Monday, December 7th featured the return of the original AI to the “City of Brotherly Love”. After three seasons bouncing from Denver to Detroit to a cup of coffee and a chance to get up close and personal with Hasheem Thabeet in Memphis, Iverson once again donned the number 3 Sixers jersey that made him famous (though I personally enjoyed him more without the ‘rows and in a Hoya uni). Am I one of the few that lumped AI together with Mr. Sprewell and Starbury (at the very least, Steph was willing to play anywhere, he was just a little bit misunderstood). Let me get this straight, AI was traded to Denver from Philly because he didn’t want to / was late for practice or mandatory team functions such as fan appreciation night. This being a man who cried about “going home” during his return to Philly press conference, but yet was oh so happy to get out of town when things weren’t going well.
Dont’ get it twisted, I like and give credit for Iverson as a scorer, especially being one of the little men that gets bounced off concrete wall like screens and has little fear of driving into the trees that clog the lane. As a team player, I don’t know if he is what any young team needs, as evident in Memphis, and based on the fact that Eddie Jordan basically let AI determine how much burn he will get in his first game back, while Royal Ivey pulls splinters, I can’t imagine that he will be good for the the growth of Lou Williams and Jrue Holiday (along with Thad Young) and the rest of the Sixers. True it was not the best way for AI to end his career after the fiasco in Detroit, but one would have thought that after the Pistons and Grizz, maybe Iverson would take a moment and take to heart what people are saying about him. If he had just waited a week or two in Memphis, he would have been starting alongside OJ and Rudy, but his ego couldn’t deal with having to EARN his place. Playing 37 mins and going 4-11, including a couple missed bunnies in a loss to Denver on the night he returned to Philly wasn’t the Hollywood script I am sure he hoped for. Next up, a 3-10, 33 minute beating at the hands of the Pistons and Rodney Stuckey gives ammo to the thought that each team was/is better off without him (credit given that the Nugs are a top team in the West)
My question is……how will the past three years affect Iverson’s place in the history of the game? Yes he still has the “street cred” vote, but where does he rank in the group of his peers from the same era (Kobe, Jesus Shuttlesworth, TD, Nash, KG) or as one of the top all time shooting guards in league history. Anything less than the playoffs this season would be seen as a failure for the Sixers before Iverson, and in my opinion anything less than a place in the second round with him will be as well.
