My Take: Should The Denver Nuggets Retire Allen Iverson’s Uniform?
By Andrew Dill
May 23, 2012; Philadelphia, PA USA; Philadelphia 76ers former guard Allen Iverson before the start of game six against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Allen Iverson just recently had his jersey retired by the team that drafted him first overall back in the 1996 NBA Draft — the Philadelphia 76ers. Iverson was undoubtedly the best scorer to live that was six-feet tall or under as he averaged nearly 27 points per game throughout his illustrious career. After seeing Philadelphia send Allen Iverson’s number three jersey up in into the rafters at the Wells Fargo Center, you can’t help but think should the Denver Nuggets look into doing the same at the Pepsi Center?
My answer would have to be NO. Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony paired together made for an exciting offensive outburst in the regular season, but the two couldn’t get past the first-round which Denver struggled in doing so with head coach George Karl. Below are the playoff statistics for Allen Iverson as a member of the Denver Nuggets.
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | 31 | DEN | NBA | SG | 5 | 5 | 223 | 6.8 | 18.4 | .368 | 0.8 | 2.7 | .294 | 6.0 | 15.7 | .381 | 4.0 | 5.0 | .806 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 18.4 |
| 2007-08 | 32 | DEN | NBA | SG | 4 | 4 | 158 | 8.2 | 18.9 | .434 | 0.7 | 3.2 | .214 | 7.5 | 15.7 | .478 | 5.2 | 7.5 | .697 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 22.3 |
| Career | NBA | 71 | 71 | 3203 | 8.5 | 21.2 | .401 | 1.4 | 4.2 | .327 | 7.1 | 16.9 | .420 | 5.4 | 7.0 | .764 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 23.7 | |||
| 6 seasons | PHI | NBA | 62 | 62 | 2822 | 8.6 | 21.5 | .402 | 1.5 | 4.4 | .333 | 7.2 | 17.1 | .419 | 5.5 | 7.2 | .765 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 24.2 | ||
| 2 seasons | DEN | NBA | 9 | 9 | 381 | 7.4 | 18.6 | .396 | 0.8 | 2.9 | .258 | 6.6 | 15.7 | .422 | 4.5 | 6.0 | .750 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 4.4 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 20.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2014.
With all due respect to the great Allen Iverson, his time in Denver was too short to even consider it. He did put on a show however, averaging 22.0 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in three seasons with Denver. If in fact his jersey retirement was looming in Denver, you would almost have to do the same with another former Nugget. If you remember back in the day with Kiki Vandeweghe, he would put together two all-star seasons in 1983-84′ with Denver.
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-81 | 22 | DEN | NBA | SF | 51 | 27.0 | 4.5 | 10.5 | .426 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .000 | 4.5 | 10.4 | .432 | 2.5 | 3.1 | .818 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 11.5 | |
| 1981-82 | 23 | DEN | NBA | PF | 82 | 78 | 33.8 | 8.6 | 15.4 | .560 | 0.0 | 0.2 | .077 | 8.6 | 15.2 | .565 | 4.2 | 4.9 | .857 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 5.6 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 21.5 |
| 1982-83 ★ | 24 | DEN | NBA | PF | 82 | 79 | 35.5 | 10.3 | 18.7 | .547 | 0.2 | 0.6 | .294 | 10.1 | 18.1 | .556 | 6.0 | 6.8 | .875 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 26.7 |
| 1983-84 ★ | 25 | DEN | NBA | PF | 78 | 71 | 35.1 | 11.5 | 20.6 | .558 | 0.1 | 0.4 | .367 | 11.3 | 20.2 | .562 | 6.3 | 7.4 | .852 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 29.4 |
| Career | NBA | 810 | 548 | 30.3 | 7.6 | 14.4 | .525 | 0.3 | 0.7 | .368 | 7.3 | 13.7 | .533 | 4.3 | 4.9 | .872 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 19.7 | |||
| 4 seasons | DEN | NBA | 293 | 228 | 33.4 | 9.1 | 16.8 | .541 | 0.1 | 0.3 | .267 | 9.0 | 16.5 | .547 | 5.0 | 5.8 | .857 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 23.3 | ||
| 5 seasons | POR | NBA | 285 | 232 | 34.4 | 8.9 | 16.9 | .526 | 0.3 | 0.8 | .408 | 8.6 | 16.1 | .532 | 5.4 | 6.2 | .881 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 23.5 | ||
| 4 seasons | NYK | NBA | 191 | 85 | 23.3 | 4.4 | 9.2 | .483 | 0.5 | 1.2 | .381 | 4.0 | 7.9 | .499 | 2.2 | 2.5 | .886 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 11.5 | ||
| 1 season | LAC | NBA | 41 | 3 | 12.0 | 2.2 | 5.0 | .453 | 0.3 | 0.9 | .324 | 2.0 | 4.0 | .482 | 1.4 | 1.6 | .879 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 6.2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2014.
You could even look back into the mid-to-late 90’s and maybe throw Antonio McDyess‘s name into consideration. But the next player WHO should and will likely have his number retired in the Mile High City is center Dikembe Mutombo. He was apart of the 1993-94′ Denver Nuggets team that upset the number one seed Seattle Supersonics in the first-round of the playoffs. His iconic embrace of the basketball after he pulled down the rebound that won the playoff series is probably the key highlight of the Denver Nuggets history.
It’s only fitting for Iverson’s jersey to be retired in the city that drafted him and where he made it to the NBA Finals. In conclusion, I would like to say congratulation’s to Allen on his hall-of-fame career and thank you for your time in the Mile High City.