Iverson's retirement ceremony was held during the Philadelphia 76ers game against the Washington Wizards. The minute you walked into the Wells Fargo arena you knew you were in Iverson's house. There were banners every where of pictures of Iverson. The giveaways were all the giveaways of Iverson they had throughout the years including the rubber duck, gumby, alien Iverson and the Iverson bobble head. All the fans were adorned with Iverson attire. Throughout the game the 76ers paid homage to Iverson by showing clips from Iverson playing and recordings of NBA players talking about what Iverson has meant to them. The players included Andre Igodala, Kyle Kover, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dewayne Wade among others. LeBron James also spoke but you were unable to hear what he said because the Philly fans booed him.
It wasn't until there was 1:30 remaining in the first half I realized this is really happening Iverson is really retiring. I was sitting there in my blue Iverson Sixers jersey my heart beating in anticipation of watching Iverson say goodbye to basketball. I have been a fan of Iverson since 1994 when he started playing for Georgetown University. Iverson has been apart of my life for nearly 20 years and it was coming to an end he was stepping away from basketball. Iverson was apart of my household since I was in middle school. My room was full of his posters, magazine covers, sneakers and jerseys.My college dorm was full of pictures of Iverson and my room now still has a framed picture along with his MVP plaque on the wall. Iverson played hard and gave his all every time he went out on the court. He left his mark on the game breaking records and rules at the same time. He changed the NBA and made sure everyone knew who he was. Love him or hate him you knew who he was. He was named Rookie of the year after being drafted number one in 1996. He also got criticized for everything he did from his braids, black socks to his shorts being to long. Iverson was an 11 time all star, winning the MVP of the all star game twice. He won the scoring title four times, was named to the NBA first team three times, was named NBA MVP one time and that was the year he led the Sixers to their first NBA Finals since 1983. Iverson is sixth all time on average points per game and is second to Michael Jordan in playoff scoring average. He also won a Bronze medal with the USA Olympic basketball team. Iverson had a great career.
When it was time for the ceremony Iverson's family walked onto the court to take their seat along with Dr. J, Moses Malone, Gary Payton, Dikembe Mutombo, Theo Ratliff and Larry Hughes among others. Then the arena got dark and Iverson walked out onto the court. The NBA Commissioner, the president, the GM and the owner all talked. Larry Brown was shown in a recording because he couldn't make it. Brown said he was put on this earth to coach Allen Iverson. Then Iverson was introduced and was unable to talk for a few minutes because the roar of the fans was so loud and overwhelming. Iverson stood there and took it all in allowing his fans to salute him and show him what he meant to them. When Iverson was finally able to talk he thanked everyone even his critics. He talked about what his fans meant to him and what the city of Philadelphia meant to him. Iverson thanked his family and all the players that came before him that paved the way for him. After his speech it was time to reveal his banner. Tina Turner's simply the best started playing and they slowly lifted his banner to the Rafters. In a matter of 20 minutes it was over Iverson was immortalized and placed in the rafters where his name will forever hang.
It did not really hit me that it was over until the next day. I was walking around feeling like someone died like I lost someone I loved. Iverson retiring was a bittersweet moment in my life one I will never forget and one I will be forever grateful I was able to be apart of. I want to thank Iverson for being apart of my life for about 20 years, for being the dynamic player he was, for changing the NBA and leaving his mark on the game. Little kids will forever look up to Iverson. He is now among the legends in Philadephia and the NBA. Next up the NBA Hall of Fame. Thank You Allen Iverson for everything I love you and I always will. As the Song says "You're simply the best, better than all the rest, better than anyone..."
