He’s back. I’m not talking about the classic ‘Alice Cooper’ song, but instead the return of one of the greatest small guards to ever play the game…Allen Iverson. Not only is A.I. back, but he’s back in Philly where he belongs. When Duts broke the news earlier this morning, instead of adding to his information like I was supposed to do (as the staff Sixers’ fan), I was busy looking up YouTube videos of A.I.’s greatness, while bumping his classic hip hop hit, ’40 Bars.’ Allen is scheduled to play his first game on Monday, in Philly, against the Nuggets.

December 6, 2006 was a wierd day for me. This was the day Allen decided to skip the fourth quarter of a game, leading to his trade to the Nuggets. At the time, I guess I had grown weary of his antics so I felt like this move was a breath of fresh air. Well now that it’s the 2009 season, and the Sixers are off to a horrific 5-13 start with lengthy injuries to key players (Lou Williams & Maresse Speights), why not bring back the guy who used to embody our franchise?

Allen Iverson has the 5th highest points-per-game average for a career all time in the NBA (27ppg). In the playoffs, he is only second to Michael Jordan in ppg (29.7). He ranks second all time in points for a Sixers player (19,583), first in three pointers (877) and third all time in assists. No matter where Allen had decided to finish his career, he would’ve always been a Sixer. The last few seasons have been….well, bad for A.I. His inability to come off the bench or play 2nd or 3rd fiddle on any team has hurt his appeal. Once splitting ways with the Memphis Grizzlies, this gave him time to clear his mind, and ultimately decide to retire. Retire for about a week.

With a huge second chance on the 34 year old’s career, Allen Iverson now has no excuses. He will start for the Sixers, and automatically be thrust into the ‘star role’ by fans. How will this end? I’m not really sure, but I’m glad we’re getting a chance to see what happens. The Sixers have come-a-callin’ with a 1 year deal worth just under $650,000 (This is the pro-rated salary of the veteran’s minimum for one year). The deal is non-guaranteed, meaning that if he is released by January 10th, they owe him nothing. It seems for once, that Allen Iverson may owe the Philadelphia franchise everything. Even practice.

-a Duts and G collaboration