“ I’m just not a great practice player. That’s what I wasn’t. I was a gamer. You put me in a game and the lights are bright and the stands are filled. That’s just what I was. But you practice, get up and down and do this. That wasn’t my thing. The crazy thing about it is… there’s a lot of players like that. People are so scared to really voice who they are. They want to be politically correct. Just scared to see what other people’s perceptions are… When you have God-given talent, I think that that kind of hinders your practice habits and that’s what I think it did to me. Had I not been so talented, I probably would have busted my (butt) in practice.
The Times has given us a marvelous mini-documentary on the history and evolution of the NBA’s deadliest move, the crossover. From Pearl Washington and Tim Hardaway to Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade, this short catalogs the greatest crossover artists with sit-down interviews, highlight films and visual breakdowns.
Personally, Hardaway’s UTEP-2-Step is the nastiest move in NBA history. It broke more ankles and led to more scores than any other crossover I’ve seen.
“ There are a lot of things that I’m not proud of. I came into this league 21 years old, never having nothing in my whole life and then given everything in the world. I met a lot of people that were bad people that I had around me. I met a lot of people that were good people. I had to at a young age distinguish who were good and who were bad. And I made a lot of mistakes along the way thinking I knew things that I didn’t know. A lot of times I was a fish out of water, I thought I was in the biggest ocean in the world. I made mistakes, so me not being on an NBA roster, and me being bad-mouthed throughout the league, a lot of things I have to own up to. A lot of those things were true. I made a lot of mistakes. And obviously it cost me.
3 days left until the 2010-11 NBA season tips off.
Brought to you by Allen Iverson, the pound-for-pound greatest scorer in NBA history.
A.I. was supposed to be the answer to the question; “Who’s next?”
As Jordan’s career came to a close everyone wondered who was next. It took no more than two crossovers against for us to realize the answer was The Answer. Standing at an overstated 6’ and 165 pounds, the #1 overall pick quickly became everyones favorite player.
Hip-hop was A.I. and A.I. was hip-hop. The tattoos, the cornrows, the wardrobe, and that swagger. No one had swag like Al. It would ooze off of him as he stepped on the court. You could see it and you could feel it. The man knew he was the best player on the court, even when he wasn’t. Always playing with a chip on his shoulder, no one could tell him what to do. That’s what made Allen who we loved and would later on make him who we hate.
In 2001, Iverson was selected to the All-NBA 1st team, he won the All-Star MVP, the NBA MVP, the NBA Scoring Title, and he took the 76ers, a band of defensive role players, to the NBA Finals. It seemed like this was it, A.I. had arrived, beat everyone in everything and was going to walk away a champion. Unfourtunatly, his team ran into the juggernaut that we call the Kobe & Shaq era Lakers. The 6ers had no chance against the Lakers. The Lakers lost one game to Philly (their only playoff loss that year) and took the series 4-1 to secure their second title in as many years. They would go on to win a third title the following year.
For Allen, that was the pinnacle of his career. He would go on to win a few more scoring titles (4 total for his career) countless All-NBA and All-Star teams but he would never return to the finals.
In 2002, a year removed from his MVP season, we were all “talkin’ ‘bout practice.” The rant came after the team lost in the opening round and coach Larry Brown criticized Allen for missing countless practices. Larry Brown would coach A.I. one more year before moving on to the Pistons and winning a title in 2004.
In 2007, the world was shocked. Allen Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets. This would team up two of the top scorers in the NBA in Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. Although both maintained healthy scoring averages, things just didn’t work out. In two consecutive years the Nuggets lost in the first round. For Allen, this was merely a pit stop. 3 games into the 2008-09 season, Iverson was dealt again, this time to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Chauncey Billups.
Billups immediately changed the chemistry of the team, helping them lock up the #2 seed in the west and advance to the Western Conference Finals. Meanwhile, in motor city, the Pistons were struggling. They finished 4 games under .500 and were swept out of the first round.
Through all of this, A.I. went through his own issues with playing times, coming off the bench, injuries, and pseudo-injuries. By the end of the season Allen was seen as the problem with the Pistons and he was blamed for all of Denver’s previous struggles. The next season was nothing but a disaster in Memphis followed by a failed homecoming party in Philly. Questions about his healthy, finances, and personal issues arose. He did nothing to help the situation when he went out to Turkey, seeking a European contract.
We all wanted to see him win, but it never happened and by the end of his career we all wanted him to just retire and save us and himself the pain and agony. It was a disastrous ending to a storied career. Allen captured our hearts as he played through countless injuries. In the end A.I. had left us with more questions than answers and that’s something none of us ever asked for.
Dr.Lawyer IndianChief: Why do you think that in the US, NBA basketball consistently been third in popularity behind the NFL and MLB for the past few years?
J-Zone: Because there haven’t been characters in the NBA like they used to have. Basketball players are unbelievably bland and boring individuals. With the exception of Ron Artest, AI, Shaq and Delonte West, who is quote worthy? These dudes are 28 years old and all they talk about is playing X-Box and being a Drake fan. In baseball, you have Carlos Zambrano dismembering a Gatorade machine with a baseball bat, then have Pedro Martinez claiming he’d wake up the ghost of Babe Ruth and drill him in the ass, with a pitch. Then you have Pedro throwing old man Don Zimmer to the ground and watching him roll about 5 miles. Baseball players still have jheri curls, which is a great thing. Keyshawn Johnson gave the NFL some life when he left a voicemail to his exes new man saying “he as nothing but free time” to whup his ass. Entertainment. The NBA has lost so much of it because these dudes have zero personality.
Dr. LIC: You’ve been pretty open on twitter about the Lebron situation and predicting he won’t win a ring. Who do you think presents the biggest problem for the Heat? Do the Heat even make it out of the East?
J-Zone: It’s easy to say “we just wanna win”, and insinuate that there will be no ego issues. OK. That’s D-Wade’s team. Remember when everyone packed up and went to LA in 2004, only to get mopped by Detroit? Those guys weren’t on the same level as LeBron, Bosh and Wade in terms of individual star power, but everyone just gave em the chip after the trades went down. And now, teams will be anxious to whup Miami’s ass after LeBron guaranteed a bunch of titles. Despite all that superstar talent, I still don’t see them getting it done. I’d still want Wade to take the last shot too, and I can’t see LeBron rolling with that when the time comes. I’m curious to see if they can get past Boston or Orlando, let alone whoever comes out of the west.
Dr. LIC: What happened to Allen Iverson?
J-Zone: He’s probably back in the studio to do a part two to “40 Bars” and doing an album with T-Pain. Now that he’s out of the league, David Stern won’t care. I respect AI but he’s the NBA’s greatest all-time 21 player.
Dr. LIC: What has to happen for the Knicks to go .500 or better this year?
J-Zone: A whole lot of forfeits in the Atlantic division.
