Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own blog, Hoops Haven .
For 13 NBA seasons, we have been witnesses to Allen Iverson’s inner fire which continues to burn today, even at age 33. Never have I seen a player with such heart, desire , and intestinal fortitude as the man simply known as “A.I.” Allen has taken his desire to to be the best on the court, along with his eventual Hall of Fame resume, and some sizeable baggage, to Memphis to attempt to lead a young and talented team into the postseason for the first time in 4 seasons. Iverson undoubtedly still has the physical tools to succeed, but will his fiery competitiveness and refusal to accept a “team first” mentality, destroy team chemistry and leave the franchise up in flames?
While Iverson’s heart is almost always in the right place, as evidence of his numerous charitable endevours and and his willingness to sacrifice his body for team, his head has not always followed suit. In spite of his unbelievable talents, Allen has somehow managed to create chaos in the locker room and leave his former team in much worse shape than when he arrived. The Denver Nuggets somehow have managed to get over the short marriage to Iverson to have had possibly their best season in franchise history. One has to wonder if adding A.I. to a roster filled with monster egos, even if it is for one year, is the right move for a franchise filled with impressionable young talent.
Iverson has never been the model teammate. He has clashed with teammates and coaches at virtually every stop in his career. It’s almost not his fault, since he was always the supreme talent on every team he was on, dating back to high school, and treated that way. At a young age Iverson was the typical superstar athlete who lived the rock star life even though he came from humble beginnings in Hampton Beach Virginia. Whether it was help with grades or getting out of trouble, his family, coaches, and friends always helped make things right for the future hoops star. He even was pardoned by the governor of Virginia while in high school when he was facing 15 years in prison for insighting a riot at a local bowling alley. His legendary tussles with his head coaches also is a reason for concern. The Sixers went through numerous ringleaders coaches to try and force feed Iverson the team concept, before Larry Brown finally got through. Even though he had several mini tussles with Brown, Allen finally felt respected and conformed to the Hall of Fame coach’s strict ways. The results were mutltiple scoring titles, an MVP award, and a trip to the NBA Finals in ’01.
Disaster soon followed when the Brown/Iverson relationship again soured over Iverson’s occasional refusal to participate in practices and team appearances. After Brown left the Sixers in ’03, Iverson immediately clashed with new head coach Jim O’Brien. O’Brien was relieved of his duties near the end of the season and Chris Ford took over with the same results, Iverson at odds with another coach. Similar to his final days in Detroit, Iverson was paid to stay away from the team for the remaining games of the season because of injury insubordination. And even though he still scored at an alarming rate in Denver, he regulary was at odds with George Karl, then we all know how things ended up with the Pistons. He has been called selfish, arrogant, a ball hog, and even a thug by teammates and opposing players alike.
Iverson has had many off the court incidents for allegedly possessing an unregistered handgun, public drunkeness, speeding, numerous domestic disputes(where he locked his wife outside their home naked), using his posse of bodyguards to assault patrons at a club, and even for urinating in a garbage can inside an Atlantic City casino. We all keep waiting for Allen to “grow up” but this apparently will never happen. he has forever lived the life of the pampered athlete where there aren’t any consequences.
On the flip side, A.I.’s offensive prowess is arguably Hall of Fame material. His career scoring average of 27.1 ppg ranks fifth All-Time. His resume is stellar with 10 All Star appearances, 7 All NBA Team Selections, 4 scoring titles, 1 MVP, 2 time All Star MVP, and has led the league in steals 2 times. What better a person to teach the young and talented Grizzlies players like O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, and Hasheem Thabeet on how to succeed in the NBA?
At age 34, has “The Answer” finally matured, and is willing to play mentor to Mayo, Conley, and Gay, or will he and “Z-Bo“, Zach Randolph poison the Grizzlies roster with their bad behavior and leave the Grizzlies with yet another lottery pick next season? There’s no doubt that part of Memphis’s motivation for bringing in Iverson is to help put butts in the arena and sell merchandise. But which Iverson will they get? I’m betting on the negative, since even though he is injured, rumors have it that once healthy, he will once again be forced to come off of the bench!
Grab your popcorn. Either way it should be entertaining in Memphis this season.
Which Iverson are the Grizzlies getting?
The Good
The Bad
