Quest investigated to find out, and the answer is yes, we do know that.
There are only about 300 players admitted as of 2009, over a 50 year period beginning in 1959. So only six players per year are admitted, and since there are female and international players admitted, on average only three or four former NBA players are admitted each year.
Since Iverson was literally the very best NBA player for at least two years and was among the top three or four players during a five or six year period, it is obvious that he is going to be one of the three or four chosen during one of the years following a five year period after he retires.
But let's play devil's advocate...
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IVERSON WILL NOT MAKE THE HALL OF FAME?
DEVILS' ADVOCATE THEORY ONE: He will not be admitted because he never won a ring.
A check of recent Hall of Famers (see the list below) reveals that the number of rings won can NOT be major criteria for admission, because there are a good number of players who never won a ring along side players who did win one, and alongside a tiny number of players who won multiple rings. Winning one or more rings can't hurt, but it is definitely not a major criteria.
Even though Iverson never won a ring, his ability to produce wins is phenomenal and indisputable. In the five years prior to Iverson being drafted on the Philadelphia 76'ers, that team was a staggeringly bad 128-282. This is a winning percentage of just 31.2%, one of the worst five year percentages ever. In other words, what is always forgotten is that, unlike most players, Iverson was drafted onto a team that had been miserably bad for half a decade before he got there.
In fact, before Iverson got there, the Philadelphia 76'ers were like the current day Memphis Grizzlies, the doormat of the League. In the five years after Iverson arrived, the 76'ers were 186-192, for a winning percentage of almost 50%.
Officially, Iverson was injured and unavailable for the Pistons for the 2009 playoffs. Unofficially, Iverson quit the dismal and mismanaged Pistons. Either way, it makes little sense to count the Pistons playoff games toward Iverson's playoff record, since Iverson was not a part of that.
So not counting the 2009 Pistons, Iverson was in the playoffs seven different years. Here is that record by wins and losses:
1999: 3-5
2000: 5-5
2001: 12-11
2002: 2-3
2003: 6-6
2005: 1-4
2008: 1-4
TOTAL: 30-38
There are numerous players who are already in the Hall of Fame whose playoff record is not as strong as this one, either because their playoff winning percentage was less, or because they did not play in nearly as many playoff games as did Iverson; he played in 68 playoff games. (Obviously, the simple number of playoff games is important, because the better you are, the more playoff games you get.)
Note that Iverson has averaged more than 5 playoff games played per season in the NBA, which is at least very close to the average among all players. But unlike "all players," Iverson punched his own ticket into those playoff games, because in order to get into those playoff games, Iverson had to turn around what had been the Leagues' worst team before he arrived.
If you think that the Hall of Fame committees look at only whether a player won the Quest or not, and they don't consider overall playoff record at all, you are a fool.
DEVILS' ADVOCATE THEORY TWO: He won’t make it because of the bowling ally brawl and his subsequent legal ordeal.
Allen Iverson was legally pardoned and also completely exonerated for the bowling ally incident, so if he were snubbed over the bowling ally incident, it would definitely be a departure from Basketball Hall of Fame standards. It would also be a snub of former Virginia Governor Doug Wilder, as well as the Virginia Court of Appeals.
After Iverson spent four months at Newport News City Farm, a correctional facility in Newport News, Virginia, he was granted clemency by Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder, and the Virginia Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in 1995 for insufficient evidence.
Isn't it ironic that there is always insufficient evidence for all accusations against Iverson? Interesting and disturbing.
The bottom line is that a snub of Iverson would be the biggest snub in the history of sports halls of fames.
DEVILS' ADVOCATE THEORY THREE: He won’t be admitted because there are hordes of people who have made hate comments about him on the Internet and, for that matter, from the stands at games.
Only in the dreams of the Iverson haters, laugh out loud. Most if not all of the selection committee people would never have the time or the motivation to make or read Internet comments, particularly hateful ones.
Meanwhile, the pro basketball writers who can and often do influence Hall of Fame committees often fail to respect Iverson due to the monkey see, monkey do thing, but at least they generally keep the hate out of it. Iverson's Hall of Fame chances will only be slightly harmed by negative press from sports writers, not enough to stop him from gaining entry. And Iverson will not be hurt at all by Iverson hate in Internet comments.
