This season, I have been hearing some things surrounding the game of basketball that have just been off. I know people have short memories when I hear things like comparing Dwight Howard to a young Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq was averaging 29pts. and 13rebs his second year in the NBA. Dwight Howard may never average over 25. But recently, one of my mentors forwarded me an article that was published a few days ago that took me over the top. The topic... Allen Iverson. As a resident of Philadelphia and a person that has watched Allen Iverson through various lenses his entire career, I feel like I can weigh in on the significance of his career as a player and the correlation it has to American Culture and the Urban Community.
No way does Iverson remind us of our short comings! You can mention such players as Tracy McGrady- the tools and physically ability of Kobe Bryant and Micheal Jordan but never making it out the first round, Samuel Dalembert- who is just a horrible basketball player that must be mentioned when thinking about short comings, or you usual duds: Kwame Brown, Eddie Curry, (had not been for Chris Paul Tyson Chandler might be here too), Darrius Miles, Jonathan Bender, Darko Milicic and more. Or in Philadelphia, we have Keith Van Horn, Larry Highues, Tim Thomas and more. So no way should anyone think of Allen Iverson when they think of short comings. When in the game, nobody can question the effort of Allen Iverson. We can discuss on the ball defense, shoot selection and a few other things. We can not question effort and will to win! He sacrificed his body over the past 13 years like no player I have seen. That is something that he will physically never get back, even when he does walk away from the game. He would not go through that physically beating to come in second or to been questioned in history the way it's being done now. He was just never put in a realistic situation where he could win the NBA championship.
Allen Iverson did come into the NBA at the end of the Jordan era. But immediately after the Jordan era ended started the era of the Spurs and the Lakers. Since Jordan retired the Bulls dynasty, the only teams to win outside of the Lakers and Spurs are Detroit, Miami and recently Boston. Which year in that time do you think Allen Iverson was on the "team to win?" Even the year he did take his team to the finals, the most die hard Sixers fan knew deep down inside that they did not have a chance. (Short comings is thinking about Dikembe Mutombo getting abuse by Shaq despite whatever he tried against him.)
No way is Allen responsible for the fall of the Pistons. They have been on top of the mediocre Eastern Conference because they have been the most consistent and experienced team amongst horrible teams. Trading Chauncey Billups is was turned the directions of the Pistons. He was the leader of this team in so many ways. When you loose a guy like that, it changes the face of the team. As for the play of the Nuggets, he is the type of player and leader they needed to take them to the next level. Credit Chauncey and what he brings to the table.
When comparing Allen Iverson to Isiah Thomas, the stats are similar. Thomas played in more playoff games and had a better team nearly his entire career. Allen has almost never played on a team that would allow him to sit out or have an off game, and still have a chance of winning. Thomas played with other All Stars and solid players at every position.
The most disrespectful part of the article is the sell-out and selfish talk about Allen, taking shots at his upbringing and who he is as a man. I do not know Allen Iverson personally, but that was some crazy stuff to say. I could write a book about why the citizens of this country have the mindset we do and the effect is has on our community, so I won't get too in depth. I will say that was an inaccurate representation of him and he does not symbolized that to a lot of people. He will return to the NBA next season and he will not grab on any coat tail. He will start somewhere and play the role he plays to try and help his team win. Remember, he was still putting up good numbers before he was sent to Detroit. I predict a re-birth for him next season similar to a healthy Shaquille O'Neal this season.
In response to the link below:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9436532/No-question,-Iverson-was-never-the-Answer
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