Chapter 52: The Sons of Philadelphia
Iverson is the greatest star in the history of the 76 team, there is no one, in terms of data, he is not as good as Chamberlain, in terms of achievements he is not as good as Irving and Malone, the golden ring in the hands of these three bigwigs, is Iverson can not get in his poor career, he broke the traditional concept of ordinary people "NBA is a giant sport", let people understand that as long as they stick to their dreams, small people can also break into the NBA! His character is tenacious and unyielding, his desire to compete is strong, his character is as bohemian as his style of play, and he dares to challenge anyone, even the basketball god - Jordan!
Iverson is the "son of Philadelphia", a sentiment equivalent to Kobe's Los Angeles and Pierce's Boston, and Iverson's most well-known nickname is "The Answer", a nickname taken from O'Neal's line, "Want to know the outcome of the game?" Ask Iverson, and he's "TheAnswer." ”
Iverson is a representative figure of most of the black players from the street to the NBA, his parents divorced since he was a child, his mother and adoptive father pulled a few children to grow up, they simply could not give Iverson the necessary education and love when he was a child, so Iverson mixed with the "youth" in society when he was a child, Iverson himself was stubborn, brave, aggressive, competitive, righteous, and got acquainted with a large number of dead friends, several young people did nothing all day long, and they caused a lot of trouble, Iverson was in and out of the police station several times.
Although Iverson showed great basketball talent in high school, due to Iverson's disgraceful past, no university sent Iverson an invitation, and finally it was thanks to his mother's relationship that he was able to enter Georgetown University and play basketball on behalf of the Georgetown University basketball team.
In the 1996 draft, there was a lot of talent, known as the "96 Golden Generation" by fans, Kobe Bryant, Marcus Camby, Stephen Marbury, Ray Allen, Anthony Walker, Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, Zai Ilgoskas, Derrick Fisher, O'Sella Harrington, Eric Dampier, and so many well-known stars are all produced by 96. Most of their players played at a high level in their respective schools or leagues before joining the NBA, but that year's champion was not any of them, and the management of the 76ers who held the top pick gave up so many future superstars for him, he was Allen Iverson.
Although Iverson has black spots of one kind or another, it does not prevent Iverson from standing on the NBA floor from being a good player, a good player full of fighting spirit and passion. In his rookie season, Iverson averaged 23.5 points, 7.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, and unsurprisingly won the Best Rookie trophy, and won the All-Star Rookie All-Star together, although the team only achieved 20 wins this year, Iverson used his performance to tell everyone that he can be expected!
Sure enough, in Iverson's third season as a rookie, Iverson almost contributed 27 + 5 + 5 + 2.5 data, not only won the honor of scoring champion, but also brought the team into the playoffs after a long absence, that year's Philadelphia fans were unusually crazy, the team was eliminated by the Pacers led by Reggie Miller in the second round, and at the end of the game, the fans collectively stood up and chanted - "Wewillcomeback!" (We will definitely be back!) )”
This kind of picture moved everyone!
Iverson and the 76ers did come back next season, but they were eliminated by the Pacers.
2000-2001 was the peak of the 76ers, Iverson averaged 31.1 points, 4.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game to win the scoring title and also won the regular season MVP trophy, the team traded Ratliffer for Mutombo in the middle of the season to become the biggest barrier for the 76ers, that year the team entered the playoffs with the first record in the East, and swept the "nemesis" Indiana Pacers 4-0 in the first round, four games down, Iverson averaged 31.5 points per game, Miller averaged 31.3 points per game, and after the series, Miller and Iverson embraced, and Miller whispered in Iverson's ear, a scene that was also seen as a transfer of power between the old and new generations of Eastern Kings guards.
In the second round, the 76ers faced the Toronto Raptors led by Vince Carter. Carter also became a sought-after superstar for his superhuman performance at the 2000 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest. The battle between Iverson and Carter is even more blood-pumping. In the first game, Iverson scored 36 points, Carter scored 35 points, and the Raptors took the lead. In the second game, Iverson scored 54 points, Carter "only" 28 points, and the 76ers pulled back a game. Carter, unwilling to let himself go, responded with a 50-point run in Game 3 to give the Raptors a 2-1 lead. But in the fourth and fifth games, Iverson scored 30 and 52 points respectively, and the 76ers won two games in a row to win the match point 3-2. In the sixth game, Carter, who had no way back, scored another 39 points and dragged the series into Game 7.
