Allen Iverson has never been likable. Even in his MVP days, he hasn't been a favorite amongst the media, teammates, and coaches. But AI's game has made up for that. With a career scoring average of 27 ppg, the 6'1'' guard has definitely played beyond expectations.
Iverson and Memphis never made sense. His decision to leave the team indefinitely after complaining about not starting is something most of us saw coming, though I didn't expect it so soon. Before this season, Iverson had started in 874 out of 886 games in 12 NBA seasons. But it only took 3 games coming off-the-bench to make him run.
Iverson is going through what many players go through in their careers. After being a superstar for so many years, many players don't know when to accept that they aren't the players they once were years ago. We saw this in Michael Jordan recently in his hall-of-fame speech. We saw it in Glen Rice his last few seasons. Latrell Sprewell, Scottie Pippen, Bryon Russell, Dennis Rodman, all had trouble saying goodbye and have all been in denial at some point that their careers are done.
In a perfect world Iverson, 34, will do what many veteran superstars try to do; win a championship. Iverson made it once and hasn't come close since. But instead of joining the large group of former superstars not to win a ring, he still can. O'neal is doing it now. He could win another ring before retiring soon and is completely realistic about his abilities and role on the Cavs roster.
Alot of players have taken smaller roles in order to get their first ring or only ring. Here's a short list:
Bill Walton- Boston Celtics 1985-87
Won a ring with the Celts during his last 2 NBA seasons.
Mitch Richmond- LALakers 2001-02
After 5 all-star appearances and a Gold Medal, he won his only ring in his last season in LA.
Alonzo Mourning - Miami Heat 2004-08
After a Kidney transplant he was never the same, but he got a well-earned ring with Shaq's Heat.
Glenn Robinson-San Antonio 2004-05
Only played in 9 games in the reg. season, but 13 in the playoffs.
Honorable Mention: Gary Payton and Karl Malone in LA, and Stephon Marbury in Boston. Tried, but failed.
Though none of these players game outstanding individual performances, they were able to walk away with what every NBA wants. Though i can't see Iverson being the 10th or 11th off-the-bench for any team, he could do what Glen Rice in LA, Clyde Drexler in Houston, Mark Aguirre in Detroit did, become the 3rd or 4th option. That way he still contributes, but lets the natural order of the offense continue.
But this isn't a perfect world and AI has never done anything he should do. His possible retirement seems to be more out of anger than a conclusion to a long career. I don't suspect he will actually retire, nor do i expect him to take a reserve position lying down. He won't stop until he has destroyed a team, on his way out. And if he does retire, he probably won't stay gone for long.
Denial is powerful, especially for a superstar athlete who can't imagine not being the player he was. But if Iverson can't see he can still be an extremely valuable player, just not the most valuable player.
