Allen Iverson Officially Leaves 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers have officially announced that Allen Iverson will not return for the rest of the season of NBA. Allen Iverson has mostly been absent from the team for a month, returning to Atlanta to be with his family as they deal with an undisclosed illness of his 4-year-old daughter, Messiah. According to Yahoo sports, Allen Iverson will not be with the Philadelphia 76ers on their current West Coast road trip and could have played his last game for the team.

Allen Iverson is with his family to deal with medical issues concerning his daughter, but his constant in-and-out of the lineup this season has led team officials to believe a permanent break is best for the organization. Sources say Sixers coach Eddie Jordan addressed the players on Sunday, and told them there’s a chance Iverson may not return to the team. However, Sixers ownership, general manager Ed Stefanski and Jordan haven’t sat down and formally come to that decision, but sources with knowledge of the Sixers plans believe the franchise is leaning in that direction.

“After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion that he will not return to the Sixers for the remainder of the season, as he no longer wishes to be a distraction to the organization and teammates that he loves very deeply. It has been very difficult for Allen and the team to maintain any consistency as he tries to balance his career with his personal life.” Said Sixers ownership, general manager Ed Stefanski.

“It was tough to leave her and my wife and kids,” Iverson said. “But I do have a commitment and an obligation to be with my team and to do my job. But it is rough. I think this is the only thing I do in life where for a couple hours during the game I don’t think about nothing but basketball.” Allen Iverson said at a Feb. 15 `10 practice that it was emotionally draining to leave his family to play basketball. Allen Iverson will not return to the 76ers this season, and now, in all sports betting sites and basketball fans, the question becomes whether or not Iverson will return to the court for any team ever again.

About Allen Iverson: Not much of us know that Allen Iverson has had to overcome struggles and obstacles that most can only imagine. Raised by his hard-working mother and his father was in prison, Allen Iverson lived in poverty his entire childhood. Nicknamed "The Answer", Allen Iverson is one of the greatest guards of his generation and one of the most productive scorers in the history of basketball. He has played his whole career with the Philadelphia 76ers and has been fundamental to the development of the team over the past decade. His efforts have not been without reward as he has made it to number 53 on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA players of all time.

Over this 10 year period he has remained the leading scorer for the team averaging 23.5 points per game in his first season and averaging 28.0 points per game over his whole career. Here he trails behind Michael Jordan by only 2.1 points per game. His productive scoring has led to him being 4-time NBA regular-season leader, with 26.8 points in 1999, 31.1 points in 2000, 31.4 points in 2002 and 30.7 points in 2005. He achieved a career-high on February 12, 2005, when he scored 60 points against Orlando Magic and despite his critics who call him a “ball hog” he looks set to remain the 76ers leading points scorer for some years yet.