I still have hope for Allen Iverson
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Joe Murphy/Getty Images
Apologies if this is a bit jumbled – I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers (no pun intended, seriously) here. This is me trying to make sense of where Allen Iverson’s career is right now. It’s a bit difficult, as I’ve been watching the guy since I was 10. His draft class is a special one to me – I’m a part of the generation that grew up while these guys were maturing as professionals. For most of my life as a basketball fan, Iverson was a lock to be an All-Star and he was respected as one of the best players in the game. He was polarizing at first, as the old guard wasn’t fond of, um, I don’t know what exactly. The crossovers, the tattoos, the shot attempts? All I know is that my dad didn’t like him. But after a few years, things changed. He won the MVP, he led his team to the finals, and people like my dad changed their minds. My theory: when you watched the man play at his peak, it was downright impossible to hate him. To see a guy that small take that many hits, play through that many injuries, hit that many big shots… You had no choice but to love his game.
Now, though, things have changed. Drastically. (more…)