The man known through most of his career as “The Answer” who over the past few years had morphed into the “The Distraction” today became “The Unemployed”. The Philadelphia 76ers announced that Allen Iverson had been released from his contract and will not take the court again this season for the team.
Iverson Has Played His Final NBA Game
The experiment is over.
Iverson had missed 9 of the Sixers last 12 games dealing with family matters concerning the health of his daughter. No details have been released as to the nature or seriousness of the health issue, leading the media to deluge the team with questions about Iverson rather than the ream. Once again, Iverson’s antics had upstaged his teammates on the cusp of a playoff spot and broke the continuity of the team.
The signing of Iverson, for all sakes and purposes, was nothing more than a mere stunt by Ed Stefanski and the Sixers management team. The hopes were that Iverson would fill the growing empty seats at the Wachovia Center. They did for one game, Iverson’s return, but attendance dipped back to league-low levels shortly thereafter. The fans were not fooled by the sideshow carnival, proving that P.T. Barnum was incorrect that a sucker is born every minute.
The release of Iverson will hopefully be the last chapter of an overhyped career. Iverson over his years has never delivered wins, garnering just a 51% winning percentage in games that he played in. Certainly not Hall of Fame standards by any means. His one successful season had nothing to do with his play, it was the masterful coaching of Larry Brown in realizing that any Allen Iverson-led team must be the best defensive team in the league to compensate for his incessant chucking of the ball and refusal to include his teammates in the offensive flow.
Iverson’s legacy that will be left behind is the damage he has done to the NBA with his selfish style of play and gangster persona. His negative impact on the sport is comparable inverse to the positive influence of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. In summary, he has single-handedly brought the league to its lowest level of fan interest in over 30 years by spawning a gaggle of AI-wannabes that have emulated his selfish style.
Much of the challenges the NBA currently faces in restoring the game is to undo what Iverson created. The NBA must return to the focus of team basketball, with emphasis on passing the ball and constant offensive motion. Iverson’s isolation-style offense has lowered the quality of basketball play and turned away hard-core fans in favor of street thugs with gravity-challenged pants, most of whom cannot afford a game ticket in the nose bleeds.
Iverson impact was also felt on the international stage as well, being the face of the 2004 Olympic team that luckily earned a bronze medal and were the embarrassment of Americans. He deserves most of the blame on his shoulders for one of the gloomiest days in USA Summer Olympics history.
Good riddance to Allen Iverson. Enjoy receiving the rest of that guaranteed contract from the Sixers. Once again, you’ve shown no shame and hopefully your days in the NBA are over for good.
I completely agree with this assessment of Iverson’s career and legacy, and KNEW that once January 10, 2010 came and his contract was guaranteed for the remainder of the year, this malcontent would disappear in short order. Stephanski should be removed immediately, true fans of this team are tired of the stupid mistakes that happen almost every year. Losing Andre Miller, hiring Eddie Jordan and this fiasco speak volumes about the lack of leadership on this club.
I didnt even bother reading this article after reading the first sentence saying that Allen Iverson was released from his contract. This guy who wrote the article is an IDIOT. When did they officially release him you moron? Please inform everyone including ESPN. As for everyone who has paid attention, the guy is finished for the year. He is still a part of the 76ers as long as they have not made a official release. Your an idiot and this blog is horrible. Coming from a guy who says Allen Iverson has set the league back 30 years when Allen Iverson carried a team to the NBA Finals and was considered THE best player in the league in 2001.
Pointless, bashing articles from a guy who tries to hit Iverson when he is down. I know people such as yourself have been DYING to see Iverson break down for years, and now that its happening, you attack.
Anybody who knows the game of basketball knows that the reason why the Sixers went to the Finals in ‘01 was because that Larry Brown was the coach, period. Any other coach and the Sixers don’t get to the Conference Finals, let alone the NBA Finals.
1. You got a picture when he was on Detroit Pistons, and said that he has played his last game in NBA. I think you didn’t even know what team he was on. You didn’t know AI and you write this “article”.
2. Your “article” is full of bias and there’s no any ideas other than the media shit, I don’t even know why you write this article. You’re not creative at all
3. This “article” is shit.
Jay, you apparently work a minimum wage job packing groceries. In the world of real business, you allow a person to resign so that you don’t have to fire them. The Sixers released Iverson yesterday and chose not to disrespect him by officially cutting him. Not that he deserved that respect, but Ed Stefanski had to take this route to save face. The Gangsta was told his services were no longer desired for the season…that is what we call released.
And when you want to say you stopped reading after the first sentence, you shouldn’t reference a quote 2/3 of the way into the story.
Iverson is a loser, plain and simple. I’ve considered him massively overrated since he was at Georgetown. His style of play spawned wannabe AIs who focused on selfish isolation offensive style that has turned fans away from the NBA in droves. The embarrassment of the 2004 Olympics was all Iverson.
The NBA is projected to lose $600 million over the last three years as diehard basketball fans have walked away from the sport. Iverson was the impetus for the decline and it will take years for the NBA to shake out the damage.
