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If you pull up a box score, you can tell the winner of the game about 90% of the time by looking at the team with the lower FG%. It's the most highly correlated stat in basketball to winning games.
(Hint: Think Shaq)
He never even came CLOSE to winning a championship.
Well look at the players he was surrounded by for most of his career. Guys like Eric Snow and Aaron Mackie. By the way how many championships did players like Lebron James and Kevin Garnett win before they team up with other superstar players?
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On top of that, he was GOD AWFUL in the playoffs in Denver where he tanked those teams bigtime.
First of all, Allen Iverson has never tanked a playoff game. The guy is notorious for playing his heart out and giving everything he's got until the clock hits zero. It's not Iverson fault, he was playing at that time with a very immature and prima donna player named Carmela Anthony who always put himself before the team. How ironic it is, in that he has yet to win an NBA Championship.
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I still remember his Olympic failure talking about trying to "take over games" which failed and then hearing later how he was out trying to party all the time while there.
Hey, I give Iverson HOF...but any talk of even top 50 all time....is crack pipe talking.
So now your going to put all the blame on Allen Iverson for the 2004 Olympic games and throw him under the bus? You got to be kidding me!
It was a team effort, meaning that every single player including the coaches get the blame. I can't believe you actually said that. I didn't want to believe it at first but it's now clearly obvious you have some personal animosity or hatred towards Allen Iverson. He is easily one of the 50 greatest players of all time. If you can't even admit that then continue to have the blinders
on.
If you pull up a box score, you can tell the winner of the game about 90% of the time by looking at the team with the lower FG%. It's the most highly correlated stat in basketball to winning games.
(Hint: Think Shaq)
He never even came CLOSE to winning a championship.
On top of that, he was GOD AWFUL in the playoffs in Denver where he tanked those teams bigtime.
I still remember his Olympic failure talking about trying to "take over games" which failed and then hearing later how he was out trying to party all the time while there.
Hey, I give Iverson HOF...but any talk of even top 50 all time....is crack pipe talking.
Of course he had his flaws but he was very exciting to watch and one of my favorite players of all time.
Well, the OP never said he was a top player of all time, only one of the most influential. I understand his point, because his style ushered in the "one scorer, surrounded by a team" which dominated the previous decade. It's also why he never won a championship.
Iverson was a fearless, relentless player. Best player pound for pound I've ever seen. I don't blame him for losing to the Lakers in 2001. You had Shaq in his prime and Kobe just entering his. That Laker team lost just one playoff game in 2001, which oddly enough was to Iverson and the Sixers.
Iverson dropped 40-45 without blinking, but he also could bounce back with a 7/27 shooting night. He had quite a few of those nights in the 2001 playoffs, some of which in crucial games. He was actually very subpar in the ECF against the Bucks and even missed a game because he was injured.
Another thing to mention; that 2001 Sixers squad was a very good team. They were a defensive powerhouse. Eric Snow(top perimeter defender), George Lynch(good defender), Tyrone Hill(good post defender), Dikembe Mutombo(need not say more), and Matt Geiger(solid defensive big off the bench). That team had MVP(Iverson), DPOY(Mutombo), 6th Man(McKie), and COY(Larry Brown). They were also 6-5 without Iverson. They're obviously not a 56 win team without him, but they're probably still over .500.
The only time Iverson had any team success was when he was the only scoring option and surrounded by a strong defense that could cover up his off shooting nights, which there were plenty of.
So now your going to put all the blame on Allen Iverson for the 2004 Olympic games and throw him under the bus? You got to be kidding me!
It was a team effort, meaning that every single player including the coaches get the blame. I can't believe you actually said that. I didn't want to believe it at first but it's now clearly obvious you have some personal animosity or hatred towards Allen Iverson.
He was one of the captains on the team, he shot wayyyy too much....and he was partying while there. So yeah, I put a lot of the blame on him.
Here was his 2007 playoff stats with Denver. He took over 20 shots every game and shot aroun 36% for the series....but that's somehow everybody elses fault.
A lot of people love him because they identify with his style or like his grit and small stature, I totally get that.
However, when it comes down too it he had horrible FG% while shooting tons and was never considered much of a defender.
The guy is clearly a HOFer, I just don't think he's as highly rated as some of you because we seem to appreciate different things. He was definitely *flashy* and would explode on people for 40pts....but then turn around the next game and score 20pts on 7/25 shooting which people tend to get amnesia about.
I'd say he downgraded basketball. Showy ball hog that got us to where we are now. An unwatchable mess on the court where no one moves without the ball anymore.
Roam respects that post, but when I said influential, I meant leaving a lasting impression on aspects of the game/league. I would take LBJ of that list.
What Magic did was new.. Fast paced, exciting, flashy style of play.
Dr J... Supreme Athletics - the pre cursor to Jordan
Jordan.. relentless will to win that could be felt through the TV. Unbefore seen feats and moves that defied the imagination.
Yes they are influential.
I'd say AI was influential, but not necessarily from a strictly basketball perspective. If anything, he'll go down in history as making the fusion between basketball and inner city/hip hop culture complete. Some may be resentful of that, but it is what it is.
From a game perspective, he popularized palming the ball. I think refs eased up on that rule a lot once he entered the League.
Other than that, I don't think he brought anything "new" to the game. He was an extremely explosive guard whose small stature made him even more exceptional than he already was.
I'd say AI was influential, but not necessarily from a strictly basketball perspective. If anything, he'll go down in history as making the fusion between basketball and inner city/hip hop culture complete. Some may be resentful of that, but it is what it is.
From a game perspective, he popularized palming the ball. I think refs eased up on that rule a lot once he entered the League.
Other than that, I don't think he brought anything "new" to the game. He was an extremely explosive guard whose small stature made him even more exceptional than he already was.
That was Jordan who started the whole palming thing. He was notorious for that and taking 1-2 extra steps. After Jordan, it was Iverson and Marbury who kept it going.
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Originally Posted by JonasW
I'd say he downgraded basketball. Showy ball hog that got us to where we are now. An unwatchable mess on the court where no one moves without the ball anymore.
How did he downgrade the game? Ratings were in the crapper when MJ left. Iverson, Shaq, and Kobe kept it going. People like watching a 5'11" 160 pound combo guard who can drop 40 at the drop of a hat and provides flash and swag.
That was Jordan who started the whole palming thing. He was notorious for that and taking 1-2 extra steps. After Jordan, it was Iverson and Marbury who kept it going.
I didn't mean "palming" as in having gigantic hands and grabbing the basketball with one hand. That's the type of "palming" Jordan did. By "palming," I meant borderline carrying the basketball.
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