Allen Iverson plans to play in Turkey
By Tony Timberlake
The Sports Lovers
Is there anything left in the tank for the greatest little man the NBA has ever seen? “The Answer” is Allen Iverson won’t be playing in the league this year.
He’ll be in Turkey.
After being traded from the Denver Nuggets in November of 2008, Iverson went from legitimate all-star to fledgling role-player. A meteoric rise to fame in the post-Jordan era was matched with a spectacular crash to seemingly end his NBA career. The 10-time NBA all-star and former league MVP signed a two-year contract to play in a Turkish league.
Iverson’s career will be defined by toughness and defiance, and defiantly he exited the NBA refusing to accept bench roles in Detroit and Memphis, and seeing a steep decline in production in his return to Philadelphia.
Iverson may be the face of the Hip-Hop NBA. The cornrows, tattoos, and jewelry were a rarity when he entered the league. Now they are commonplace among most NBA players. He thrived despite the odds, carrying a meagerly talented team to the NBA Finals in 2001, yet falling short against the Shaq and Kobe Lakers.His individual numbers rank among the best of all time averaging 26.7 points per game good for sixth all time, and leading the league in scoring four times. Iverson also sacrificed his body leading the league in minutes per game on a six foot, 165-pound frame. In terms of sacrifice and production, Iverson does not lack. In championships, however, he does.
Many use championships to define player’s success. I don’t think that should be with Iverson.
Championships should first define front offices and management. It is management’s job to construct a team capable to compete with the elite teams in the league. Clearly the teams constructed around Iverson were chock full of role-players or past-their-prime stars like Dikembe Mutombo and Chris Webber. We also know that every team to win a championship since the 80’s has had more than one extremely talented player. The showtime Lakers, the Bird-era Celtics, and Jordan’s Bulls, the list goes on. The Sixers relied on a superstar guard in Iverson to carry them to a championship and never seriously looked to improve via draft or free-agency. In short they failed to assist Iverson like many of his teammates
It is a shame that a player of his magnitude has been reduced to such irrelevancy. Clearly, Iverson is a Hall of Fame player by the numbers; his trophy collection is pretty full except for that illusive championship.
Regardless, Iverson is known as a warrior, a fighter, and like many prize-fighters, it may be time to hang it up, unfortunately Iverson hasn’t accepted that yet.
