Allen Iverson Needed a NBA Championship

 No matter what happens in his personal life Allen Iverson will go down as one of the greatest basketball players to ever play and arguably is pound for pound the best player to ever play the game he had a legendary career and is the best small player the league has ever seen. Iverson accomplished almost everything there was to accomplish individually but he failed to win a championship and now it will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Allen Iverson is one of the greatest talents in NBA history he was insanely athletic in his prime and could score 30 points in his sleep. Iverson was a game changer and broke down defenses every time he played. He put on a show every time he played and was one of the most exciting players to watch. Since Michael Jordan retired Iverson is arguably the best player statistically. He is a first ballot Hall Of Famer and there probably won't be another player or icon like him.

His statistics and awards speak for themselves. Iverson scored an amazing 24,368 points in his career dished out 5,624 assists he also had an impressive 1983 career steals. Iverson averaged an amazing 27.0 ppg for his career and 6.2 apg along with 2.2 spg. He put up those numbers in 914 career games and did it all at just 6 feet tall and 165 lbs. In the playoffs Iverson also averaged 30 ppg for his career which is second all-time to the greatest player ever Michael Jordan. Iverson played hurt more than any player and had a passion for the game that only few players have had. He played through all types of injuries and took more hits than any player. He was a warrior.

Iverson was the 97 Rookie of the year, 97 All-Rookie first team , an 11 time NBA All-Star, 2 time All-Star game MVP, 3 times NBA steals leader, 7 time All-NBA selection, 4 time NBA Scoring champion (only 3 players have won 4 scoring titles) and the 2001 NBA. Yes he did it all but he didn't get what he wanted and needed most.

If Iverson won a championship he would be viewed differently as a player and person. He would still be on a NBA team and would probably be the 1st or 2nd option like he should be. He wouldn't lose love for the game and wouldn't have gambling and drinking problems. If Iverson had a championship all the teams would be trying to get him in free agency even if they didn't like his attitude. If Iverson was a champion he probably wouldn't leave the team for personal reasons and if he was a champion he probably wouldn't leave because of injuries because he would still love the game like he did before he was traded to Detroit. He would have done it all and could have retired anytime and it would be a happy ending because he would walk away from the game having done it all.

It isn't all Iverson's fault that he didn't win a ring though. He tried changing his game in Detroit but the rest of the Pistons team didn't play like they did when Chauncey Billups was with them. Iverson even sacrificed shot attempts and touches and minutes in his second stint with the Sixers to win but that didn't work out either. His time to win a ring had passed the day he was traded from Denver to Detroit. Just like all the other basketball legends the only way Iverson would win a ring was if the team was revolved around him and once he left Denver it was no longer built around him.

Bad management in Philadelphia ruined Iverson chances of ever winning a ring. But in 2001 Iverson had one of the best individual seasons in NBA history leading a bunch of scrubs (except Mutumbo) to the NBA Finals. He had Larry Brown is one of the best coaches ever and he had Dikembe guarding the hoop on defense but on offense there was not a player to take the pressure off of Iverson in 2001 and he never really had that ever player in his prime. He didn't have the sidekick or supporting cast all the other great players who have won championships have had. If Iverson was going to win a championship he was going to do it in his first stint in Philly and he needed a Scottie Pippen to do it but he never got it. Iverson was accused of being selfish at times but many people don't understand that the Sixers needed Iverson to score 30 every night to be competitive and in Denver he still won 50 games in one of the best Western Conferences in history but he needed the team to revolve around just him it was also built around Carmelo Anthony and that wasn't going to work. 

Iverson never really demanded players from the management either and he probably should have but now his career is probably over and he is trying to get his life back on track. Iverson may have started losing love for the game late in his career because he busted his body and played his hardest every night but his teams failed to win the championship and that must have hurt him mentally. Maybe he wouldn't have this drinking and gambling problem he has right now because he would be playing meaningful basketball every year. Iverson hated losing and loved to win but he didn't get a chance to win a championship. Iverson was hungry for that ring for so many years now and one of the reason he left Philly the first time was because he felt he didn't have a chance to win a championship there and had so many frustrating years. But the frustration continued for Iverson and maybe that lead to Iverson's personal life crashing down.

Although Iverson is a legend and had an amazing career like to many players had he needed a championship more than anything. It would have not only saved his career but saved his life. Iverson would be playing basketball in a happy situation because every year his team would surround him with players that can help him stay at the top and he would continue getting superstar treatment and playing meaningful basketball. The 3 guys that had a better career than Iverson in the past decade all have multiple championships and those guys are Kobe, Tim Duncan and Shaq and Iverson who has top 25 all time status would too have top 15 all-time status. LeBron James should learn a lesson from Iverson because he can win all the individual awards he wants but if he doesn't win a championship it will hurt him big time. 

Iverson had an amazing NBA career and he did almost everything. But one thing is for sure Iverson's career wouldn't end this way and his personal life wouldn't be this sad if he had a NBA Championship on his resume. Iverson will always be considered a legend, a warrior and even a champion but just not an NBA Champion. 

Not winning an NBA Championship will haunt Allen Iverson for the rest of his life. But than again it already is.