26: Allen Iverson

Has anyone revolutionized the combo-guard more than Allen Iverson? No but then again Iverson also single handedly pushed the NBA into the hip-hop era, bringing cornrows, tattoos and thug entourages with him (OK not completely true, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose and Gary Payton did it before him but still, I was on a roll). AI was a player that you made sure you saw every time he either hit the screen or your town, He intimidated more than a few players and drove to the hoop like Derrick Rose on steroids, and that's an understatement.

"The Answer" showed people how important appearance is, drawing attention to his typical crook look, his hatred of practice, the fact that he "wasn't" making his team better but somehow forgot about the facts that: Allen Iverson was the 76ers, he lead the league in scoring four times ( five seasons over 30PPG), was an All-NBA 1st teamer three times, and not to mention took them to the NBA Finals on his shoulders back in '01 with his 31-4-5 on 42% shooting.


When I think of "The Answer" the first thing that comes to me is that in my lifetime, Allen Iverson was the most influential athlete in the NBA, if not overall, he was what the kids wanted to be and the grandparents hated, he was a legendary family man, a non stop partier, and one cocky f*****. Allen Iverson may be the most interesting athlete ever, don't believe me?

Maybe "The Answer" took too many shots, was a horrible three point shooter, turned the ball over too much and didn't defend with all his effort, BUT he was the fastest baller I have ever seen, made the craziest layups, runners and floaters, he took a mediocre team to a new level as nothing but a scorer (something 'Nique, Ice, McAdoo, T-Mac and Vinsanity never did), Iverson had an extra gear that none of those guys had, in a close game, Iverson was on NOS, while the others were at the same level as before.

 When you watched Allen Iverson you saw an intensity that  around 99.9999999998% of the NBA didn't, he was like a hungry rottweiler with raw meat at his paws, he was relentless on the court, a hurricane in a bottle and one of the greatest basketball players of all-time, after all he was "The Answer" to our questions...

The Evolution of PG's PT.2

    A you can probably tell I have a point guard obsession; facilitators, scorers, and especially defenders. A point guard can be used in any role, you can have your point guard score, rebound, defend and the biggest expectation of a point guard; make plays, when looking over those four subjects we rated all of our point guards for the list and for young point guards based on this list. Many PG's can score, some can defend well, a few can rebound and only a couple can truly make plays, In "The Evolution of PG's" we'll go over them.

Jrue Holiday:
Jrue Holiday is the perfect example of the old school NBA being brought into the future, Jrue is substance over style, he uses simple dribble moves to break down defenses, he wants to stop you, something PG's seem to stop doing now, Jrue stood up to Dwyane Wade and LeBron James scored some clutch threes and kept his cool in a somewhat lopsided series. Jrue has an excellent spin move, amazing length, his leadership seems to be there and endurance is unbelievable, Jrue brings some 90's into the decage of the 10's and let's see if he evolves into a Y2K PG.





Brandon Jennings:

Brandon Jennings is an almost perfect example of a post Y2K PG, Jennings is style over substance and takes it as far as you can, he uses complicated dribble moves that don't work half the time, play average defense at most and benefits from the rule changes excellently, and he hasn't even reached his peak. Brandon Jennings takes advantage of the rule changes fully, and he's still throwing up bricks and misses like he's Isiah Thomas for three. I love B-Jennings but the man needs substance!

John Wall:
Now John Wall is a nice hybrid, Wall gives it his all on D, takes over on O and rebounds with ease, He's what we need... John Wall is the next legend, one of few true franchise players, you can put him in any system and he will still find a way to contribute, He's got the attitude of a toned down GP, the speed, quickness and agility of an Allen Iverson or Kevin Johnson and the moves to do what he wants with you. John Wall is what a Y2K PG should be; a blast from the past with the nowadays style too, to be flashy doesn't mean you have to be inefficient but it also doesn't mean you can't use regular moves, John Wall needs a J and to cut his turnovers drastically but he like many other Y2K PG's is fun to watch, but unlike the others he doesn't sacrifice his efficiency.

62: Ray Allen

Resume: 15 years, 10 Star Quality, 4 Role Quality, 10 All-Stars...
Top 10 '05... Top 15 '01...
3 year peak: 22-5-4, 43% 3FG, 88% FT...
'01 Playoffs 25-6-4, 48% 3FG... '05 Playoffs 27-4-4... '08 Finals: 20-5-4,
Record: 22 threes, 8 threes one half... Career: 20-4-4 40% 3FG, 89% FT...
Career Leader: Threes...



"Ray Allen... Where do I start? I don't know where to start! Ray Allen, the greatest shooting form ever. In mu opinion Ray is the NBA three point king and one of the most underrated defenders of all time."






Ray Allen may be the active "Three Point King" but in mine and many other opinions he falls behind Reggie Miller and before anyone else, his D may have been underrated but now may be overrated, Ray is an average defender and an amazing scorer with  leading capabilities, Ray was moved around allot partly influenced by his underrated stats. He played historically in the '08 finals, is one of the greatest clutch shooters of        all-time, he has many skills but only a few elite. Ray should have never been a number 1 player on a team, like Reggie Miller, Scottie Pippen, and John Stockton/Karl Malone, Ray also was a pretty good actor in He Got Game. Ray Allen, nothing big, just one of the greatest players in NBA history, 62nd to be exact.


TheGlove_20

That was the original post I wrote but RayRay_34 created another.

"Ray is the greatest shooter, and a record breaker... his defense affected game even when he wasn't getting steals, and back in the day his behind the back to the stepback sequence was unstoppable... Ray Allen is CLUTCH! Yes he's the most clutch player in the game and one of the most clutch in history, and in my opinion is tied for most clutch three point shooter ever... Tied with Reggie Miller of course."

That was RayRay_34, he had a little trouble describing why he loves Ray so much, but we played a little NBA 2K11 and hundreds of memories popped into his head as he scored a Ray Allen three pointer sending us into overtime delaying an 18 point loss and 15-0 run with Gary Payton (at the hands of me, of course) and the 95-96 Sonics.

Let's get back to the point, letting you know why Ray Allen is the 62nd greatest basketball player in the history of  the sport. Ray never wavered in efficiency and still hits clutch shots when asked, his prime was amazing and had the most perfect jumper (not the one that would fit my style though) and did a lot with somewhere between nothing and the resemblance of a defensive hockey team with a +/- of -12. Ray was amazing in the ways he was a three point shooting machine, relentless scorer and he iced most of the games that featured him with the ball in his hands at the end of the game.


TheGlove_20