Philadelphia 76ers: Revisiting Allen Iverson's 2001 NBA MVP Speech
Every year around this time, Philadelphia 76ers fans come together to remember the legendary career of Allen Iverson. Most of the time, it's because the anniversary of the 'Practice' rant that Iverson improvised 18 years ago occurred back in May of 2002.
But once the anniversary week of the 'Practice' rant passes, the time comes where NBA fans can sit back and remember the miraculous season Iverson had before the legendary guard grew frustrated with the 76ers' organization in 2002.
On May 15th, 2001, the Philadelphia 76ers were proud to have their former No. 1 overall pick crowned as the league's most valuable player. Ever since Iverson arrived in the NBA, the Sixers knew they had a great one on their hands. In 2001, it became official, though. Allen Iverson was named the MVP of the NBA.
In 71 games that year, Iverson averaged 42 minutes-per-game on the court. The 25-year-old superstar ended up leading the NBA in points-per-game with 31.1. PPG, which ranked as the second-best average in his career.
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On this day, nearly two decades ago, Iverson possessed the MVP hardware for the first and only time in his successful Hall of Fame career. And when after he raised the trophy in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans in Philadelphia, the MVP gave a speech to remember before taking the court.
"I wanna thank my family, my friends, my coaching staff, and my teammates -- because without my teammates, I definitely wouldn't be up here getting this award right now," Iverson said after receiving his award. "And I wanna thank the fans in Philadelphia who would embrace me from day one. Every time I come into this gym and this arena I hear my favorite song -- ya'll voices -- so it's time for ya'll to play that song, let's make this noise and get this party jumping."
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
