“The Official Site Of Stephen A Smith“ has posted what is allegedly a goodbye from NBA All-Star Allen Iverson to the fans announcing his retirement from the NBA. The post appeared on Wednesday and as of this writing there has been no other confirmation. If the letter is legit the career of a mercurial superstar has come to a surprising end.
The letter thanks NBA fans for their support throughout his career. The letter also says that he still loves the game of basketball and does not want to give it up and believes he still has a lot of NBA play left in him. The letter also thanks the NBA as well as his shoe company Reebok for their support. The letter also thanks the Memphis Grizzlies fans even though he never got a chance to play in front of them during his short stint with the team earlier this month.
Last week the Grizzlies and veteran guard Iverson agreed to dissolve their union. Iverson who has made the NBA All-Star team ten times signed a one year agreement with Memphis just before Training Camp for a reported $3.5 million. He had missed all of the preseason and the first three games of the regular season after suffering a partial tear of his left hamstring. Iverson was activated for the last three games and found himself coming into games off the bench something that he was quite unhappy and quite vocal about. The veteran told media members that he considers himself a starter and coming off the bench is beneath him.
After Iverson was waived by Memphis he had discussions with the New York Knicks about signing with them. However New York Team President Donnie Walsh told reporters that the club reached the decision not to pursue the free agent guard. If Iverson is retiring he would be ending an NBA career that lasted for 13 plus seasons with Philadelphia, Denver and the Detroit Pistons. His career averages are 27.0 points, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds.
Whether the letter is actually from Iverson or if it is and he intends to end his career it would definitely be a shocking conclusion to probable Hall Of Fame players career.