DEVILS' ADVOCATE THEORY FOUR: He won’t be admitted because as the Quest for the Ring has reported, his career has been harmed by his playing 2-guard (shooting guard) whereas he always should have remained a 1-guard (point guard).
No, this is ridiculous, fortunately. In fact, to the extent this is understood or at least suspected, this will help insure he gets admitted to the BHOF. Honors committees consist of basketball experts, many of whom will at least unconsciously give Iverson some extra credit for doing so well even though technically he was not playing the position best for him and his teams.
WHAT WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY HAPPEN
What is most likely to happen is what almost always happens when a great sports player who has, for some reason, valid or invalid, generated a substantial amount of hatred and/or controversy. Iverson will eventually be admitted to the Basketball Hall of Fame, but he will have to wait a few years past the first year of eligibility, which is five years after he retires.
So unless the world ends or the sport folds, Allen Iverson will be admitted to the Basketball Hall of Fame 8-12 years after he retires.
BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME SELECTION PROCESS
Players need to be retired for five years or more before they can be considered.
The first phase is called screening. A former NBA player has to receive at least 7 out of 9 possible votes from the North American Screening Committee.
The second phase is Board of Trustees review. This board, in relatively rare cases, can overrule a Screening Committee nomination. These rare cases will usually involve players tagged as criminals. Allen Iverson was completely exonerated for the bowling hall brawl and has no conviction record for any crime.
The final stage is that the former player must receive at least 18 of 24 possible votes by the Honors Committee. The purpose of the Honors Committee is to review carefully a candidate's basketball record before casting a vote in favor of enshrining the person into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
There are 24 people on each of the four Honors Committees. They include existing Hall of Famers, basketball executives, media members and other contributors to the game. A core group of 12 people sit on all four committees. Twelve specialists review both the Veterans Committee and the North American Committee. These specialists have an intimate understanding of the specific category of play considered by their committee. A person needs a minimum of 18 votes (of 24 total votes) from an Honors Committee to be enshrined into the BHOF.
If the Honors Committee has not elected a candidate for five consecutive years, the person's candidacy will be suspended for five years and will not be considered during this time. Following this five-year period, the candidate will be eligible to be reconsidered by the appropriate Screening Committee.
PLAYERS INDUCTED INTO THE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME IN THE LAST 20 YEARS
1990 David "Dave" Bing G
1990 Elvin E. Hayes F-C
1990 Neil Johnston C
1990 Vernon "Earl" Monroe G
1991 Nathaniel "Nate" Archibald G
1991 David W. "Dave" Cowens C-F
1991 Harry J. Gallatin F-C
1992 Sergei A. Belov —
1992 Lusia Harris-Stewart —
1992 Cornelius L. "Connie" Hawkins F-C
1992 Robert J. "Bob" Lanier C
1992 Nera D. White —
1993 Walter "Walt" Bellamy C
1993 Julius W. Erving F-G
1993 Daniel P. "Dan" Issel C-F
1993 Richard J. "Dick" McGuire G
1993 Ann E. Meyers —
1993 Calvin J. Murphy G
1993 Uljana Semjonova —
1993 William T. "Bill" Walton C-F
1994 Carol A. Blazejowski —
1994 Harry E. "Buddy" Jeannette G
1995 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar C
1995 Anne T. Donovan —
1995 Arild Verner Agerskov (Vern) Mikkelsen F-C
1995 Cheryl Miller —
1996 Kresimir Cosic —
1996 George Gervin G-F
1996 Gail C. Goodrich G
1996 Nancy I. Lieberman —
1996 David O. Thompson G-F
1996 George H. Yardley F-G
1997 Joan Crawford —
1997 Denise M. Curry —
1997 Alexander "Alex" English F
1997 Bailey E. Howell F
1998 Larry J. Bird F
1998 Marques O. Haynes —
1998 Arnold D. "Arnie" Risen C-F
1999 Kevin E. McHale F-C
2000 Robert A. McAdoo C-F
2000 Isiah L. Thomas G
2001 Moses E. Malone C-F
2002 Earvin "Magic" Johnson G-F
2002 Drazen Petrovic G
2003 Dino Meneghin —
2003 Robert L. Parish C
2003 James A. Worthy F
2004 Drazen Dalipagic —
2004 Clyde Drexler G-F
2004 Maurice Stokes F-C
2004 Lynette Woodard ]
2005 Hortencia de Fatima Marcari —
2006 Charles Barkley F
2006 Joe Dumars G
2006 Jacques Dominique Wilkins F-G
2008 Adrian Dantley F-G
2008 Patrick Ewing C-F
2008 Hakeem Olajuwon C
2009 Michael Jordan G-F
2009 David Robinson C
2009 John Stockton G
ALLEN IVERSON BIOGRAPHY HIGHLIGHTS
Allen Ezail Iverson, (born on June 7, 1975, in Hampton, Virginia), nicknamed A.I. and The Answer, is a professional basketball player who currently plays for the Detroit Pistons. He is an All-Star point/shooting guard. A thirteen-year veteran at the age of 34, he is considered by many to be among the greatest guards of his generation and one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the game.
