76ers guards Iverson, McKie undergo surgery
( 2001-09-26 10:06 ) (7 )

NBA Most Valuable Player Allen Iverson and fellow Philadelphia 76ers guard Aaron McKie both underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday, the team said.

The two players will miss the entire preseason and McKie, who won the NBA's Sixth Man Award last season, is almost certain to be sidelined for the start of the regular season.

The dynamic Iverson, who led the Sixers to the NBA Finals last season, had bone spurs removed from his right elbow and is expected to be out between four and six weeks.

McKie had a small tear in his right shoulder repaired and could miss six to eight weeks.

The operations on both players were performed by renowned surgeon Dr James Andrews at the Alabama Sports Medicine facility.

"Allen (Iverson) was found to have a reasonably decent amount of bony spurs around the elbow joint," Sixers team physician Jack McPhilemy said.

"These spurs were serving as a source of irritation to the soft tissue and they were also serving as a reason why he was not able to fully extend and fully bend his elbow.

"After appropriate physical therapy, we anticipate that he is going to have increased motion and less pain in that elbow," McPhilemy said of Iverson, who led the NBA in scoring last season despite playing with numerous injuries.

The team physician said the surgery on McKie revealed less damage to the shoulder than had been feared.

"Luckily, at the time of the surgery the rotator cuff was found to be pristine," McPhilemy said. "He did have a small tear of his glenoid labrum that was repaired."

Iverson, at 6-feet (1.82m) the shortest league MVP in NBA history, averaged 31.5 points and 2.51 steals per game to lead Philadelphia to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1983.

McKie was second in the club in scoring, averaging 11.6 points in 76 games. He added 5.0 assists and 4.1 rebounds per contest.