With the NBA in an indefinite hiatus due to COVID-19, we continue our day-by-day look back at the history of the Philadelphia 76ers. We continue down our path into Sixers history every day as we look to fill the void left by the absence of basketball.
Monday’s edition once again focuses on the 6-foot guard from Georgetown. It seems like Allen Iverson’s name has continued to pop up in all of these history lessons and it goes to show his impact on the franchise. This one is when the defending champion Detroit Pistons invaded Philadelphia and he rose to the challenge.
March 23, 2005
The Sixers were still trying to find their footing. They had recently acquired Chris Webber from the Sacramento Kings and they were trying to integrate him into their offense next to Iverson. A matchup with the Pistons would not be easy, but it helped that they were missing Richard Hamilton to an ankle sprain and coach Larry Brown with a hip issue.
Iverson took full advantage as he went off for 39 points on an efficient 15-for-26 shooting and he also had 10 assists. He was too lightning quick for any Pistons defenders, which is impressive considering Detroit could throw the likes of Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince at him, and he laughed at their defense to lead Philadelphia to a big win.
What was also impressive on this night was that rookie Andre Iguodala had a triple-double of 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. That performance caught the eye of Iverson as he told reporters postgame:
Dre does it all for us. He doesn’t come to the gym concentrating on one area. The scary thing is he’s only a rookie.
The Sixers and the Pistons would eventually meet in the 2005 playoffs and the fully healthy Pistons would flex their muscles and beat Philadelphia 4-1. Iverson would average 31.2 points and 10.0 assists in the series, but Detroit had five players average double-figures in the series led by Hamilton’s 21.4 points. [lawrence-related id=28024,28017,28010]