EARLY YEARS
On June 7 1975, Allen Iverson was born on the Virginia Peninsula (where both Hampton and Newport News are located). The son of Allen Broughton and Ann Iverson, his dad skipped out on the family and their then 15-year-old mother was left caring for him and his sister Brandy. Shortly after being born, his maternal grandmother - often the pillar in an inner-city family - passed away. In 1991, Iverson, Brandy and their mother welcomed a new addition to the family, Leisha, who was ill, adding to the family bills. Growing up, Iverson was often responsible for taking care of his younger sisters Brandy (born 1979) and Liesha (born 1991), which was especially difficult with the toddler, who suffered frequent seizures.
Mounting medical bills pushed the family further in debt. Ann's boyfriend, Allen's de facto father, Michael Freeman has been in and out of jail all of his life. After a car accident left him unemployed once again in 1991, desperate for money Freeman was caught and convicted for drug possession with intent to distribute. "I didn't buy Cadillacs and diamond rings," Freeman explains, "I was payin' bills."
Iverson used to blame the man who taught him how to play basketball and pushed him to excel at it. Today he's proud of Freeman. "He never robbed nobody," said Allen. "He was just tryin' to feed his family. It would kill him to come from jail and find out how his family was living. Every time his mother saw him lose heart, she told him "go till the end every time you see the chance".
Iverson once recalled about his childhood - "Coming home, no lights, no food, sometimes no water. Then when there was water, no hot water. Living in a house where the sewer was busted under the house and having to watch my sister walk around in her socks all day because the floor was wet from the sewage. The smell was making my sister sick."
He had two role models in his youth, his mom and Tony Clark, with whom Iverson had a close relationship. Iverson's mom would tell Allen he could be somebody and could do anything with his God given talent. She told him "never let anyone tell you differently." Tony Clark (not to be confused with the baseball player also inspired Iverson. When Iverson skipped school, he hung out with Tony, who was six or seven years older. Tony would tell Iverson's mom what was going on and Allen's mom would come and get him. Allen would kick and scream and tell Tony that he hated him, but Tony did what he did because he loved Allen and cared. Allen was like his little man, and he stayed with them for two years. Tony, who had a lot going on between his family and his girlfriend, was killed when Iverson was 15. Allen had no more male role models to replace Tony, but there is one guy that he hangs with now, Andre Steele, and now he looks out for him.
BETHEL HIGH SCHOOL
In his days at Bethel High School in Hampton, Iverson was a star football and basketball player. He had scholarship offers from all over the country, as he quarterbacked the football team to a state championship his junior year. He was in the midst of leading the school's basketball team to a state title when he went to a Hampton bowling alley with friends on Valentine's Day 1993. A brawl broke out between Iverson's friends, all of whom were African-American, and several white teenagers.
Iverson claims that the brawl was triggered by racial slurs, and although the level of his involvement remains unclear -- he has maintained his innocence -- Iverson was alleged to have hit a woman in the head with a chair. He and three other African-American youths were arrested.
