Allen Iverson on possible job with 76ers: 'I'm a basketball genius'
Former NBA All-Star guard Allen Iverson says he is a “basketball genius” and capable of helping run an NBA team if given a chance to do so.
Iverson responded to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer in which former coach Larry Brown lobbied the Philadelphia 76ers to hire the 11-time All-Star as an assistant general manager.
Brown said he wishes the organization would "let him figure it out, figure out how he can help."
"I may not know everything about physical talent or anything like that, but I have a sharp mind when it comes to that look, being able to look into somebody's eyes to tell if they are going to be in the foxhole with you tonight or if they are not," Iverson said to the Inquirer.
SI Vault: How Allen Iverson and Larry Brown learned to live together
"To me, I am a basketball genius and I really believe that, so at any capacity I could help this franchise, that is what I am going to do, whatever they ask me to do," Iverson added.
The 40-year-old Iverson said he doesn’t know if he could help the team in evaluating talent right away, admitting he doesn’t watch college basketball.
Iverson spent 12 seasons with the 76ers, helping the franchise reach the 2001 NBA Finals.
He finished his 17-year career with 24,368 points, winning the 2001 NBA MVP, two All-Star MVP awards and being named to the All-NBA First Team three times.
He says it would one of the “top honors and “biggest blessings" if the team asked him to join the front office in some capacity.
"Don't put any pressure on the franchise to make a move or anything like that," he said. "If it happens, that is what God wants. If it doesn't, I am still going to be here right with them, riding with them."
- Scooby Axson