A Reflection On The Career Of Allen Iverson

The last few days have been rough for me as a basketball fan. Its always a hard day when the guy you grew up wanting to be just like on a basketball court retires but that day has finally came for me. Sources are reporting that the 11 time all-star and 4 time scoring champion Allen Iverson will finally retire from the game of basketball after all of these years. Some people love him and some people hate him but AI is one of the greatest point guards to ever step on the hardwood and the proof is in the pudding on and off the court.

A New Era

Allen Iverson was different but he brought in a whole new culture to basketball as the NBA was preparing for the Post-Jordan era. The Doo-rags, Tattoos and fitted caps where all authentic to who Allen was as a person he was himself and never changed that throughout the course of his entire career. This sometimes benefited him and hurt him but he was always entreating  in the process. The Hip-Hop era in the NBA was really brought to the forefront when Allen Iverson was a marquee player in the league. His influence was and is still huge to this day.

As the NBA was preparing for the post-MJ era it was looking for a new face of the league and although it had Kobe Bryant the real hero or the guy who many people that come from a background of low income and poverty could relate to was Allen Iverson. He brought the hood to the hardwood and was proud of who he was that's why in that era of  hip-hop culture Allen Iverson Sixers jerseys were popular because of who he was as a person and the kind of player he was on the court. Iverson's jersey along with his Reebok "The Questions" Sneaker were wildly successful and still are to this day. Recently Reebok has re released the popular shoe and it has seen a great response from the sneaker world and shoe lovers worldwide. Iverson is To Reebok what Jordan is to the Air Jordan brand.

Little Big Man

Allen Iverson is listed generously at 6 feet tall and 165 pounds and is the greatest undersized guard of all-time along with Isiah Thomas. I once heard someone say the following about AI "Take Michael Jordan's greatest moves and speed them up and you have Allen Iverson". Allen Iverson played the game fearlessly and it demands respect. Taking on guys who are a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier then him Iverson played the game his way and that was with no fear and if need be at the rim. This attitude allowed him to score 24,369 points with a 26.7 scoring average on his career. Iverson made big baskets and made a living putting the Sixers on his back.

We all know Iverson is one of the greatest performers ever but very few people know that he is 2nd all-time in playoff scoring average in the history of the NBA only behind Michael Jordan averaging 29.7 points per game. He put Philly on his back in the most important games.Iverson played with heart and would make bigger guys look like they shouldn't be on the same floor. Like take for example in a playoff series against the Toronto Raptors and the much bigger more athletic Vince Carter in 2001. Iverson had 2 games of 50+ points with his 54 points in game 2 and 52 points in game 5. Allen was little no doubt about that but he was also something else- The MVP of the league.

The Problems

A.I's career comes with a lot of glory but a lot of problems as well, many of them self-inflicted. Allen was never a "pure point guard" but many basketball purists knocked him for that over the years calling him selfish and not a team player. There was the infamous "Practice" press conference in which he looked like a complete buffoon and totally selfish. Allen had his fans but equally had his detractors.

Then there was his relationship with head coach Larry Brown. For many years they couldn't see eye to eye because Allen hated practice. When they finally found some common ground they helped turn the Sixers into a playoff team and eventually reached the finals in 2001 with an eventual loss to the Shaq & Kobe Lakers. Some say had Allen not been so hard headed that his career would have looked better but Allen was Allen and he wasn't changing for nobody.

The Decline

Allen Iverson's scoring average was 26.7 points per game in the regular season. The end of his career kept that number from being higher with his stops in Denver, Detroit and Memphis. Seeing Allen anywhere but Philly was weird and all the seasons he had averaging less then 20 points hurt his average but he just didn't fit in on any of those teams.

It was sad to see how no NBA franchise in the latter part of Iverson's career wanted to give him a shot. Some of that is due in part to AI's ego not wanting to come off the bench and declined numerous offers in China and D-League where he could have proven himself to NBA GM's. No matter how you spin it the end of his career is just sad, you never want to see a guy of his stature go out that way.

The Legacy

Allen Iverson's career left much to be desired in terms of his championship success. He never captured an NBA title and its a down right travesty but nobody will ever say that he didn't deserve it. Iverson is a 1st ballot hall of famer whether you like him or not its not even a question. The only Point guard that is better then him at his size is maybe Isiah Thomas but besides that A.I is the best undersized point guard to ever play the game of basketball.

