Ranking the top 50 players in NBA history…
“The Answer” had a monstrous cultural impact that went far beyond basketball, but he was also one of the best guards to ever play the game.
Selected at No. 1 overall out of Georgetown by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1997, averaging 23.5 points, 7.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
Over a 14-year career, Iverson averaged 26.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game, making up for his small frame with impossible quickness and a gigantic heart.
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He also played best when the lights were the brightest, with a playoff scoring average of 29.7 to prove it. That’s the third-highest playoff scoring average of all-time behind Michael Jordan and Luka Dončić.
Iverson had sustained excellence — he was an 11-time NBA All-Star — but his peak definitely came in 2001, when he won NBA MVP and marched a mediocre 76ers roster to the NBA Finals, even stealing Game 1 over the powerful Kobe-Shaq Lakers with a [48-point masterclass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln0csMLFqDM).
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Iverson might be the best pound-for-pound scorer in league history. He won four scoring titles in 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2005, with a career-high 33.0 ppg in 2006.
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Iverson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021, recognized as one of the game’s greatest scorers and ball handlers.
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports