We told you back in August that Allen Iverson was expected to officially announce his retirement from basketball — and even then it wasn’t news. He hadn’t set foot on an NBA court since 2010 and it had been years before that since he made a big impact in the league. His time had come.
Well he’s going to make it official during the first week of the NBA, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.
Sources: Allen Iverson will officially announce his NBA retirement at the Sixers' Home opener vs Miami on Oct 30
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) October 17, 2013
Seems appropriate.
Iverson is a future Hall of Famer — an 11-time All-Star who averaged 26.7 points, 6.2 assists and 2.2 steals a game in his 13-year career. More than that, his fearless attacking style and ability to finish among the trees in the NBA made him maybe the most entertaining player of his generation. Off the court Iverson led the charge to bring a hip-hop culture, a real street look to the game. Young African-Americans related to him in a way they did not with other stars. He changed the game.
And he deserves a fitting tribute when he makes the announcement.