Some Love for AI

One of my favorite things in the entire world is late night sports. Whether it's football, basketball, or baseball (even hockey sometimes), college or pro, if the game is on after 10 (preferrably 11 or 12!) I'm there. I'll watch just about any game and if I have an actual routing interest it's all the better.

So tonight I have been blessed with an ESPN NBA Double Header. I got to watch my Mavs start what is to be a historic comeback from an equally historic flop with a THUMPING of Lebron James and the Cavs. (Note to Lebron: this isn't the preseason, chief. This game actually counted in the standings. I thought I'd let you know because the absolute lack of effort or interest you showed tonight led me to believe you thought this was still part of your vacation. Way to step it up on National TV.) The second game tonight was between the Denver Nuggets and the Seattle Supersonics, two teams I could care less about. However, there is one player that I do in fact care a great deal about.

Most casual fans who tuned in tonight did so to see rookie phenom Kevin Durant who is destined to be the next big thing. But for me, the real treat to watch is Allen Iverson. This is AI's first full season with the Nuggets and I'm pretty excited about that because it means he'll be on national TV a lot as ESPN and TNT use Denver as one of their primary late night locations. There are a lot of great players in the league and a lot of guys who are worth the price of admission. Lebron, Kobe, Dirk, DWade, KG, and Nash are a few. But for my money there isn't a single player that I enjoy watching more than Allen Iverson.

For one thing, AI is an AMAZING scorer. There are only a very small handful of players that I have ever seen that have a nose for scoring the way AI does. He scores from the outside, he scores from the inside, he scores on the break, and he scores in traffic. His field goal percentage is terrible but if you catch him on one of those nights when he really has it locked in, you feel like you're watching a great movie - something spectacular is about to happen.

In addition, I have never seen anyone dictate the entire game the way Iverson does. The dude is TINY. He's no more than 5-10 and I have a hard time believing he weights a buck 80 soaking wet. Yet he dominates the court - he's the man on offense and his teammates know it; the opponents know that all eyes are on AI and if they're not he's going to do something that quickly rectifies the situation; and the refs know that when AI is on the court, they better watch what they call because after all, he OWNS the arena and everything in it. No one in the league does this better than Iverson. When he walks onto the court, it is HIS court and he knows it, and you better figure it out quick too or else you're in for a rude awakening. He has a look about it him that makes you think "This dude is just a little crazy." I have literally seen refs swallow their whistles on OBVIOUS calls because Iverson just glances at them with a look that says "If you blow that thing you'll be choking on it."

But the thing I love most about Iverson is the fact that no one, NO ONE, works harder than him. If championships were based on effort alone he'd have about 10. The guy takes an absolute beating night in and night out and never complains (and more importantly, never allows the beating to stop him from playing his game and getting to the bucket). The guy has played with broken fingers, broken toes, a stress fracture in his foot, a stress fracture in his arm, and broken ribs. And throughout most of his career he has literally been surrounded by a cast of SPARES. Go to a local YMCA on a Tuesday night and you'll find 5 guys who could have played on some of Philly's teams over the last few years. But despite the lack of quality teammates Iverson never once complained in public. Even when he was consistently being RAILED ON in the media about how many shots he was taken, not once did he come out and say "Of course I took a ton of shots, did you see who's on the floor with me? I have a middle school JV team out there with me!" He took the criticism and kept his mouth shut and like a good soldier went out the next time and dropped 50. And then he did it again. And then he did it again.

We're in an era of basketball premadonnas in which the normal thing to do is get your big money then pout and cry to get yourself traded to a contender. This dude was legitimately sad to leave Philly last year despite the fact that he knew he was moving on to a much better situation. (Note to Kobe: See? You're not the only one to ever play with crappy teammates. I seem to remember Michael winning 3 championships with Will Perdue as his center. WILL PERDUE!) Iverson is the ultimate competitor and as tough a guy as you will find in any sport.

So you can have Lebron, you can have Kobe, you can have Vince Carter and Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony and whoever else. In my mind, there is no more exciting player in the NBA today than AI and it's about time he gets some of the respect he deserves.

P.S. Final stat line for Iverson tonight: 25 points, 14 assists, 5 rebounds, and 7 steals. Amazing.