I’m saddened by this article, AI’s wonderful career is coming to an end and it should be celebrated instead you write an idiotic article blaming one guy for a whole league’s problems. Allen Iverson is a first ballot Hall of Famer and one of the greatest players that has ever played and everyone from the guy working at the gas station to the many ESPN NBA experts knows it. I get upset because people judge him as a player based on mistakes he’s made off the court or just general dislike but no one can take away the things this man has done on a basketball court especially at his size. I am grateful to have watched this guy play ever since he was a little freshman at Georgetown in 94′ and i always dreaded the day his career would come to an end, and i wish it wouldve ended in a better way but it was a pleasure watching him for this long. The man deserves more respect than your giving him.
Terrell, I judge him purely based on the result delivered on the court. Read my article again. My focus is on him not being a winner and the hype he got despite never being a winner. The guy delivered a 51% winning percentage in his career while racking up stats that didn’t help his team produce wins.
He helped transition the NBA’s style of play towards an isolation-oriented offense package, which has turned fans away in droves because true basketball fans understand it is a team sport. I recommend you go out and rent the movie Hoosiers to acclimate yourself with what winning basketball is supposed to look like.
Iverson deserves no celebration heading out the door because he was the root cause to his team not winning because he refused to play team basketball. He has been the leading driver in the sport that has led the NBA into its deepest financial crisis as fans choose not to go to games anymore because they are no longer entertained by gangster streetball play.
I’m well aware of what “real team basketball” is and i dont need to rent a fictional movie when grew up in Detroit and watched the Bad Boys take on teams such as the Celtics and the Lakers. I admire team play but i also can admire the individual talent and i have always had the greatest respect for what AI has done on on the court. I refuse to blame 1 player for a team not winning and definitely for turning fans away from a whole sport. AI has been one of the most popular and polarizing athletes of this generation so i am curious to how you feel he turned fans away, and i am also curious to wth gangster streetball is? From what i know AI isnt a gangster and has no gang affiliation so is it the tatts and braids? yeah right.
The people that can afford to purchase tickets to an NBA game don’t have an interest in watching a criminal on the court Terrell. The fans that love him can’t afford a seat. He is beloved by people with empty wallets. The NBA unfortunately gave way to fan interest that didn’t generate revenue. It is simple demographics and psychographics tied to business. Allen Iverson’s impact on the NBA has been extremely negative as his appeal was to people that can’t afford to watch a game and pay his contract.
As for gangster streetball, I encourage you to take run down to your local rundown section of town and watch the style of ball played on the the playground. No passing, no blocking out…just isolation showoffs with limited skills. That’s the impact of Allen Iverson. Kids have lost out on the basics on basketball by idolizing a guy that couldn’t dribble well, couldn’t pass and couldn’t hit a long-range jumper save his butt. They guy had six seasons of sub-.300 3pt FG% at shooting guard. All Iverson was ever good at was running quick and fast and refusing to include his teammates.
Since being dumped by the Sixers, Iverson has shown how limited a ball player he is. Without the offense running through him in isolation style, the guy was a liability. His career is eerily similar to that of Antoine Walker, who was a superstar putting up points in Boston. When he got sent packing and was no longer the offensive leader, he disappointed and quickly drifted into forced retirement. Another comparative is Stephon Marbury. Should I keep going on?
Allen Iverson is everything that is wrong with the NBA today and his forced retirement is the best thing for the game.
Wow , I think this article is totally bogus. How can you blame the decline of the fan level based on one individual. None the less ALLEN IVERSON? Are you out of your mind, this guy saved this league about 10-12 years ago when he started to takes off. “In summary, he has single-handedly brought the league to its lowest level of fan interest in over 30 years by spawning a gaggle of AI-wannabes that have emulated his selfish style.” That might be one of the worst quotes I have ever read in an article. So I guess with all of the tattoos and braids, you should crucify Melo and Lebron also. Undo what Iverson created , I loved that one too. Hey bud the league stinks because their are about 8 teams that are actually playing for something , the rest are either sub par or pure garbage, its not his fault most teams cant compete or lack the heart to play any defense. Allen Iverson has made some mistakes and has been the best human being around, but dont knock what he has done for the NBA!
Very easily Steve. You can blame Iverson’s influence on the decline in the same manner you can credit Bird, Magic and Jordan for its growth. Iverson didn’t help anything take off when he entered the league, as the league was at its peak. No player in the NBA has had more influence on the game than Iverson over the past decade. Even his own former coach Larry Brown believes Iverson is the most influential player of the last decade, as he noted so in an interview recently. It isn’t a leap to cast the NBA’s decline in fan interest and struggling paid attendance on Iverson.
