Allen Iverson: It Wasn't Supposed To End Like This

I YouTubed one of Allen Iverson's 50-point games last night. It was 2004 against the Hawks. I damn near shed a tear.

That swagger, the crowd chanting his name, the look on his face saying, "this is nothing." The electricity in the building, the fear in the players guarding him. The quickness, the attitude, the jumper, the crossover. It was amazing, and I remember the days I saw those games on TV.

I thought to myself, "this guy deserves a ring more than any player out there and I am sure he will get one by the time he is 38 and ready to retire." Little did I know he would not even play until the age of 35. It all happened too fast. 

It was not supposed to end like this. But the media and the NBA made it end like this. His whole career, Allen Iverson made the sports world and the NBA adjust to him. He started the tattoos, the cornrows, the baggy shorts, the sleeves. He made the NBA hip-hop. He did what he wanted whether the NBA liked it or not.

If Iverson was doing all this and was a normal player—like say Michael Conley or even Rodney Stuckey—chances are the league would have found a way to kick him out. They don't like what AI did to the NBA. He influenced so many people and David Stern did not like the way he influenced them.  

Next time you see a player with cornrows and tattoos, remember Allen Iverson was the reason. Next time you see a player in a suit and a tie, remember Allen Iverson was the reason. Iverson was David Stern's worst nightmare.

The NBA would not dare blacklist a star like Iverson. He still made them major money and sold like no other athlete out there. Most media members hated i,t too. So they took shots at his game. They said he was selfish and needed to sacrifice to win, that he needed to score less. They said he was a me-first player and ruined the game. They said he needed to pass more and take less shots.

Iverson responded by taking less shots and dishing out more assists. He went to Denver and won 50 games averaged 26.4 ppg, 7.1 apg on 46 percent shooting, and people still said he needed to score less. Despite being one of the best players in the league, the Denver Nuggets shipped him away and Chauncey Billups helped them get three more wins in an easier Western Conference, which lead to higher seeding. The Nuggets lost to the Lakers in the Western Finals.

Iverson went to Detroit and sacrificed by taking 14 shots per game, rarely touching the ball, playing 27 minutes a game and then being called washed-up. The Pistons lied to him and put him on the bench behind Rodney Stuckey. Then they sent him home. Iverson was being blacklisted.

He had to settle for the Memphis Grizzlies this summer because the media made it seem like Iverson was cancerous to a team and could not play for a team anymore. NBA executives and GMs read these things. Iverson was being destroyed by the media. The Detroit Pistons put in owners' and people's minds it was okay to bring Allen Iverson off the bench. They made sure Iverson did not get signed to a contender. The delusional GMs and owners believed all that stuff and did not offer him a contract. Some GMs and owners hated him because of the hip-hop lifestyle he brought to the league and just turned him down.

He went to Memphis thinking he could prove people wrong and get signed by a contender next year. But he did not know that even the Grizzlies, the only team that believed in him, were also against him and thought it was okay to bring Iverson off the bench. AI was supposed to average 25 and six this year so he can show people he deserves to start for a contender and get that championship.

Michael Conley was starting ahead of AI. Iverson played 27 minutes one night scored 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting and dished out seven assists in the same game. He did more than OJ Mayo and Michael Conley in fewer minutes. But still they refused to start him.

Iverson should be starting on every team in the league and getting his shots and minutes except for the Lakers and Celtics

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