Who was the NBA’s No. 1 pick in ’96? Iverson’s the answer.
The black stretch limo pulled up outside the Sheraton Meadowlands on Tuesday, and out climbed Allen Iverson and several friends.
Iverson, wearing the new Reebok T-shirt with his likeness and the letters A-N-S-W-E-R on the back, had no chance to stroll casually into the hotel. Kids, even adults, swarmed him, and Iverson signed autographs and posed for snapshots until the cameras and pens disappeared.
It was serious star treatment for a kid raised in the Hampton projects and omnipresent on its basketball playgrounds, but merely a prelude to Wednesday night, when the Philadelphia 76ers made Iverson the star of the NBA draft — the No. 1 pick.
“It’s a dream come true,” Iverson said during scores of interviews that took him from national television to national radio to a live TV feed back to Philadelphia. “I’m glad they selected me. They won’t be sorry.”
The Sixers, 18-64 this past season, need a point guard to team with Jerry Stackhouse in the backcourt, and club officials decided Iverson was “the answer,” the same words that have been tattooed on his arm since he matriculated to coach John Thompson Georgetown’s program in 1994.
Iverson’s “physical attributes are at the top, top level of the NBA,” Philadelphia general man
ager Brad Greenberg said. “He’s also got a burning desire to win.”
“We evaluated Allen Iverson as a player and person, and we’re satisfied with who he is,” Sixers coach Johnny Davis said.
He is one of the fastest guards the NBA has seen, and at 6 feet, he is the smallest player selected No. 1 in the draft’s 31-year history. He is the first point guard chosen No. 1 since Magic Johnson in 1979.
“Just to be mentioned in the same sentence with Magic Johnson is an honor,” Iverson said. “Hopefully I can have the same impact as Magic did.”
Johnson helped the Los Angeles Lakers win an NBA title his rookie season, but no one anticipates that in Philly. The Sixers have lost progressively more games in six consecutive seasons, an NBA record for futility.
They have just five players under contract for next season forwards Derrick Coleman, Clarence Weatherspoon and Scott Williams, and guards Stackhouse and Rex Walters. Vernon Maxwell, last season’s point guard, is a free agent. The Sixers have approximately just $4.5 million under the salary cap to lure free agents from other teams.
“It’s a new era,‘’ Iverson said. “It’s up to us. I expect to win. I think the attitude that Coach Davis has and the rest of the staff has is that they want to win. As long as the guys on the team understand that, we can get a lot of things done. … Next year, there’s going to be a complete turnaround.‘’
Iverson, who renounced his final two seasons of college eligibility to turn pro, averaged 25 points as a sophomore for Georgetown
and dominated the ball. Some have wondered how that style will mesh on a team with three proven scorers in Coleman, Stackhouse and Weatherspoon, but Iverson has no doubts.
“I don’t know the definition of a point guard,” he said. “The game has changed so much over the years. The positions have changed, especially point guard. A lot of point guards are asked to score.
“It would be crazy to think I’d come into Philly and try to do all the scoring with guys like Stackhouse and Derrick Coleman on the team. I’ll just distribute the ball and play my game. … I don’t have any problem scoring fewer points.”
The Sixers could stand offense from any source. Philadelphia averaged 94.5 points last season, 26th in the 29-team league. The Sixers ranked among the NBA’s top 10 in only one statistical category: fouls.
“That’s something I’ll never get used to,” Iverson said of losing. “We’ll separate the men from the boys next year.”
When commissioner David Stern opened the draft, Philadelphia had five minutes to make its selection, and it took more than four minutes for the pick to be relayed to Stern. But there was no doubt. The Sixers already had a jersey prepared with Iverson’s familiar No. 3.
“It seemed like a decade,” Iverson said of the five minutes. “But I was happy. I’m very happy I’m close to home. My family will get a chance to see a lot of me, and so will my friends.”
Among those accompanying Iverson to the draft were his mother, Ann, sisters Brandy and Iiesha, and daughter Tiaura. It was his family’s financial needs, Iverson said, that prompted him to turn pro.
And if his endorsement deal with Reebok didn’t secure his financial future, his contract with the Sixers should. Under NBA rookie salary cap guidelines, Iverson is guaranteed a threeyear contract worth between $7.8 million and $9.3 million.
After three seasons, Iverson will be a free agent, eligible to pursue a megadeal similar to those awaiting 1996 free agents Michael Jordan, Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning.
“This is a great feeling,” Iverson said. “I don’t think I can explain it. It’s a tribute to my family and friends, the people who stood with me through the rough times.”
The rough times included 1993 legal problems that landed him in jail for four months. But Iverson has kept a low profile since. Off the court, that is. On the court is a different story.
“It seems like yesterday I was just coming to Georgetown,‘’ Iverson said. “Coach Thompson prepared me for the road I’m heading to now.‘’