Allen Iverson Eligible!

We kind of knew this already, and many of you have seen Iverson at the top of the rankings for Hall of Fame eligibility. During this past Basketball Hall of Fame weekend, the institution made his eligibility official, a fact that was not made clear to many previous to the official announcement.

There were two sticking points that cluttered the opinion as to when his eligibility began.

The first was that Iverson only officially retired in 2013. That is not that uncommon as many players hope to latch back onto the NBA long after no team wants them, though that is rarely if ever enforced by the Hall.

The second was his brief stint in the Turkish Basketball League in the 2010-11 season. While the Basketball Hall of Fame does decree that a player has to be retired for five years before they can enter the Hall, and while they do recognize international accomplishments, it is not out of the ordinary for them to base eligibility upon the final season played in the National Basketball League.

Allen Iverson rarely was the second best at anything. “A.I.” was always the most exciting player on the court and the most controversial player off of it. At his best he was a shot happy guard who practically carried the 76ers on his back to the NBA Finals and won the MVP that year. Three times he was he named to the First Team NBA squad and was a four time Scoring champion (though nobody shot nearly as much as the ‘Answer” did).

Iverson was also a decent defender and was a two time Steals champion. He may not have always been the best team mate, and it was his USA squad that had the worst Olympic performance ever, but often he felt as if he had to do everything himself. Iverson may never have won a major championship, but his talent was undeniable and he did change the look of the league. He should be in right away when eligible and we are ranking him first right away. We wondered though if they would make him wait a bit longer due to his retirement date.

Iverson is a former MVP, three time First Team All-NBA Selection and four time scoring champion. The controversial Point Guard has a very good shot at entering the Basketball Hall of Fame on the first try.

We certainly think he should!

https://youtu.be/MJTY2wN7Dz4