Second-greatest player in the history of each NBA franchise

Philadelphia 76ers: Allen Iverson

Greatest Player: Julius Erving

Making the case for Allen Iverson as the Philadelphia 76ers’ second-great player ever is a bit difficult. He’s not their all-time leading scorer. He never contributed to a title. And yet he claims this spot for reasons that stretch far beyond the confines of statistical achievements.

This isn’t to say his resume isn’t boasting plenty of noteworthy accomplishments. Iverson was the top overall pick in 1996 and won Rookie of the Year.

The Answer had the Sixers end a seven-year playoff drought in his third season by leading the league in scoring with 26.8 points per game. The following year, he made the first of what would be seven straight All-Star appearances in Philly.

Where Iverson truly captured the heart of Philadelphia and the NBA in general, however, doesn’t lie in his four scoring titles or MVP trophy or even the surprise Finals run the Sixers made in 2001.

Iverson’s greatness lies behind the context of every bucket, where despite standing no taller than six feet and weighing 165 pounds, he never seemed too small for any moment.

It was Iverson who challenged the contemporaries of his time despite hardly measuring up in physical attributes. Those limitations were made up in intangibles like leading the league in nightly minutes four times while averaging 41.4 minutes per game as a Sixer — including 45.5 a game in the playoffs.

Iverson wasn’t the ideal leader of a contending team nor was his style always conducive to winning. Few athletes in all of sports, though, can claim they gave as much to the game as Iverson did to basketball, and that has to count for something.