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Philadelphia 76ers

Iverson deserves more than All-Star Game MVP

By Sean Quinn

People talk too much.  People talk too much about the wrong things.  People wrongly anoint young talented, yet unproven, stars as the greatest of all time.  People smear Michael Jordan’s legacy as if it were a can of finger paint and the new age  NBA is a fresh canvas.  People talk about Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, and rightfully so.  But people don’t talk, and certainly don’t talk enough, about Allen Iverson, and they should be.The league has changed since Allen Iverson first appeared on the scene in 1996.  Back then, middle schoolers weren’t being scouted, shoe contracts weren’t handed out to “potential” superstars, corn rows were only located in Nebraska and Iowa, not on the heads of ball players, and jump shots still made primetime highlight shows.  Now at 29, the league around Iverson has seen more changes than Michael Jackson’s face, but Iverson is still right where he’s always been, among the league’s elite.

We know the guy can still score.  He put up 60 already, we know he can do it again.  He put up back to back 50-plus point performances back in December.  He still rivals J. Edgar Hoover as owning the greatest cross over (in Iverson’s case is a cross over dribble, Hoover’s case it was cross dressing).  He is, after all, leading the league in scoring with just under 30 points per game.  During his MVP season and NBA Finals run in 2000-2001, he had the exact same numbers 47 games into the season that he has this season, except that he almost doubled his assists.  Not to mention the fact he sits in the top ten in points, assists, and steals.

So why isn’t his name mentioned with Nash, James, Duncan, and O’Neal for MVP consideration?

The biggest reason is that Phoenix, San Antonio, and Miami are all winning, while Cleveland is exceeding expectations and on a steady road to the playoffs.  Philadelphia, however, has struggled to maintain a .500 record and Ashlee Simpson has a smoother road to a Grammy than the Sixers do of paving their way to the playoffs.

If you look at the other MVP candidates, though, they are surrounded by pure talent.  Nash has two All-Stars in Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, not to mention the three-point champion Quentin Richardson.  Duncan has an All-Star in Manu Ginobli, and the Spurs seem to be more tight knit than a Kashmir sweater, keeping the same unit consistently year in, year out.  Shaquille O’Neal walked away from the greatest team in the West to be with the greatest team in the East.  The Heat are a team that reached the Eastern Conference semis without Shaq last year, and are running away with the East this year because of All-Star guard Dwayne Wade.

What does Iverson have?  Not much.  A 12-year old boy on his first date has more experience than the Sixers supporting cast.

Iverson had veteran players around him when the Sixers were ousted in five games in the ’01 Finals by Shaq and the Lakers.  He had Eric Snow, Aaron McKie, George Lynch and Dikembe Mutombo.  Proven veterans, who knew their role and understood the game.  Heck, the local V.F.W. Bingo night hadn’t seen veterans like those.

This year, however, Iverson’s team is young and his position has changed.  He and McKie are the only players left from the squad that won the Atlantic Division title back in ’01.  Allen is now running the point for Philadelphia and has young potential, not proven experience around him.  Second year guard Kyle Korver is Iverson’s perimeter threat.  The former Creighton Blue Jay is shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc, but hasn’t amassed 20 points since November.  Rookie Andre Iguodala has started every game this year, and although he has the athleticism of an Olympic athlete, he was drafted on pure potential and should have stayed at Arizona for two more years.  And what does Iverson have to work with on the inside?  Samuel Dalembert, another strapping youngster.  More people could spout off names of American Idol rejects than could come up with the name of the Sixers starting center.  A local Philadelphia middle school’s talent show has more flair than what Iverson has to work with right now.

Iverson still comes to play every night, though.  Like he always has, like he always will.  Even though his role has changed, his production hasn’t.  He doesn’t have the Randy Moss syndrome; Allen Iverson is a player.

And you know he is still clutch.  He is the only player in the league to rank in the top five in the fourth quarter in scoring and assists.  Whether its his penetration or his cross over followed by a fade-away, Iverson is cash, money, prizes with the game on the line.  Some people want McGrady, James, or Kobe with the ball in their hands with the game on the line, but I want Iverson.

Following a season where Iverson played a career-low 48 games, leading a team to a decent record and only missing two games this season shows us two things: Iverson is still a great player and Iverson is a great leader.

It’s not likely that Iverson is going to walk away from this season with an MVP, and its certainly not probable that he’ll be walking away with a championship.  He’ll be limping away with his eyes on next season.  When he won the MVP, Duncan finished second as the Spurs finished 58-24 and Shaq finished third as the Lakers finished 56-26, the same record as the Sixers.  Iverson’s squad won’t get anywhere near those marks this season.  It’s about winning and although Iverson has done all he can to help his team, the fact remains, the Sixers are border line mediocre in a very weak Eastern Conference.  He won’t win the MVP, but he just might be the best player in the league, even if he doesn’t have any hardware to show for it.  But with his performance this year, probably the best of his career considering the circumstances, he darn sure deserves some more praise.  And even though ‘Bron has been mentioned with the greats this year, the only thing that should be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan is A.I.’s leadership.

4 replies on “Iverson deserves more than All-Star Game MVP”

you think they got enough to get out of the East?  

The trade makes the Sixers one of the top teams in the East but do they have it in them to compete with  Detroit or Miami?

Definitely I think they have enough to make at least a run, a really good run, assuming Webber is healthy. And if Mashburn is healthy, watch out. I like them to wear the glass slipper in the east and I think Iverson has the advantage over a Dwayne Wade or a Chauncey Billups.

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