The newest inductee into the JerkishBehavior Hall of Fame is the greatest small scoring guard and under 6 feet player in basketball history which is none other than Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers. The first time I heard of Allen Iverson when I was in grammar school and I thought his name was Ivan Iverson and wasn’t that big of a fan. Nevertheless, I knew he was a beast at Georgetown University and was dunking on cats like crazy and outing a lot of big men on his poster. Iverson was also rocking the greatest shoe of all-time in the patent leather Jordan XI’s and on the cover of SLAM magazine so I knew he was a kinda like a big deal. I was finally converted into an official Allen Iverson fan after his performance during the All-Star Weekend Rookie game where the whole league questioned if he would even pass the ball and if he could play the point guard position. Well, Iverson most definitely gave everyone “The Answer” when he won MVP honors while scoring 19 points and handed out 9 assists and was clearly the best player on the court. Allen Iverson proved the critics wrong and went on to have an incredible rookie and ended up winning Rookie of the Year. Allen Iverson became a fan favorite instantly. Allen Iverson’s game was something to behold from the ankle-breaking unstoppable crossover, mid-range jumpers, floaters, relentless drives and underhand scoop shots that always went over the outstretched big man’s grasp which made him a dominant scorer which lead to him winning 4 NBA scoring titles. I always thought I was going to be 6’6 like Mike but unfortunately for me that never happened so I like many other 6’0 and under players patterned their game after A.I. because his game was “The Answer” for us. I remember many days in the gym practicing his crossover or shooting arching off the glass scoop shots over the imaginary big man. Allen Iverson was most definitely the man to be emulated and changed the game in the post-Jordan era.
Allen Iverson became a cultural icon from everybody wanted to get braids, tattoos, wear throwbacks with a do-rag under the fitted, and even made Reebok one of the hottest sneaker brands on the market (I, a renowned Nike head, even purchased a pair of all black Answer III’s that I hooped and kicked it at the club in). A.I. had some of the tightest shoe commercials as well like who can forget the one where he did the spin move while the ball never switched sides. This move was so next level and a thing of beauty and I remember vividly the next day after the commercial released at basketball practice, the whole team was talking about the commercial and spent hours trying to do the new Iverson crossover. Allen Iverson was so much a game-changer off the court that even the NBA created a dress code mainly because of him and the mere sight of seeing A.I. in a suit was a phenomenon in itself. There’s also the infamous “practice, we talking about practice, not a game but practice” interview that the critics will never let him live down. If Iverson was averaging 30 points a game without practicing just think of the numbers he would’ve put up if he actually practiced, the league didn’t want those kind of problems. Allen Iverson was a supernova on the court because he led a team of one-dimensional talents to the playoffs every year while handling the entire scoring and assist load. Allen Iverson always rose his game in all areas to next level in the playoffs such as his playoff record 10 steals in one game, BANANAS. And who can forget the unbelievably ridiculous season he had in 2001 where he won both All-Star Game MVP and NBA MVP as the best player in the world and led the 76ers to the best record in the league. Allen Iverson faced the hardest road ever to reach the NBA Finals where he faced off against all-time greats in Reggie Miller, Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Sam Cassell then Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal for the championship. Allen Iverson won every single battle but didn’t have enough help to win the championship but he still left an indeliable mark on history with his game 1 performance versus the Lakers. Allen Iverson scored 48 points and lead the 76ers to their lone victory but the memorable play was went he drove baseline then crossed back against Tyronn Lue then hit jumper in his face in crunch time as Lue fell to the ground, Iverson stared at him as he defiantly stepped over him to get back on defense. Allen Iverson was a one-man wrecking crew and as he known famously quoted as saying “he plays every game like its his last” and he most definitely did that without question. The critics will say that Iverson is a ball hog and never passed but he had to score a bunch of points for his teams to win but failed to realize he averaged atleast 6 assists a game that is darn good for a perennial 30 point scorer throughout his career. A.I. is one of a kind player who has the 5th all-time career scoring average in NBA history and considering how everyone higher on the list was at least 6 inches taller makes the feat even more legendary. So without further ado, the newest inductee into the JerkishBehavior Hall of Fame is Allen “The Answer” Iverson.
5 JerkishBehavior Moments:
1. Allen Iverson is the only player in history to embarrass the incomparable Michael Jordan by not only crossing him over once but twice for good measure and he did this as a rookie in the league, so disrespectful, what a JERK!!!
2. Allen Iverson’s infamous crossover strikes again when he does the unthinkable and makes Antonio Daniels fall not once but twice on the same play, UNFUCKINBELIEVABLE, who does that?
3. Allen Iverson is the only rookie ever to score 40 or more points in 4 consecutive games.
4. Allen Iverson had the greatest tip dunk ever when he climb the back of 7-foot shot blocker Marcus Camby, CRAZY!!!
5. Allen Iverson hit the game-winning shot versus Germany in the 2004 Olympics and oh did I forget to mention it was from half court, RIDICULOUS!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment