Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. In this entry I'm going to take a look at an NBA legend that has recently gone bankrupt. Not only monetarily but also in terms of his legacy. So let's take a look at....
"THE ANSWER" ALLEN IVERSON
All anyone ever thinks of anymore when the topic of Allen Iverson is brought up is the "Practice" rant that he went on. While it is an all time great interview, it also has clouded peoples view of one of the best basketball players of all time.
Let's just look at the awards that he amassed in his 15 year NBA career.
-1st overall selection in the 1996 draft
-1997 Rookie of the Year
-11x NBA All Star
-2x NBA All Star MVP
-4x NBA Scoring Champion
-3x All NBA First Team
-3x All NBA Second Team
-NBA MVP
That's a hell of a lot of achievements for a guy that is mostly remembered for a rant. Allen Iverson was the most iconic player in the NBA over the course of his career. He wasn't just a prolific scorer but a true trendsetter. Never before had a player completely disregarded the unwritten rules of a major business. While Michael Jordan and every other major star was wearing suits, AI was rocking baggy shorts, XXXL shirts and throwback jerseys. Most players had shaved heads or Fade hair styles, Iverson changed all that with his cornrowed look. He was counterculture, a rebel, and a hero to every young person who watched the NBA. You know that when even little awkward white boys like me wanted to dress like him, he had major influence.
For those of you that may not remember the '90's, which makes me feel extremely old, it was a time of rebellion. Whether it was Nirvana cranking out hits, Steve Austin beating up his boss, hip hop becoming cool, or Allen Iverson wearing cornrows, baggy pants, and oversized throwbacks, the 90's were dominated by people who were counterculture. It was the perfect match of the right time and the right player.
So now that we've covered all the off-court reasons of why Allen Iverson is a legend, let's move back to on-court. Today, with all the advanced metrics that experts use to evaluate players, AI's career has been picked apart and downplayed more than any other former player. They say that he wasn't efficient, had a low pps, low ts%, a high usg%, and other bad advanced stats that I don't know anything about. Here's what I know, he had career averages of 26.7pts, 6.2asts, 3.7rbs, and 2.2stls. He peaked in 2005-06 averaging 33.0pts and 7.4asts per game. He was the MVP in 2001 and led the 76ers to the finals that same year. Everyone talks about how Lebron led a terrible Cavs team to the finals in 2007, but look at the team that AI brought to the finals.
2000-2001 Philadelphia 76ers
Starters: Eric Snow, Allen Iverson, George Lynch, Tyrone Hill, and Dikembe Mutombo
Bench: Matt Geiger, Todd MacCulloch, Jumaine Jones, Aaron Mckie, Kevin Ollie, Roshown McLeod, Rodney Buford, Raja Bell, Pepe Sanchez, and Speedy Claxton.
That team is TERRIBLE other than Iverson and Mutombo. The only reason that they went to the finals was because of AI. At six feet tall and 170 pounds soaking wet he did EVERYTHING for them. I've never seen someone with as much heart and determination as Iverson, he took a beating every game and kept coming back for more. Even stepping back from the incredible stats, there are other ways that a player can be defined. Think about when you watch a game, whether it's the NBA, MLB, NFL, or NHL, what players do you fear when they're facing your team? As a huge fan of the Celtics, I can remember watching countless games against the 76ers and always watching in absolute fear because I knew that Allen Iverson could take over the game at any moment. There are only few players that can make a fan feel that way. In my time watching I've only felt that way about Iverson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Jason Kidd. I knew that when those guys came into town, the Celtics probably weren't going to be leaving with a W.
It's been said that as generations go by, the memories fade as well and fans start to proclaim the new generation as better. It's the reason that young fans today try and claim that Kobe is better than Jordan or that Magic Johnson and Larry Bird wouldn't be able to play in the league today. Well, the same thing is starting to happen to the guys that I grew up watching. Fans who started watching today are only going to remember Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett as worse versions of Blake Griffin, and Jason Kidd as the guy who can't hit a jumper for the Mavs. This is the reason that it's so frustrating to hear fans today compare Allen Iverson to guys like Monta Ellis. It's not that Monta isn't on Iverson's level, it's that he's not even on the level below him.
Thanks for reading, leave a comment, go back and read all my other posts, become a fan of DieN2LivE on Facebook, and enjoy the games.
Josh
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