Throwback Thursday: Vince Carter 2000 Dunk Contest

Just wanted to wish everybody a Happy Throwback Thursday it's been awhile since I did this but the time was right. With All-Star Weekend coming up next Saturday many people have begin the yearly talks of greatest Dunks ofAll-time mainly Michael Jordans Free Throw Line dunk in his bout with Dominique Wilkins at Chicago Stadium 25 years ago but today We will flashback to the One man spectacle known as “Half man Half man Amazing” Vince Carter in 2000 at the arena in Oakland.

When I was little I used to play NBA Live 2005 a lot and in Dunk Contest mode when your dunk was on point the sideline would go crazy with NBA players jumping up and down with Camcorders. I always wondered when I was younger if that really happened and where EA Sports got that from. When you watch this Dunk Contest you know where that comes from.

The term “Set the tone” seemed appropriate when speaking about Vince Carters reverse 360 dunk which may be the best dunk in the history of the contest. The way he just seemed to hang in the air for so many seconds, spin around, Cock the ball back and throw it down with so much authority all in one motion was beyond ridiculous.

We all knew something special was in the works that night in Oakland. Vince added to his legend on his 3^rd dunk where then Toronto Teammate Tracy Mcgrady threw him an alley where Vinsanity then proceeded to put the ball between his legs and then Jam it home like the rim owed him Money. Kenny Smith as we all Know shouted through the TNT airwaves “ITS OVER” We were watching History. Vince obviously won the Contest by a landslide.

This years Dunk Contest features Eric Bledsoe, James White, Kenneth Fareid, Terrence Ross, Gerald Green and Jeremy Evans. If any of these guys give us top 10 material thats anywhere near Vince or Jordan level we are in for a treat this year. I'm looking at my guy Bledsoe to give us something to talk about this year.

Watch the video down below to relive the Vin-Sanity of the dunk contest in 2000!

Throwback Thursday: NBA Street

Its Thursday so you already know I don’t got to tell you what time it is but I will anyway, It’s Throwback Thursday. Just want too say thanks to everybody that read the Joe Namath Article last Thursday if you Haven’t make sure you do so. Today for throwback Thursday we are changing the pace rather then talking about a legendary athelete we are going to talk about a classic throwback video game near and dear to my and a lot of other peoples hearts. I’m talking about the Classic NBA Street.

Released way back in the Great year of 2001 My Dad and I were just paying a visit to a local Target on a Thursday afternoon. As I was looking at the video games a cover caught my eye. It was a tall dark afrocentric guy with an afro Dunking a basketball the title read “NBA Street”. My father purchased the game for Playstation 2 for 25.19$. The game was amazingly fun and unrealistic at the same time. You play 3 on 3 Basketball with some of your favorite NBA players on Blacktops in various areas such as South Beach, Route 66, Home Rucker Park and you rather then set pick and rolls and play fundamental basketball just rack up trick points by crossing over opposing players and breaking ankels. The game features Players such as Steve Francis, Reggie Miller, Tracy Mcgrady, Vince Carter, Gary Payton, Baron Davis, Chris Webber, Alonzo Mourning, Eddie Jones, Afro Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan and Vitaly Potapenko. All the then 29 team are featured and 5 players are available from each of the franchises. In city circuit mode which is my personal favorite you pick NBA team and play other NBA teams in various venues and once you beat them you can have them on your team, so usually after getting far enough in city circuit I would pick the Charlotte Hornets and once I beat the Heat and 76ers I would pick up Allen Iverson and Eddie Jones and I would have them play alongside Baron Davis. Another cool thing about City circuit mode is when you beat the NBA teams in a venue you got too play the boss of that stage which are all fictional Streetballers like Stretch (the guy on the cover) once you beat them you automatically get them on your team. NBA Street is a classic you can play it right now in 2012 and you will still have a blast playing it just like I did for 6 hours yesterday. The game was well received and was certified as one of Playstation’s greatest hits. It was a pioneer that spawned 2 more NBA Street games an NFL and FIFA version as well. If you have never played this game then you are missing out, I highly suggest that if you still own a Playstation 2 that you go out and buy the game. All I know is that every time I pick up a controller to play I don’t put it down for hours. Maybe it’s the rim shattering dunks to end the games that I perform with guys like Keyon Martin and Jermaine O’neal. Maybe it’s the Challenge of beating Stretch, Bonafide and Biggs.  Maybe it’s the way Joe “The show” blurts out “HELLO OPERATA”! from his megaphone every time I shoot a 3 pointer. Maybe it’s the sounds of Real Hip-hop in the back round when I’m Crossing someone over with Brevin Knight. No matter how you look at it NBA Street left an untouchable legacy which is hard for any sports game to live up too.