Allen Iverson presented the game ball for Sixers' Game 6

　　Sixers legend Allen Iverson left Philadelphia under not-so-great circumstances twice — first, when he was traded to the Denver Nuggets in December 2006, and then again in 2010 after a short, controversy-filled return to the franchise. Despite those exits, Iverson is still much-loved in Philly. He led the franchise emotionally and on the court for more than a decade, and his toughness (mixed with a lot of frustration, naturally) helped the city identify with him. Simply put, he's the most important Philadelphia athlete of the past 25 years, no matter how often Eagles fans still complain about former quarterback Donovan McNabb.

　　On Wednesday night, the currently unemployed Iverson returned to the Wells Fargo Center to present the game ball before tip-off of the Sixers' Game 6 win against the Boston Celtics. His initial appearance was brief: He walked out in head-to-toe Sixers apparel (including a jersey with the No. 23 of Louis Williams, the most Iversonian member of the team), presented the ball, shook some hands, gave some hugs, and left the court to watch the game. Through it all, the home crowd gave him a huge ovation.

　　It's very easy to view this turn of events as sad for Iverson, particularly if you believe the overblown and reductive reports that he's broke. Yet, from another perspective, Iverson's situation is just another event in the life of someone who never went quietly and stayed himself even when standards deemed him reckless and immodest. For years, AI thrived on tenacity and perseverance on the court, playing through injury even when medical logic suggested he was falling apart. As a cultural figure, he embraced street style and became the poster boy for all moralists' claims that the NBA was a league of thugs. At all times, he's done what he wants to do with little care for what the general population thought of him.