Highlights of Allen Iverson's epic Hall of Fame speech

They get no realer than Allen Iverson. What NBA fans saw from 1996 to 2010 was a league-shifting force of nature, a 5-foot-10 whirling dervish incorrectly listed as a six-foot point guard.

Observers were also privy over the years to aspects of Iverson's off-court life - warts and all, with controversies that both were and weren't his fault. Either way, his life has been laid bare for all to see since he was 17 years old.

And on Friday night in Springfield, Mass., at the true end of his basketball journey with enshrinement into the Naismith Hall of Fame, he left it all on the floor again in a prodigious 31-minute speech.

Iverson began by emotionally thanking his college coach, Georgetown great John Thompson. A highly-recruited high school athlete in basketball and football, Iverson saw his college scholarship offers evaporate after being dubiously imprisoned for his role in a bowling alley fight.

Thompson became the only Division I coach willing to take a chance on Iverson, and he thanked him for "saving my life."

On a lighter note, Iverson then treated the crowd to his dad side, complete with silly kid voice.

Things started to trend epic when he described his first encounter with Michael Jordan, using a "Chappelle's Show" skit as a reference.

Iverson in many ways was the NBA's first superstar that mirrored hip-hop culture - certainly at least in his era - so it was only natural he shout out the soundtrack of the late '90s and early 2000s.

The loudest cheer in the auditorium came from the contingent of Philadelphia 76ers fans, who began chanting "MVP" like it was 2001 again. At this point, the teleprompter clock for Iverson was flashing red with the words "wrap now."

Wrap now? He still had about 10 minutes to go. In that time he fondly recalled his career connection with Tyronn Lue and said that Kobe Bryant "brought everything out of me on the basketball court."

The speech in its entirety can be seen here.