At 17, Iverson was convicted on a felony charge of "maiming-by-mob" and drew a 15-year prison sentence, with 10 years suspended. All scholarship offers were quickly rescinded. He spent four months at the Newport News City Farm before Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder granted him a pardon. In 1995, the Virginia Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, citing insufficient evidence of his guilt.
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
While Iverson was in prison, his mother visited Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson in December 1993, begging him to help her son. "She was the reason why I helped her child," Thompson said.
In spring 1994, he visited Iverson at Hampton's Richard Milburn High, a school that catered to at-risk students or students who already had dropped out of high school. Thompson told the prolific guard that he would offer him a scholarship, but he would not hesitate to send Iverson "back to Hampton with his tail between his legs" if he failed to comply with the legendary coach, or strict honor code of Georgetown.
At Georgetown, Iverson was an Arts major, his first love as a child. He is still known for impressive caricatures that depict teammates and celebrities.
As a Hoya, Iverson won two Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards, a Rookie of the Year award, 1995-1996 All-Tournament 1st Team, and a Gold Medal for his win at the World University Games in Japan in 1995. He was also the Hoyas All-Time leading scorer.
As his family situation worsened and financial responsibility mounted, Iverson needed to turn pro early, which meant leaving school before graduating. Iverson was the first of just two basketball players (Victor Page being the other) to leave Georgetown without a degree under Thompson.
After two phenomenal years at Georgetown, Allen left his coach John Thompson and announced himself eligible for the NBA draft.
NBA CAREER: SIXER YEARS 1996-1999
After two outstanding seasons at Georgetown, Allen Iverson was the first player picked in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Iverson quickly established himself as one of the premier point guards in the NBA. In his debut against the Milwaukee Bucks, he scored 30 points. He was named Schick Rookie of the Year and was a member of the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Iverson led the Sixers with 23.5 points (sixth in the NBA), 7.5 assists (11th) and 2.07 steals (seventh), leading NBA rookies in each category.
In the 1999-2000 season, Iverson made his first trip to the playoffs, having played well in a year in which he set records, was the NBA scoring champion, and a starter for the All Star game - Iverson felt he deserved to go to the play-offs, He started all ten playoff games and averaged 44.4 minutes per game despite being hampered by a number of nagging injuries. He averaged 26.2 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.20 steals per game, with a high of 40 points in the First Round opener at Charlotte on April 22.
2000-2001 MVP season
Iverson arguably had his best season in 2001 - he led his team to win their first ten games, he started and won All-Star MVP honors at the All-Star game, was the NBA scoring champion for the second time, was the NBA steals champion, and ultimately led his team to an NBA finals appearance against the Los Angeles Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
NBA--GENERAL
Iverson is the third leading points per-game scorer in NBA history. He has averaged 27.7 points per game in his career, trailing all-time leader Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain in this category by only 2.0 points per game. Iverson is one of only 30 players in NBA history to score over 20,000 points in his career, and he was the 6th fastest in the history of the game to achieve this feat.
Iverson averages 6.2 assists per game over his career so far, as well as 3.8 rebounds per game.
On defense, Iverson is also an adept ball-thief and is known for playing the passing lanes. He regularly ranks among the league leaders in steals and averages over 2 steals per game for his entire career.
In 2003, Iverson was ranked 53rd on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA players of all time
NBA SUMMARY OF AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
College Georgetown
Draft 1st overall, 1996
Philadelphia 76ers
Pro career 1996–present
Former teams Philadelphia 76ers (1996–2006)
Denver Nuggets (2006–2008)
Detroit Pistons (2008-2009)
Awards NCAA Big East Rookie Of The Year (1995)
2× NCAA Big East Defensive Player Of The Year (1995, 1996)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1997)
NBA All-Star Rookie Game Most Valuable Player (1997)
1997 NBA All-Rookie Team
NBA Most Valuable Player (2001)
2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2001, 2005)
3× All-NBA First Team
3× All-NBA Second Team
10× NBA All-Star
3× Steals leader (2001, 2002, 2003)
7× All-NBA selection
4× NBA scoring champion (1999, 2001, 2002, 2005)
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