Today in Philly Sports History: Iverson's First Victory as a Sixer, 1996

On November 8th, 1996, a week after his debut in a Sixers uniform (and what a uni indeed), Allen Iverson and the 76ers met up with the Boston Celtics in Beantown. Iverson had lost his first three contests in the pros, but against the 1-2 Celtics, AI had his best game yet, going for 32 points on 9-19 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and a couple of steals. Clarence Weatherspoon chipped in 19 and 11, Mark Davis scored 22 off the bench, and the Sixers picked up the first victory of the Iverson era with their 115-105 defeat of the C's.

Side note, since we've already talked about AI's rookie season fairly recently: Now that Iverson appears to have already worn out his welcome in Memphis, how about Philly for a potential eventual landing spot? The Sixers need another player who can penetrate, who can create their own shot, who can possibly help find his teammates open looks. They could get him for cheap, and provide a badly needed jolt to the fanbase. It wouldn't be a perfect fit, obviously--no way could he and Sweet Lou could co-exist in the starting lineup--and it's probably not something for this season.

It's interesting to think about, anyway. I'm sure Iverson would rather play out the string as a returning hero with the franchise he made his bones with than trying to make the most of a bench role Memphis, in any event.

Comments

[Boova]

That would be sweet...

[a-mac]

I miss A.I...

[Saul]

Andrew... I thought you knew better than that. That's a terrible idea. Iverson has now been basically conclusively proven to be the TO of the NBA, at least when he has to come off the bench. He can still score a bit, but this team needs to jell and work its young players in its system (the Rugged Streetball Offense) more than it needs a headcase bench scorer. I see what you're thinking, but I don't think it's a good idea.