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Iverson Named To 2005 All-Star Team
Allen Iverson arrived in Philadelphia in 1996 to find a 76ers franchise desperately searching for a star. Since the trade of Charles Barkley after the 1991-92 season, All-Star caliber players had been scarce in Philadelphia. After spending two years growing into the NBA game and a third strike-shortened season that cancelled the All-Star game, Iverson finally filled that need when he earned a starting spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the first time in 2000. He has yet to relinquish his claim on that position after being named to the All-Star starting lineup by the NBA for the sixth-consecutive year today. Iverson received 1,590,400 votes, the ninth-highest vote total and fourth-highest in the Eastern Conference. He finished just behind Cleveland’s LeBron James (1,661,204) in voting among Eastern Conference guards. The 30 head coaches will vote for the remaining members of the All-Star teams in their respective conferences, and their selections will be announced on Tuesday, February 8. With the selection, Iverson steps into a select group of players in Sixers history. He becomes just the sixth player to be selected to the team on six or more occasions, and becomes just the fifth to make the squad in at least six consecutive seasons. When you consider that Dolph Schayes and Larry Costello made most of their appearances with the Syracuse Nationals, only three players – Julius Erving, Hal Greer, and Barkley – have worn the Sixers uniform in the All-Star game as many times as Iverson.
“That’s the biggest compliment ever – to be able to be selected on the team and not have to be selected on the team by coaches,” Iverson said. “That’s great, because the fans make up the whole game, and for those people to select me to the game six years in a row, it just says a lot about me being a household name. I’m just looking forward to making them proud of what I try to accomplish on All-Star Weekend.” Iverson is also not lost on the significance of being an All-Star six years in a row. “It means a lot,” Iverson said of his selection. “I think it’s a tribute to my family and my friends and all the people that helped me get to this point, and all the teammates that I ever had. I’m not just talking about on the NBA level, but all the
The game will also be special for Iverson because for the first time in his career, he will have a chance to play alongside Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal is making his ninth All-Star appearance, and his first for the Eastern Conference since 1995-96, when he was with the Orlando Magic. “That’s something that I’m really looking forward to,” Iverson said. “In all the All-Star games, I always played against Shaq. I’ve never played on his team in my career, so honestly that’s what I’m looking forward to the most out of this All-Star game is just having the opportunity to play with him.” Just as in the regular season, Iverson has starred in his past All-Star performances. He was named the MVP of the 2001 contest after scoring 25 points in 27 minutes of action in leading the East to a 111-110 win. In 2003, he scored 35 points on 13-of-23 shooting in a 155-145 double-overtime loss to the West. In 1997, Iverson was named the MVP of the Rookie Game. With Kyle Korver and Andre Iguodala already selected to play in the got milk? Rookie Challenge, Iverson’s selection gives the Sixers three representatives in the All-Star game festivities. That hasn’t happened since 2000, when Larry Hughes and Todd MacCulloch joined Iverson at the game. Iverson was an All-Star selection and took park in the Three-Point Shootout, while Hughes competed in the Slam-Dunk Contest and MacCulloch played in the Rookie Game.
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