A Question for "The Answer"

Questions for “The Answer”

Well Sports fans, it’s official! Allen Iverson is going back to the team where he started his career, The Philadelphia 76ers! For 14 years A.I. has wowed NBA fans with his prolific scoring, cross over dribbles and quick moves to the basket with reckless abundance!! We loved it and appreciated it and all the while he kept it “so hood” showing up to games do-ragged up, white-T, sweat pants, and Timberlands, not to mention enough ice to buy a house around his neck! His career average is 27.0 points a game, good enough to be 7th all time in points per game in NBA history. He also has over 24,000 points which is number one among players 6 feet tall or shorter!

By the time he does retire he will be a first ballet Hall of Famer, but I hope for his sake when that time comes he has a championship ring to go along with all his individual accolades!

If he isn’t, he wouldn’t be the first! Ask Charles Barkley, Karl, Malone, and Patrick Ewing about that! The difference between Iverson and these three players is that they were willing to do whatever it took to get there and I ask the question to “The Answer” himself, is he willing to do the same?
Before his returning to the 76ers Iverson played with the Memphis Grizzlies, which is a young team stacked with talent! After 3 games of not starting he began to complain about playing time and later announced his very brief retirement. Before that it was the Detroit Pistons and then the Denver Nuggets! His time in Denver he had no significant impact. It wasn’t his entire fault though. Add Carmelo Anthony’s 15 game suspension from a fight during a game with the New York Knicks due to the fact he stuck Jared Jeffries in the jaw! Add injuries to Nene and Kenyon Martin too and the team didn’t flourish with him!

After his stint in Denver he was traded to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups. He had little success in Detroit unfortunately and even though he was still a great scorer in the NBA his style of play didn’t suit the Pistons, whether he started or not! Richard “Rip” Hamilton came off the bench when Iverson started and was still more productive, yet Iverson was not willing to take a supporting role by coming off the bench, even though most would say he’s a better player than Hamilton. As a result of friction between Iverson and then Detroit Head Coach, Michael Curry the Pistons would finish 39-43 for the 2008-2009 season and were swept by the Cleveland Cavilers in the first round of the Playoffs! Iverson would not play in the Playoffs sighting back problems for his absence.

So now he’s back with the team that drafted the 6 foot guard first overall in 1996 out of Georgetown University, in what most basketball historians would call “One of the deepest and most talent drafts in NBA history!” (Shout outs to the “84” and “03” draft) Not only did the 1996 NBA draft contain Iverson, but it also contained, Ray Allen, Marcus Camby, Antonie Walker, Jermaine O’Neal, Steve Nash and a some skinny 17 year old high school student at the time named Kobe Bryant! Iverson still showed and proved among this talented draft class by winning The NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1997!

He lead the 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2000-2001 season! They would lose the 7 game series 4-1. In the game the Sixers won Iverson burned the Lakers for 48 points along with a dagger in the coffen 3 pointer and step over of then Laker guard, Tyronn Lue. He hasn’t been to The Finals since that season and I feel if he doesn’t change some things he will never return back to The Finals!

At 34 years old Allen Iverson is still one of the best players in the league, not to mention NBA History, but if he doesn’t become less selfish regarding his role on his team he may never see an NBA Championship! Damn the corn rolls and the tattoos! For the first time I think his appearance or his ability to play were not judged, but his attitude is being judged! He has to have the attitude to want to win and do what’s needed for the team, even if that means coming off the bench! He may be better than the man in front of him, but at the end of the day it really comes down to chemistry among the players in that starting line-up! At least from what I’ve seen. He should ask Spurs guard and six man Mano Ginobili was his 3 championship rings worth coming off the bench even though he is better than the man in front of him! ?

The odds are against Iverson though given the fact that the 76ers are a dismal 5-14 this season! The time for worrying about individual accolades is over! He’s made a ton of money and is a shoe in for the NBA Hall of Fame when his career is over! This past summer the Memphis Grizzles were the only team to offer Iverson a contract. The 76ers are getting Iverson the bargain price of 1.3 million dollars this season, which is the maximum a player can get with a minimum of 10 years of experience. That’s a huge pay cut from the better than 20 million he was paid the season before in Detroit!

I think basketball fans just want to see Allen Iverson show the growth needed to get to the promise land called the NBA Finals again and win one before he hangs his Reebok’s up! I’m a fan! I got an Iverson throwback, but I’ll be damned if you catch my ass in some Reebok’s though! I only rock Nike and Jordan! LOL!

So I say to Allen Iverson, good luck and do what you need to do because time is running out!! People still love you and if people stopped loving you make them love you again! You still got some left in the tank, so don’t waste it! I honestly think you knows this is your last chance due to the tears you cried the day you signed back with the Sixers! Make the most it!! And if you so happen to fail, fail knowing you did all you could do and don’t allow your pride to give you regret…..

God Bless,

“13 Ways” (The Movement)


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