Allen Iverson

Standing as a 6-foot tall, 165-pound Most Valuable Player winner in a big man’s game, Allen Iverson wasn’t wrong in calling himself a “big-time underdog” in the David vs. Goliath battle that was the 2001 NBA Finals. On June 6, 2001, though, Tyronn Lue — given a floor seat with a pair of shoes preparing to overstep him — and the Los Angeles Lakers might’ve mistaken Iverson for a towering giant from their respective vantage points. Seconds removed from draining a historically-underrated 3-pointer to boost the Philadelphia 76ers’ unlikely lead to two, Iverson gathers from the right wing with 55 seconds remaining, plotting his move to shake Lue’s spirited defensive shadow. Trusting the game’s most lethal first step, Iverson tilts first Lue with a between-the-leg, and then the upset scales with a game-clinching bucket before offering one of NBA history’s most iconic celebrations. Predicted to be merely another footnote on the Los Angeles Lakers’ undefeated warpath through the 2001 NBA Playoffs, Iverson authored a Pantheon-level upset win through a title that read, “Put the brooms away.” Talking about nothing but productivity in Game One, Iverson recorded 48 points, five rebounds, six assists, five steals, and three 3-pointers across 53 minutes, crystallizing a Hall of Fame-bound legacy.

MVP Year