown University from 1994 to 1996 where he was coached by the legendary John Thompson. Drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 96. Rookie of the Year 1997. NBA Rookie 1st Team 1997. Rookie All-star game MVP in 1997. NBA All Star 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. All Star Game MVP 2001, 2005. NBA MVP 2001.(Shortest MVP in MVP history) All NBA First Team 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005. In 2001, Led the 76ers to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1983 (lost to the LA Lakers in 5 games). Played for Georgetown University. Played Quarterback in HS and led his school to state titles in football and basketball his senior year. Under lifetime contract with Reebok. Daughter Tiaura (b. 1995), son Allen II, or "Deuce" (b. 1998). Led the Bethel High School Bruins (Hampton, Virginia) to the 1993 basketball and football state championship; the then-16 year old played point guard and quarterback. Released a rap album, Slow Motion, with appearances by his friends Ma$e, Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat and Kool-G-Rap. Georgetown University's all-time leading scorer. Named after his father, Allen Broughton, who left the family and never married Iverson's mother. Since 1998, he has hosted the Allen Iverson Celebrity Classic to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Hampton Roads, Virginia. Lives on the same street as M. Night Shyamalan. Wife Tawanna, gave birth to their 3rd child, Isaiah Rahsaan Iverson, the baby weighted 7 lbs. and was born at 9:30 A.M. on August 8, 2003. He founded the Crossover Foundation. Allen's third child, son Isaiah Rahsaan, was named for Isiah Thomas and the late Rahsaan Langford, Allen Iverson's close friend who was shot to death in October 2001. Olympic Bronze Medalist (2004 - Basketball). He and wife Tawanna welcomed their fourth child, daughter Messiah Lauren Iverson on August 16, 2005 at 11:47 AM, weighing 6 lbs, 12 ounces. Currently playing for the Denver Nuggets

MVP Allen Iverson Scored 19 points and dished 9 assists to carry the East win over the West. Many great players played in this game. L.A. Lakers:Kobe Bryant & Derek Fisher, Bucks:Ray Allen, Boston Celtics:Antoine Walker, Toronto Raptors:Marcus Camby, New Jersey Nets:Kerry Kittles, Abdur-Rahim, Indiana Pacers:Dampier. Toronto's Marcus Camby and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson put on a first-half fireworks show, then held off a furious rally from Kobe Bryant and the West to post a 96-91 win in the Schick Rookie Game. Camby scored 14 of his 18 points in the first 15-minute half, as the East jumped to a 51-36 lead on the strength of 67.6 percent shooting. Camby, 7-9 in the first half, lived off dazzling passes from Iverson, who had eight of his nine assists in the opening half en route to the game's Most Valuable Player award. Iverson and Camby, the first two players selected in the 1996 Draft, reversed roles early in the second half, when Camby threw an alley-oop pass that Iverson caught at full extention of his 6-0 frame, and threw down with one hand. That keyed a 6-0 run that put the East squad up by 20, and seemingly out of reach for the West, which shot only 36.8 percent in the first half. Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers' teen phenom, and teammate Derek Fisher, had other ideas. Trailing 76-57, the unheralded Fisher scored all 10 of his team's points in a 10-2 run that put the West within 11 points, and set the stage for Bryant, his highly touted teammate, who at only 18 years of age, stole the game, and nearly stole the show. The Lakers' rookie did most of his damage at the free throw line, where he made 12 of 14 second half attempts. Bryant finished with a Schick Rookie Game-record 31 points and also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Vancouver's Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 17 and Fisher 16 for the West, who closed the gap to as little as five in the closing moments. However, in the stretch, it was too much Iverson, who sealed the Most Valuable Player award with several clutch free throws of his own, and Boston's Antoine Walker. Down the stretch, Walker picked Bryant for a steal and the score, and scored nine of the East's final 14 points. Iverson finished with 19 points, and his nine assists were two shy of the Schick Rookie Game record. Walker led the East with 20 points (9-16 FG), and Erick Dampier of the Indiana Pacers had 11 to augment the scoring of Iverson and Camby, who also had a game-high 12 rebounds, a Schick Rookie Game record. With the win, the East improved to 2-0 since the game went to an East/West format for last season's game.

Top Ten Plays of Allen Iverson Until 2001

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NBA Draft Night Highlight of AI At 6 feet tall and 165 pounds (maybe), Allen Iverson was the smallest first-overall draft pick in the history of the National Basketball Association. Everyone wanted to know if he could survive in NBA's land of big men. By the end of his debut season, he had set records and earned awards such as NBA Rookie of the Year. Allen proved that not only could he survive in the NBA, but that he could come out on top as well. Although he has been criticized for his "bad boy" image, Allen has been working to overcome that without severing his ties to his past and who he is. Controversy? It follows Allen. But, no one can debate the contribution he has made to the NBA.

A mix of Iverson's illustrious career in the NBA. Includes great moments from earlier seasons. The Ahmed co.'s 1st video

Blake Hoffarber's buzzer beater in the Minnesota State Championship game

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