Manager: Allen Iverson wants to play again
By Dan Gelston
Allen Iverson is working on a comeback.
Gary Moore, Iverson’s personal manager, said that Iverson is planning a return to the NBA next season. Iverson returned to the Philadelphia 76ers in December and took a leave of absence in March because of family issues.
“Allen is working out and he’s getting himself prepared to make his return,” Moore said by phone Friday. “He absolutely will try and play next year.”
Iverson left the Sixers to deal with an undisclosed illness of his 4-year-old daughter, Messiah.
“With God’s graces, she’s doing very well,” Moore said.
Iverson has not talked publicly since ending his second stint with the Sixers. Iverson’s wife, Tawanna, filed for divorce the same week he left Philadelphia. He posted messages on his Twitter account in March telling fans he expected to overcome the most recent obstacles in his life.
Iverson’s most recent Twitter updates were promotions for his basketball camp in July and his do entary “Deconstructing Allen Iverson.” Moore said the film could be released in the fall.
Iverson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft and spent his first 10 seasons in Philadelphia. He won the MVP in 2001 when he led the Sixers to the finals.
Sixers president Ed Stefanski said on an NBA.com chat this week the team was “not aware of what his plans are for the future.”
Iverson, who turned 35 on June 7, was a four-time scoring champion and averaged 26.7 points in a 14-year career with the Sixers, Denver, Detroit and Memphis. He failed to win a championship.
Iverson made a tearful return to Philadelphia eager to prove he wasn’t finished after disastrous stints in Detroit and Memphis. He returned to a sold-out crowd dotted with No. 3 jerseys, but he only showed flashes of his former playmaking self when he ruled the NBA as one of the best guards around.
“Allen wants to come and help a team win a championship, which he’s completely capable of doing,” Moore said.
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