Allen Iverson wants to keep his passport at home.
Ten years after he ruled the NBA as the cornrow-wearing, ink-stained MVP who led the Philadelphia 76ers to the finals, Iverson has his eyes on a comeback. He is determined to end a career possibly destined for the Hall of Fame in the NBA, not in some faraway country where brief YouTube clips are the only way to stay updated on the four-time scoring champion.
The road back to 20,000 fans a night, national television and, yes, that one final run at the championship he still craves has already started. It just won’t be easy. Then again, few things ever have been for a man known as “The Answer.”
He turned 36 this week. He played only 10 games in an injury-filled stint in Turkey after a lack of NBA interest forced him to seek employment elsewhere. In his most recent NBA season in 2009-10, Iverson left the Sixers in February.
That’s not a lot of basketball for an aging veteran.
So what gives Iverson confidence he can still play anywhere near his former elite level next season?
“It’s me,” he said, laughing. “That’s what gives me confidence. I know what I can do. Everybody in the world knows what I can do. Everybody knows what I can do on the basketball court.”
