Pivot Points: Allen Iverson Has Decided To Hang Up His Sneakers

It's official.

At 6:00 p.m. EST, Steven A. Smith of ESPN announced that Allen Iverson has decided to retire and spend more time with his family.

While this seemed like it may have been the next step in the ongoing Iverson saga, I still can't believe it's true.

Apparently Iverson has become disenchanted with the media scrutiny and the mutiny from most fans in basketball and chose to make his stop in Memphis his last one.

So what's next for the legion of Iverson fans who have continuously sung his praises?

Probably a litany of articles claiming the demise of professional basketball, and how things won't be the same without their fallen star.

On the contrary, the game hasn't really missed him and things have been humming along just fine.

I will miss the competitive spirit he brought to the game, and I will miss the passion that made him so special, but I can do without the presumption that his presence enhanced the game of basketball.

When it's all said and done, he will hold a special place in history as one of the best guards ever to play the game, and he will join the ranks of great players never to have won a championship.

Beyond that, the possibility still exists that he could find a team that could use his services come playoff time, but it may be in his best interest to simply fade into NBA lore.

I said that I would never pen another article about Iverson until he signed with a team because everything else was not news. I was wrong, as his retirement will dominate the airwaves for the duration of the Thanksgiving weekend.

I'm sure there are other writers on this site who can wax poetic much more than I am able to about the life and times of Allen Iverson, and they will have the next two weeks to do so.