Allen Iverson Needs to Hang It Up
Allen Iverson, who has been struggling in the NBA for the previous two seasons, is one of the most influential and exciting athletes the sports world has ever seen.
Iverson was undoubtedly one of the greatest scorers to have ever graced the NBA hardwood. At no taller than six feet, he was relentless, unforgiving, the most intimidating F-you player the NBA has seen since MJ, arrogant, influential, a trendsetter, selfish, a coach-killer, deadly with the ball in his hand and unforgettable.
Nobody in the history of basketball - other than Jordan - has what Iverson brought to the court in terms of sheer intensity.
Kevin Garnett has attempted to replicate the bug-eyed-flex-the-muscles-and stare-at-the-ceiling look. Kobe has even gone as far as just basically copy everything Jordan- including the trademarked fish pump.
Few can copy Iverson. He was just a scary dude. When watching him play there was always a sense of violence in the air, like a pit bull that could snap at any moment, an alpha dog in the body of a poodle.
His on court play made opposing coaches throw their hands up. With a supporting cast of underachieving college stars, everyone knew Iverson was taking the shot, yet few could stop it.
His mother was once quoted in Sports Illustrated as saying that she became pregnant with her son without actually having sex. Even with this being scientifically impossible, it still matched his nature. Iverson couldn't possibly have been born or created. Rather, he just appeared, as if out of thin air. It was as if a mad scientist made him in a science lab: a quick little athlete with a mean streak that could only be compared to a combination of Jason Voorhees with Keiser Soze.
He was a trendsetter unlike any ever seen in sports. Would the NBA have ever experienced the gangster/hip-hop era without him? His entire body was covered with ink, he wrote terrible rap songs that glorified violence, wore baggy clothing and flat-brims and more platinum chains and earrings than Jacob the Jeweler.
As his career dwindles, people seem to forget what he was about. His last few years since being traded from Philadelphia to Denver and then to Detroit, and then spending a game or two in Memphis, have been disappointing.
A large part of the reason why Iverson is less effective is because his entire career was built on his speed driving to the basket. His quickness and agility allowed him to be nearly unstoppable.
In the NBA, most athletes start to lose strength and quickness around their 1,000th game. Once the legs are history, the career is history. Guards, often the quickest members of a basketball team, usually have shorter careers in the NBA because they are constantly driving to the hoop.
The reason why Jordan - and now Kobe - have such dominant careers after 1,000 games is because they are able to transfer their games into jump shots and high post moves.
Jordan, during his three-peat between '96 and '98 developed into one of the best high post players in the NBA. He was able to avoid nagging injuries by not putting his body through the daily abuse that is required to be a driving-get to the foul line type of guard.
Iverson is too small to transform his game with the post-moves required. He still has the speed to get to the basket, but his body is rapidly deteriorating. Even with the hand-check rules that are in place in today's NBA - a rule that puts any superstar on the charity stripe nearly every time he drives - his game has worn his body to an empty shell of what he was once.
AI will always be the constant staple in what made the 2000s decade in the NBA. He joins the short list of athletes who can never be copied, most of whom basketball fans can list by one name: Bird, Magic, Kareem, Barkley, Jordan, Russell… and now Iverson.
