One of my biggest "regrets" in life is that I was born in 1997 and didn't become a real, hardcore 76ers fan until Allen Iverson was nearing the end of his first stint in Philly. I missed out on the step over. I missed when he was shaking and baking Michael Jordan with the most swagger possible for an NBA rookie. I missed the practice speech. Frankly, I missed most of what made him the G.O.A.T. of Broad Street, only able to experience his greatness through highlights, anecdotes and statistics.
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However, I'm thankful that I'm not missing out on the current iteration of the Philadelphia 76ers, with someone like Joel Embiid rivaling Iverson's star power and a talented team that is every bit as capable as the 2000-01 roster in terms of bringing the city of Philadelphia to the NBA Finals. And I'm thankful that we brought in a veteran like George Hill, not only because he can help make that Finals dream a reality but also because he has a special connection to Iverson. He spoke with Danny Green on "Inside the Green Room" about a number of topics, including how much he idolized No. 3 when he was growing up.
"As a kid, I think every kid grew up watching (Michael) Jordan. That was every kid's idol at the time, especially our age, Danny. You just wanted to be like Mike," Hill said, who was 10 years old when Iverson made his debut in November of 1996. "But I was that rough kid. I came from the inner city. I always wanted to be like Iverson. I was a fan of him, I loved everything he stood for. His demeanor on the court, off the court, was something that I can relate to."
Though they're definitely not the same exact type of player — both are guards, but you'd be hard-pressed to find any player in the league with the unbelievable scoring abilities of the undersized Iverson — some of that influence has been apparent.
While Hill's playing style has been fairly consistent throughout his long NBA career — he's one of only 20 players in the league with at least seven campaigns of 10 PPG and a 36 percent three-point clip since his debut in 2008 — his surroundings have been anything but consistent. He's been on eight teams, including five in the past four years. One thing that has remained an absolute constant, at least until now, was his jersey number.
"He was one of the biggest reasons I wore No. 3," Hill said, "so coming here was kind of tough for me because the reason I wore No. 3 is the reason I can't wear No. 3 now, but it's all respect. I get to play and put on this jersey that one of my mentors that I really looked up to wore, and wore it proud. So I have two threes on my jersey now: one for me, one for him."
This 76ers jersey may be the first one that Hill has worn in his career, but it's not the first one that he's received.
"My wife and my agent at the time, Mike Whitaker, really surprised me one day for my birthday. They got the old Phila jersey, the red, white and blue jersey, signed by Allen Iverson," Hill said. "...And then I was fortunate enough that the photographer caught a picture of my rookie year when I was guarding Allen Iverson, so he kind of blew that picture up and signed that picture for me also and sent it to my house.
"And... he actually gave me a call on my birthday to wish me happy birthday. It was probably one of the best gifts I ever received in my life, something that I'll always remember, something that I'll always cherish."
Hill is set to make his Sixers debut at some point soon, with head coach Doc Rivers suggesting that he may be ready as soon as this week.
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