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Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has agreed to terms with free agent guard Allen Iverson. The deal is rumored to be nonguaranteed and for one season. We’ll post contract details this morning.
Iverson, the first overall pick by the Sixers in the 1996 NBA Draft, played 10-plus seasons in Philadelphia and ranks second in franchise history in scoring.
“In light of the recent injury to Lou Williams, which will sideline him for close to eight weeks, we felt that Allen was the best available free agent guard to help us at this time,” said Stefanski.
Iverson (6-0/165) signed as a free agent with Memphis this past September, but parted ways with the Grizzlies after appearing in just three games. He was officially waived on November 16, 2009.
In 1996-97, Iverson took home Rookie of the Year honors with the Sixers. Iverson helped guide Philadelphia to the NBA Finals in 2001, earning the league’s Most Valuable Player award for that season in the process.
A 10-time All-Star and two-time All-Star Game MVP, Iverson has been named to a total of seven All-NBA teams (First Team in 1998-99, 2000-01 and 2004-05; Second Team in 1999-00, 2001-02 and 2002-03; Third Team in 2005-06). He led the NBA in scoring four times as a Sixer, becoming one of only four players in league history to capture four-plus scoring titles.
Now in his 14th NBA season, playing in 889 career games with 877 starts, Iverson is averaging 27.0 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.21 steals in 41.4 minutes per game while shooting 42.5% from the floor, 31.3% from 3-point range and 78.0% from the foul line. He is currently tied for the fifth-highest scoring average in NBA history and ranks third among active players.
The 34-year-old has also appeared in 71 career playoff games and owns the second-highest postseason scoring average (29.7 ppg) in NBA history, trailing only Michael Jordan (33.4 ppg).
Iverson was traded by Philadelphia to Denver along with Ivan McFarlin in exchange for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two future first round picks on December 19, 2006. After just over a season and a half with the Nuggets, Iverson was traded to Detroit on November 3, 2008.
Following tonight’s game at Oklahoma City and Saturday’s game at Charlotte, the Sixers return to Philadelphia for a five-game home stand beginning on Monday, December 7 vs. Denver at 7 p.m. Iverson is expected to make his season debut with the Sixers that night.
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