National Basketball Association

Report: Iverson to officially retire

Published Oct. 17, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Allen Iverson is officially retiring. Yes, you’re probably asking yourself: “Wait, hasn’t he been retired for quite some time?”

You’d be right, except that the prolific NBA scorer hadn’t made it official yet. According to an ESPN report, he’ll do that at the 76ers home opener on Oct. 30.

Iverson played for 14 years after being drafted No. 1 out of Georgetown by the 76ers and won the Rookie of the Year award in 1997. He led the 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001 — while winning league MVP — against the Lakers, who won the series in five games.

One of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, Iverson is sixth all-time behind Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in career points per game with 26.7. He was an 11-time All-Star who also averaged 6.2 assist and 2.2 steals per game.

Iverson will call it quits on a night the Miami Heat are in town, which is fitting considering LeBron James recently had glowing things to say about him. They had a brief run-in once before.

"He played like a 6-8 2-guard," James said recently. "He was one of the greatest finishers we've ever seen."

Iverson also played for the Nuggets, Pistons and Grizzlies at the tail end of his career before a return to the 76ers in the 2009-10 season to cap his playing days in the NBA.