After a three-year absence, Allen Iverson is back for a second stint in Philadelphia.
Three years and a day since most had thought he'd burned all of his bridges in Philadelphia, Allen Iverson once again stepped onto the court and represented the city where his NBA career began and flourished.
It raised plenty of eyebrows throughout the sports world when Iverson was re-signed by the 76ers, who had traded him to Denver on Dec. 6, 2006 to seemingly end a rancorous relationship that had produced four scoring titles, an MVP award and a trip to the NBA Finals.
But there have been many homecomings throughout NBA history, some of them wildly successful, some forgettable. So as The Answer takes the early steps in The Philadelphia Story, Part II, here's a look at some other notables who have gone home again and how they fared in their second acts:
The very first NBA superstar -- known as Mr. Basketball -- who won five championships as the centerpiece of the Minneapolis Lakers (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954) retired at age 30. He sat out one year and then returned to the Lakers in the middle of the 1955-56 season. But in his one comeback season, Mikan averaged only 10.8 points as the Lakers finished below .500 (33-39) and were eliminated by St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs.
Though his NBA career started in his hometown of Philadelphia in 1959, Chamberlain moved west to San Francisco with the Warriors. He returned to Philly as a member of the 76ers in a deal for Paul Neumann, Connie Dierking and Lee Shaffer in 1965 and was named MVP three years in a row (1966, 1967, 1968). Wilt anchored the 1967 Sixers, often regarded as the best team in NBA history, leading them to a 68-13 record and ending the Boston Celtics' streak of eight consecutive championships.
After leading the league in scoring and leading the San Francisco Warriors to the Finals in 1967, where they lost to the Sixers, Barry got into a money dispute with team owner Franklin Mieuli and became the first NBA player to jump to the ABA. He played for the Oakland Oaks, Washington Caps and New York Nets, then returned to the Bay Area and averaged 30.6 points in leading the Golden State Warriors to the biggest upset in Finals history when they swept the Washington Bullets in 1975.
A territorial pick out of UCLA by the L.A. Lakers in 1965, he was chosen by Phoenix in the 1968 expansion draft. Goodrich was traded back to the Lakers in 1970 for Mel Counts and became the leading scorer (25.9) on the 1971-72 team that set the NBA record with 33 consecutive wins, capturing the Lakers' first championship in Los Angeles. Footnote to Laker history: When Goodrich signed with New Orleans Jazz as a free agent, the Lakers were awarded two first-round draft picks as compensation and used one of them (1979) to select Magic Johnson.
A first-round pick out of North Carolina by Philadelphia, the Kangaroo Kid joined Wilt Chamberlain and Hal Greer as one of three future Hall of Famers on the 1967 Sixers, the team that ended the Celtics' dynasty. After jumping to the ABA and playing two seasons for the Carolina Cougars, where he was named MVP in 1973, Cunningham went back to the Sixers in 1974 and played just a little more than a season before suffering a career-ending knee injury.
Following a celebrated career at the University of Houston, the Big E was the first-ever pick of the San Diego Rockets in 1968 and a perennial All-Star when the franchise moved to Houston for the 1971-72 season. He was traded to the Baltimore Bullets for Jack Marin and future considerations in 1972. Hayes spent nine seasons with the franchise as it moved to Washington, was named All-NBA first team three times and teamed with Wes Unseld to win the 1978 championship. At 35, he was traded back to the Rockets in 1981 and averaged 11.3 points in three seasons before retiring.
After four straight All-Star seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Westphal was traded to Seattle for Dennis Johnson in 1980. He played one season with the Sonics, two in New York and then signed a free-agent contract to return to Phoenix in 1983. But he averaged just seven points in the one season and then retired.
He was a high jumping, fire-away shooter named Lloyd when Philadelphia made him a second-round Draft choice out of Guilford College and his personality fit right in on a flamboyant team with Dr. J, George McGinnis, Darryl Dawkins, Jellybean Bryant, et al. By the time he returned to the Sixers in 1987, he had played for three other teams and changed his name to World B. Free. He didn't last one season back in Philly, getting waived in March and signing on with the Miami Tropics of the USBL. He played a final NBA season in Houston and retired in 1988.
The three-time MVP and five-time NBA champion retired in 1991 with the announcement that he had contracted HIV. Johnson came out of retirement in 1996 and played the final 32 games of the season for the Lakers, averaging 14.6 points and 5.9 assists. L.A. was eliminated 3-1 by Houston in the first round of the playoffs and Johnson retired again.
The Chicago Bulls had won three straight titles and the world was Jordan's oyster when he shockingly announced his retirement in 1993 and proceeded to pursue a baseball career. He ended his retirement in March of 1995 and rejoined the Bulls, but they lost in the second round of the playoffs to Orlando. The greatest homecoming in NBA history took off the next season as Jordan was the regular-season MVP and the Bulls beat Seattle in the Finals to begin their second "three-peat."
Air Jordan's right-hand man in the Bulls' six championships left the Bulls to sign a free-agent contract in Houston in 1998. After one year with the Rockets and four in Portland, Pippen returned to Chicago for the 2003-04 season. An assortment of injuries limited him to just 23 games and 5.9 points and he retired in 2004.
A first-round pick by Phoenix in 1996, the Suns traded him to Dallas in 1998 for Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, Pat Garrity and a Draft pick. After six years in Dallas -- an All-Star in 2002 and 2003 -- the Mavericks let him walk out the door as a free agent in 2004. Since returning to Phoenix, Nash has twice been named MVP, led the league in assists three times and is currently No. 1 again.
The No. 2 overall pick by Dallas in 1994 was traded to Phoenix in 1996. He led the league in assists three times with the Suns, twice more in New Jersey and helped the Nets get to the Finals in 2002 and 2003. Kidd returned to Dallas in a trade for Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, DeSagana Diop and Keith Van Horn in 2008 and finished sixth in assists last season. He is currently ranked fifth.
The former No. 2 pick and one-time "Stevie Franchise" of the Rockets, Francis was part of the package of players sent to Orlando that brought Tracy McGrady to Houston. After three directionless seasons in Orlando and New York, Francis returned as a free agent to Houston in 2007. But he averaged just 5.5 points and three assists in 10 games. Francis was never activated for a game last season and was traded to Memphis.
He was a big leaping journeyman trying to find his place in the league during his first three NBA seasons in Denver. Andersen signed as a free agent with New Orleans in 2004. After getting booted out of the league for two years for violating the league's substance abuse policy, he returned to Denver last season as a free agent and finished second in the NBA in blocks. The Birdman became a key role player in the Nuggets' run to the Western Conference finals.
The defensive anchor of Detroit's 2004 championship team left as a free agent to join the Bulls. After splitting time the past three seasons in Chicago and Cleveland, Wallace is back in Detroit and currently averaging 9.7 rebounds and 1.25 blocks for the Pistons.
No homecoming list can be complete without mentioning the quick turnaround of "Big Shot Rob." Horry and Matt Bullard were traded by the Houston Rockets to Detroit on Feb. 4, 1994 for Sean Elliott. But the trade was rescinded when Elliott failed his physical due to kidney problems. Horry returned to Houston and, four months later, won the first of his seven NBA championships.
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