Iverson’s comportment gets a lot of attention, while his hardwood brilliance gets far less than it should.
Allen Iverson was one of the most polarizing athletes of the modern era. The 6’0 guard from Georgetown shocked doubters with an average of 23 PPG in his two years with the Hoyas, as well as earning an All-America nod his second and final season in the NCAA.
Photo courtesy Philadelphia Inquirer
He was “The Answer” to the 76ers’ question at PG in the 1996 NBA Draft, selected as the 1st pick. AI immediately contributed to the 76ers, piling up 23.5 PPG in the 1996-1997 season, earning one fifth-place MVP vote, and taking home Rookie of the Year honors.
He would continue to be elite with the Sixers, carrying them to a Finals appearance in the 2000-2001 season, and bringing home an MVP trophy for his efforts. That season, he posted a 31.1 PPG in the regular season and 32.9 PPG in the playoffs. Yet, the Sixers fell to the powerhouse Lakers starring Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
Another footnote of Iverson’s time with the Sixers was an interview in which he discussed how the media was treating him amid coach Larry Brown’s scrutiny during team practices.
A moment of clarity came when I looked at the interview transcript — a lengthy one. This was not a short or comedic interview. Iverson aired grievances while the world watched.
After reading the transcript of this interview, one thing is clear: Allen Iverson is not being seen as Allen Iverson the person but as the player, “AI,”,“The Answer.” When an answer isn’t reliable anymore, it gets replaced.
Before I continue, I implore the reader to think of your favorite athletes as people, not players; they do not exist to play their sport, nor to please you and bring you joy and prosperity. They. Are. People. Keeping that in mind, I will no longer refer to Allen Iverson as “AI” in this article, as he is more than a nickname meant to sell merchandise and notoriety.
Iverson goes on to credit Larry Brown, saying he loves him and that there is no “MVP Allen Iverson” without coach Brown. Iverson proceeds to state that he told Larry Brown, “You don’t have to give the people of Philadelphia a reason to think about trading me or anything like that.”
Iverson is upset that Larry Brown commented on him in the first place; he feels betrayed in a way. Iverson does not understand the criticism regarding practice and how he treats it, given that he is the reigning league MVP and dominant in actual games.
Larry Brown with the Sixers (photo courtesy Philadelphia Inquirer)
From an outside perspective, it seems that Iverson no longer believes he is the 76ers’ superstar, a point he repeatedly makes throughout the interview. He feels that if he were truly the superstar that he is hailed as, there would be no trade talks, and he would not have to worry about his future in Philadelphia.
The interview is really a look into the mind of a man who has laid everything on the line for his team and the city, only to be questioned about whether he still belongs. All because of a first-round exit and Iverson’s attitude towards practice.
Iverson would remain with the 76ers until the 2006-2007 season, when he, along with Ivan McFarlin, was traded midseason to the Denver Nuggets in December 2006, for Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two first-round picks.
Iverson supposedly requested the trade, though he later revealed he did not. Rather, he told GM Billy King that if they were not going to make the changes required to win, Iverson believed they should get rid of him. Iverson’s trade was a consequence of a team that refused to take the steps to build a competitive team and instead took the easy way out by trading their biggest star in franchise history.
Iverson would spend the rest of the 2006-2007 season with Denver and stay with the Nuggets until the 2008-2009 season, where he was again traded midseason, this time to the Detroit Pistons. At the age of 33, Iverson’s career was effectively over.
He would finish the season with Detroit, then he was traded yet again, this time to the Memphis Grizzlies, before the 2009-2010 season. He played three games there before being traded back to the 76ers, where he would retire following the 2009-2010 season.
Iverson ended his career with one MVP, a Rookie of the Year, as well as making the All-NBA 1st team three times, the All-NBA 2nd team three times, and the All-NBA 3rd team one time, as well as raking in 11 all-star selections and the scoring title four times.
Allen Iverson was an amazing athlete who never experienced the euphoria of winning an NBA championship. He was traded from the team that brought their only Finals appearance since that fateful 2000-2001 season, as well as the team he gave a decade of elite basketball to.
Regardless, he is still remembered as one of the greatest ever to do it.
