National Basketball Association

The 5 most memorable moments from Allen Iverson's Hall of Fame career, ranked

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:08 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

We'll never see another Allen Iverson — a six-foot (at best) guard who did his greatest work in the paint among the NBA's biggest players.

On Friday evening, Iverson will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with Shaquille O'Neal, Yao Ming and Sheryl Swoopes. To celebrate the Answer's incredible career, here are his five most memorable moments.

AI gave us a pretty solid preview of what's to come on Friday when he was honored by the 76ers earlier this year. He got emotional, he joked around with reporters, he referenced his infamous "Practice" rant, and he even poked fun at a Sixers employee who tried to usher him off the stage before the Answer was ready to give up the microphone. If you haven't seen this clip before — or even if you have — turn your speakers on and take a minute to bask in the unfiltered train of consciousness that is Iverson.

This play might fly under the radar for all but the most diehard Iverson fans, but it's an incredible demonstration of everything the Answer had to offer. He perfectly reads the Wizards' inbound play and anticipates the pass, coming up with a clean steal before outracing everyone to the rim for a literally last-second layup — and the Philly crowd reacted accordingly.

I'm embedding the full clip here because the context has been lost to the ages. In the middle of his rant, Iverson acknowledges that he understands that practice is important and that he needs to lead by example. Most people ignore that when they bring up one of Iverson's most famous moments.

For those sneakerheads in the audience, this clip of Iverson besting Jordan is important. Never wear the "Cherry" Jordan 12, as those were the shoes MJ had on when Iverson roasted him.

Other than Jordan's shoes, though, the best part of Iverson crossing up MJ is Phil Jackson yelling for Jordan to press up on Iverson. The Zen Master lured Jordan right into the Answer's trap, and we thank him for it.

No matter how many titles Tyronn Lue wins as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, he'll always be known as the man who watched helplessly as Allen Iverson walked all over him.

Congratulations to the Answer on his Hall of Fame career. We can't wait to see his induction speech.