The Cultural Phenomenon of Allen Iverson

Within a week of being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Allen Iverson’s unique journey to greatness is one to be remembered.

On March 12, 1997, one of the most iconic moments in basketball history happened. As Allen Iverson was nearing the end of his rookie season and the Philadelphia 76ers went against the defending champions the Chicago Bulls.

Iverson had a then career-high of 37 points in that 108-104 loss to the Bulls. But Iverson’s signature move won and defined that game.

Late in the game Iverson faced against Michael Jordan and the crowd exploded.

"” I used to always tell my friends when I get on that stage, Imma try my move on the best. And I’ll never forget the play. I’ll never forget coming off the screen and him switching and [then Bulls coach]  Phil Jackson hollering his name…..then I gave him the first little one, and I seen that he was biting on it. And then I hit him with the second one and made the shot”, said Iverson when asked about “The Crossover”."

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After crossing over Jordan, a player that Iverson idolized, Iverson made the 20-foot jumper.

In that moment, Iverson lived up to his nickname, “The Answer,”  by figuring out the solution to dominating the NBA’s elite like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. But that crossover did not solely represent Iverson’s skill over Jordan’s.

Instead, it represented a cultural significance to the game of basketball.

The Crossover, as it was coined, symbolized a new culture that was introduced by the cornrow-sporting and tattoo-wearing Iverson. Jordan represented the NBA’s perfect gentleman while Iverson symbolized the trendy hip-hop culture of the 1990’s.

Now, almost 20 years later Allen Iverson will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame along with Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming.

"“This is a tribute to everybody that helped me accomplish it….everybody that stuck with me through my ups and downs. The ride definitely wasn’t perfect”, said Iverson in his Hall of Fame press conference."

Those people who stuck with him would be people like his mom who struggled to make ends meet as a teenage mother. It was his mom who believed in her child’s success so much that she bought her son sneakers to play basketball in and not pay the light bill.

It was his mom who still believed in her son after he was convicted of a racial altercation at a local bowling alley and was sentenced to a 15 years in prison.

Those people also include then Virginia governor Douglas Wilder, who was also Virginia’s first black governor,  who granted Iverson clemency after serving four months of his sentence. Wilder overturned Iverson’s conviction.

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Those people also include Georgetown coach

, who gave Iverson a second chance by giving him a spot on his roster. Thompson became a father figure in Iverson’s life from the backlash he received at Georgetown

Those people include 76ers coach Larry Brown, who understood Iverson’s desire to win. It was from that belief that Brown played Iverson as a shooting guard amid heavy criticism.

Many believed that Brown was crazy for allowing a 6-foot, barely 200-pound player take the role as a shooting guard. The basketball genius of Brown and Iverson immediately proved critics wrong with Iverson’s explosiveness.

Iverson’s career has been characterized as proving everyone wrong. It’s a miracle that Iverson even made it to the NBA based on his turbulent past with his household struggles and criminal record. But neither defined Iverson as a person and player.

Iverson’s competitive spirit and overall passion to win erased his past and steered him in the direction of greatness. And now he will be recognized as one of best to ever pick up a basketball.

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In retrospect, Iverson has lived up to the his nickname, “The Answer” throughout his entire life. He answered the call to greatness and the undermined the odds and stereotypes.