USA - Iverson officially calls it a career, retires

PHILADELPHIA (NBA) - He's known as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. He's also famous for not really liking practice. Sure, there were ups and downs throughout his career, but Allen Iverson's heart and determination on the basketball court were never questioned. And on Wednesday, the 38-year-old officially announced his retirement after 14 years in the league.

After failing to make it back to the NBA the past three seasons, Iverson decided he had had enough, retiring as an 11-time All-Star, one-time MVP, the 1996-97 NBA Rookie of the Year and one-time NBA finalist.

"I gave everything I had. The passion for basketball is still there, but the desire to play is not," Iverson told a press conference at the Philadelphia 76ers' 2013-14 season opener on Wednesday.

"I never imagined the day coming, but I knew it would come. I feel proud and happy to say, I'm happy with my decision and I feel great. I'm at a great mindset making the decision."

Iverson, who helped the USA to the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, said his top highlight from the NBA was just being selected number one overall by the Sixers out of Georgetown University in the 1996 NBA Draft.

"People ask me all the time what was my greatest moment in the NBA, and it was just being drafted. I always believed in myself, my mom told me I could always be anything I wanted to be, and I always truly, actually believed it. And I fought. I made it through a lot to get right here," he explained.

Over the course of his press conference, Iverson thanked his high school coach Michael Bailey as well as Georgetown coach John Thompson, the latter for giving him the chance to play.

Iverson also thanked Michael Jordan for giving him a 'vision' and pledged his gratitude to former 76ers coach Larry Brown.

"Early in my career, I didn't take criticism the right way. But it was always positive criticism from coach Brown," he said.

Iverson averaged 26.7 points and 6.2 assists over his 14-year career with the Sixers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies from 1996 to 2010.

His 24,368 points rank 19th-most all time and sixth-most among players to never have won an NBA title.

Iverson and the Sixers were close in 2001, reaching the Finals before losing the series 4-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In eight playoff appearances, Iverson averaged 29.7 points per game.

The legacy of the 38-year-old will always include his "talkin' about practice" press conference. But his heart was never questioned with the pounding he took in countless drives to the lane despite being just 1.83m tall.

"I'm going to always be Sixers, till I die. I'm going to always be a Hoya, till I die. There is no perfect basketball player, and there is no perfect man, so no, I wouldn't change anything," said Iverson, who last played during the 2010-11 season when he suited up for 10 games for Turkish club Besiktas.

"I promise you, it is a happy day for me."

FIBA