Iverson’s calling it a career

Former 76ers all-star Allen Iverson, the NBA's most valuable player in 2001, announced his retirement tonight, according to media reports.

The Memphis Grizzlies waived the 34-year-old guard last week and no one picked him up.

On Nov. 16, the Grizzlies announced that they had ended their one-year contract with the 10-time all-star in what they called a mutual agreement.

Iverson began an indefinite leave of absence Nov. 7 to deal with a personal issue after playing only three games with the Grizzlies, all in California.

Few NBA teams had shown interest in Iverson before Memphis signed him to a one-year, incentive-laden contract on Sept. 10. Memphis fans greeted the biggest star ever to play for the Grizzlies with a big crowd for his introductory news conference and eagerly purchased his No. 3 jersey, although he wound up never playing a game on the team's home court.

Iverson missed the preseason with a partially torn left hamstring and did not debut with the Grizzlies until Nov. 2 in Sacramento.

He averaged 12.3 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 turnovers in three games with the Grizzlies.

Iverson was in his 11th season with the Sixers when they traded him to the Denver Nuggets in December 2006. Denver dealt him to the Detroit Pistons last November.

He averaged 27.0 points per game in his career.