I would like you to consider a few things when talking about Iverson’s game. While in Philly, the best player he played with was an Over-the-hill Chris Webber. So his iso game was necessary in making that team remotely competitive. I would like to give you the example of the 2001 Sixers. That is a historically bad supporting cast for an NBA Finals team. Name one team (Except for maybe the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers) who had a superstar and just a God-Awful supporting cast, yet played deep into the playoffs. This is not to say that Iverson is not to blame whatsoever. Had he been wiser early in his career, he probably would have 2 or 3 titles. He’s a top 10 player of the post Jordan era no matter what anyone blogs. I am also troubled by the fact that you speak as though Iverson started the domino effect that led to the NBA losing revenue.
A few things you should consider
1.) The NBA on NBC may have been the greatest way to cover a sporting event. Marv Albert, Bob Costas, and crew were second to none in covering a Basketball game. Roundball Rock is much better than any ABC or ESPN theme. Point is, the NBA was more exciting during this time. It made us exited even if the Clippers were playing the Vancouver Grizzlies.
2.) Allen Iverson is not even the biggest star of this era. Kobe is much larger (because he’s the Jordan-Lite). Why is Allen Iverson the sole reason why the NBA is losing money?? That’s just an ignorant statement. Name one player who is inflluced by Iverson’s Isolation style and is remotely as popular as Iverson is (was)? Dwyane Wade?? No. Lebron James? No. Carmelo Anthony? Chris Paul? Deron Williams? No. None of those players play anywhere near Iverson’s style of Ball. Brandon Jennings? Maybe, but no where near as popular as Iverson, nor is he as skilled.
3.) The Post-Jordan era has had a decline in fan support in general. But it couldn’t have been because the greatest basketball player of all time retired, right? Check the Nielsen ratings and you will see the highest Post-Jordan Finals was in 2001. The Iversons vs The Lakers. Matter of fact the only reason the playoffs was worth watching that year is because of the Iverson and Vince Carter battles.
4.) The “Hip-Hop” generation that you are referring to definitely followed basketball in the Magic and Michael days. The street thugs loved basketball in the Wes Unseld, Willis Reed, Jabbar, Bill Walton days as well. Basketball hasn’t always been followed by just people in Polo Shirts and Khakis. I don’t think class should matter when it comes to enjoying a sport. So a street thugs loyalty to their team isn’t the same as a “Middle Class” person’s. That’s an interesting concept. No street thugs on the court when the brawl in Detroit went down. Was the guy who threw the drink on Ron Artest sagging his pants??
I would love to hear a rebuttal
First, Chris Webber sucked. He is even more of a disappointment than Iverson. I think you forgot about Dikembe Mutombo, perhaps one of the 5 best defensive players in NBA history. I rate him 2nd best ever after Bill Russell. They made the NBA Finals because of Brown and Mutombo, not Iverson who shot 32% from 3-pt range as a SG.
Now to your address your weak debating points:
1) Dick Ebersol and NBC choose to part ways with the NBA because of the direction it was heading with Iverson. As a result, the NBA had to move to cable. That moves was not by choice, NBC decided it no longer would make money selling gangsters.
2) Kobe Bryant wasn’t even the biggest player on his team during most of the era. That belonged to Shaq. Iverson has had more influence on kids over the last 10 years than any other NBA star and it is not even close.
3) You illustrate my point about Iverson’s influence with your Neilsen ratings statement. While he brought an element of fan to watch, it was the fan who cannot afford to go to a game. That is why they watched on TV. At the same time, the average NBA fan was disenchanted by the gangster behavior. The people that can afford a game ticket don’t want to see Iverson.
4) The street thugs didn’t dictate the game pre-2000. Take a look at the uniforms that Jabbar and the rest wore. Fans don’t care to see “heroes” act like “zeroes”. In the 80s, the majority of the players could have been successful in things other than basketball. Look at Magic Johnson, he is a bonafide success as a businessman. Today, without basketball, 75% of the players would be in prison. Iverson included. Wait, he already did a four month stay and was released so he could become a basketball star. Forgot that.
This is well-written and I agree with your points. When AI had the ball, it was a like a black hole, and no one else saw it. He was and is a selfish player, and no team was going to win consistently with him. How many player did they try with him. The shame is, he doesn’t get it. Boy, I would love to have the money he wasted. He just conned the 76ers (not hard to do with Ed Stanfanski) out 1.5 million. He played until the contract was garenteed.
I fully agree, good riddance. He has always been over hyped. Poor shooting percentage, poor shot selection, poor attitude. Need I go on? Everyone keeps talking about his last Sixers chance, I live in Memphis and shortly after he get’s a shot with the Griz, he bails. Sure he averaged a great ppg avg but imagine if Jordan or Kobe or Lebron played the way he did? They could probably average 50 a game if they had the same selfish attitude. He was always in trouble and never a team player. I got sick watching the recent ESPN 30/30, trying the whole show to defend Iverson. Anyone who has seen the video can clearly see who was in the wrong. I will give Iverson one thing, he was a tough player, but there are a lot of tough players. It doesn’t make you special. Hopefully the inner city will find an appropriate leader to follow and stop emulating a me only player.
That is quite interesting. It gave me some ideas and I’ll be writing them on my blog soon. I’m bookmarking your site and I’ll be back. Thank you again!
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