Allen Iverson: Still Underrated

This was originally a post I made on Facebook yesterday, which ultimately is lead me to watch the ESPN 30/30 "No Crossover: the Trial of Allen Iverson" and still do a little research.

I believe that Iverson is one of the top 10 players in NBA history and certainly the best small man (Isiah Thomas at a close second.)

Not only did The Answer have a heart only rivaled by Michael Jordan's, but he has the resume to prove it:

NBA Most Valuable Player (2001)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1997)
11× NBA All-Star (2000–2010)
2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2001, 2005)

4× NBA scoring champion (1999, 2001–2002, 2005)
3× NBA steals leader (2001–2003)
3× All-NBA First Team (1999, 2001, 2005)
3× All-NBA Second Team (2000, 2002–2003)
All-NBA Third Team (2006)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1997)

All thats missing is a championship.

Here are some brief thoughts and facts:

- At the age of 8 or 9 Iverson spent a lot of his young life watching over his own mother & had to learn responsibility early.

- Was the top ranked high school basketball and one of the most highly sought after football players in the country.

- His junior year of high school he was arrested four days after him and a group of his black friends got into a race related fight with some white kids.  A white girl claimed he had smashed her over the head with a chair.  The defense was that Iverson did not throw a chair and was escorted out by a teammate.

Interesting facts: A.) Iverson lead his bball team to a state championship a few weeks after his arrest B.) Footage that exists of the event doesn't show Iverson doing anything C.) Iverson's lawyer took a judged trail instead of a jury trial D.) After a friday court session, Iverson was flown out to NIKE basketball camp, which infuriated the prosecution and lead to their famous closing argument line, "Its our turn to just do it." E.) Even though he was only 17 at the time, they decided to try him as an adult

I have no opinion, I wasn't there.  Those are just the facts for you guys.

- AI was sentenced to 15 years in prison with 10 years suspended.  With good behavior, he could be released in 10 months.

Hampton, VA had claimed this was their own version of Muhammad Ali and this trial rivaled the MLK situation for their community.  Blacks took up for Iverson and riots ensued across the city, which birthed a whole bunch of conspiracy theories.

A lot of people believe that in this situation, as with many athlete-related situations, it is an issue of sensationalism vs racism.  Where its not about race, rather the money media outlets can make and attention they draw off of these types of stories.  The local chapter of the NAACP would't even support this cause because they believed it was hopeless and the issue of class was introduced to this already touchy subject.

- Sports Illustrated posted a article about Iverson being discriminated against andTom Brokaw even came and interviewed A.I.

- After 4 months at City Farm (jail) the first black governor in the stae of Virginia granted traditional clemency to Iverson and pardoned the other kids associated in the fight on way out of office.

- Couldnt finish his high school education at Bethel and had a personal (white) study aid and was able to receive his diploma.

- After one year a georgetown under John Thompson, all the charges were dropped and Iverson was selected as the first pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.

- The NBA refused to give the man first team defense because he scored too much. He taught Larry Hughes how to play defense, who in turn became 1st team all defense.

- The 76ers had a chart on their website showing that through the course of his career he was injured in 26 different locations.

- He brought one of the shittiest teams in league history to the NBA finals and won in LA game 1 against one of the Best Teams in history and REFUSED to leave Philadelphia after years of trade rumors because he loved the city.

Look at his finals team

Allen Iverson
Theo Ratliff
Matt Geiger
Tyrone Hill
Toni Kukoc
Eric Snow
George Lynch
Aaron McKie
Vernon Maxwell
Speedy Claxton
Nazr Mohammed
Jumaine Jones
Todd MacCulloch
Jermaine Jackson
Ademola Okulaja
Pepe Sanchez
Mark Karcher

- The NBA lied and said he was 6'0 165lbs to make him look more impressive. The man was about 5'10 140lbs.

In closing ... 

The big argument about Iverson has always been whether he was a hoodlum or hero.  You have a man that was painted as the bad guy from day one come into the NBA and make the street look of tattoos and braids acceptable to the white community and influence kids from around the world.  When RBK (Reebok) debuted THE ANSWER marketing campaign, it changed sports forever; he was the bridge between the hip hop culture and basketball.

I look at people like Kobe Bryant and Grant Hill who get all the commercials, have had wonderful teammates on great teams and wonder how many obstacles they have had to overcome to get where they are.  Of course Grant Hill had injury problems, but he was college basketballs golden child and hated on by many of his peers for having such a "white" lifestyle.  Kobe allegedly raped a white woman and bounced back as soon as he won another championship.  Imagine if Iverson was traded to the Lakers because of his image (like Kobe) and had the opportunity to play with Hall Of Famers - I might not even be writing this.

You know how many people in similar situations have squandered opportunities just because they gave up or went back to the streets?

We look down upon Allen Iverson now, for what he didn't accomplish during the latter half of his career, but had he not went to jail in his junior year we may been looking at another Deion Sanders.

There are too many varibales to speculate, but The Answer is one of the greatest athletes in history and his story is one that should be understood and heard by many.  When I think about his defiance against the system, its slightly inspiring, he lacked the verbal articulation one needs to get their full point across, and was therefore destroyed by the devil we like to call "the media."  Hopefully, hollywood makes a movie.

*Another battle rap blog soon*

Peace,

- Drect