Even before his days with the Sixers, jewelry has been a consistent part of Allen Iverson’s wardrobe.
Whether it be any combination of earrings, necklaces, watches or rings, Iverson is always seen donning jewelry.
But one piece of jewelry in particular, of which he received recently, not only stands out above the rest of his collection, but rarely comes off his body.
“[I only take my Hall of Fame ring off] when I’m in the shower. It’s a part of my outfit now,” Iverson said. “A lot of times, at the beginning, I would leave it at home and then would have to turn around to go back home to get it because I was wearing it all the time.
“It’s definitely, out of the jewelry that I’ve had in my life, my favorite.”
Iverson was honored for his recent induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame by the Sixers at halftime of the team’s 100-89 loss to the Lakers on Friday night (Instant Replay).
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As he held his hand up to his ear, Iverson was met with a rousing ovation when he walked onto the court. Fellow Sixers legend Julius Erving presented Iverson with his Hall of Fame jacket at midcourt before "The Answer" would go on to deliver a three-plus minute speech that can be seen above.
“I don’t think y’all understand how much I love y’all,” Iverson told those in attendance. “There has never been a relationship between an athlete and his fans like this ever. Ever. Honestly it’s ‘til death do us part for real.
“It’s never a dull moment when I come to Philadelphia because I always run into a Philadelphia fan that’s been there for me, been there through the wars when I was hurt, tired and sick. You always supported me and that’s why it was so easy to give you everything I had night in and night out.”
Along with his two 2016 class inductees, Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming, Iverson was a first-ballot Hall of famer after accumulating a Rookie of the Year and MVP award, seven All-NBA honors, 11 All-Star appearances and four scoring titles throughout his 14-year playing career.
On Sept. 10, "The Answer" was enshrined into basketball’s Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he delivered an emotional, half-hour long speech. Multiple times throughout his speech, “M-V-P” chants rained down from a large contingent of Sixers fans in attendance.
“I thought it was normal, because when it happened, I got caught up in it as well,” Iverson said. “Afterwards, a guy that’s been doing the Hall of Fame for 20-plus years told me that he’d never seen anything like it. So I was like, ‘It doesn’t always be like that, even with [Michael Jordan]?’ And he said no.
“When you look up there and you see red, white and blue, you know where they’re coming from. These people feel the same way about me as I feel about them. They made the travel, they were there supporting me and it was just a great moment for them, my family and friends, all the teammates that I played with and myself.”
In addition to being a full-time father, Iverson still remains a presence around the Sixers organization in the post-retirement stage of his life. Iverson visits the team in Philadelphia twice a month during the season in order to “connect with who made me”.
As he takes in today’s NBA game, a recent trend that has developed with the Sixers, along with most of the NBA, has been the use of minutes restrictions and planned rest for players.
For a former six-foot, 165-pound guard who played the game with reckless abandon and constantly threw his body into harm’s way, Iverson couldn’t ever imagine taking off a game if healthy.
“Probably get fined a lot for my verbal abuse,” Iverson said when asked what would’ve happened if he was ever told he was on a minutes restriction. “It would’ve been a tough situation for the organization because I would’ve fought and clawed. It’s hard keeping me off the court. Something had to be broke or it had to be real serious because I always wanted to be there for my teammates.
“I wouldn’t ever lift weighs because s--- was too heavy. I would get treatment though. I would try to heal and get my body ready in order to play. … I could rest after the game.”