In the seventh game, Iverson abruptly changed his style of play, no longer forcing points to create opportunities for his teammates, and handed out a record 16 assists. In the end, with Carter's last shot smashed out of the frame, the 76ers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals 4-3.
If the 76ers vs. the Raptors are the "one-on-one" between Iverson and Carter, then the Eastern Conference finals 76ers vs. the Milwaukee Bucks are "one-on-three"! Milwaukee's "Three Musketeers" Ray Allen, Sam Cassel and Glenn Robinson "The Big Dog" are extraordinary. In the first game, Iverson scored 34 points to lead the team to victory, but in the next three games, he was injured and lost his shooting sights, and it was not until the sixth game that he recovered and scored 46 points. The series was dragged into Game 7 again, and Iverson was on fire, cutting 44 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the team to a 108-91 victory over the Bucks and advance to the Finals with a total score of 4-3, which was also the 76ers' first trip to the Finals since 1983.
Since the first round, Iverson has basically carried the team forward single-handedly, and he has suffered serious injuries many times, but every time he gritted his teeth and persevered, his average playing time per game has been the highest in the team and even the league. Iverson's energy has also touched many people, so fans affectionately call him "God of War".
The Eastern Conference Finals knocked out the Milwaukee Bucks, and the team lifted the Eastern Conference championship trophy for the first time since 1983, when Iverson was only 25 years old.
Standing opposite the 76ers that year was the incomparably powerful Los Angeles Lakers who had the "OK" combination that year, and they had reached the finals without losing one game in three rounds and 12 games, and O'Neal even said that he would win the final trophy with a wave of 16 consecutive wins! This series is also the battle between Iverson and Kobe about the "96 strongest quartile", in the end, Iverson defeated Kobe, but he couldn't step on the Lakers, the first game of the finals, Iverson and the 76ers surprised everyone, the day of the game was Iverson's birthday, he scored 48 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, and led the 76ers to retreat! In this game, Iverson completed the battle of the gods, in addition to Iverson, the other players gave him the greatest help were Mutombo's 13 points, Snow's 13 points and Geiger's 10 points, from the data, you can understand Iverson's loneliness and helplessness, the whole court exploded 44 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists O'Neal was speechless, of course, Iverson also used the most "Ai" way to defeat the opponent, he shot 41 times, only hit 18 goals, the shooting rate will be over forty. By the way, Kobe Bryant's stats in this game, played 52 minutes (this game played an overtime) and Iverson and O'Neal tied for first place in the game, hitting 7 of 22 shots, shooting 31.8% with 15 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds and 6 turnovers.
This game is a portrayal of Iverson's next game, and Iverson's copycat Iverson Tyronn Lue, who is almost the same height, the same weight, and even the same "ditch" hairstyle, has been successful in defending Iverson. Although Iverson can score 35.6 points per game, his shooting rate has been maintained in the early 40%, three-point shooting rate is not even 30%, although Mutombo can average 16.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game on the inside, but he can't withstand O'Neal's wreak on the inside, O'Neal's data is 33 points per game, 15.8 rebounds, and the shooting rate is as high as 57.3%! In addition to Iverson and Mutombo, only the substitute Snow can score double-doubles and score 12.6 points, but the shooting percentage is exactly the same as Iverson, and the Lakers, except for O'Neal, Kobe Bryant rebounded strongly, playing better and better, and finally averaged 25+8+6 data per game, Fisher and Hawley became the Lakers' gods, the two of them scored repeatedly at critical moments, and even scored a quasi-lore in the second game!
4:1, this year Iverson is only three wins away from the championship, extremely close but extremely far away.
In the years that followed, the 76ers deteriorated, from a championship-level team to a playoff-level team, in 2004, the team selected the amazing talent Andre Iguodala with the 9th pick in the first round of the draft, but the two "little AI" could not help the team go further, in 2006-2007, the team officially supported Iguodala as the team's new leader, and Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for veteran Andre Miller and veteran Joe Smith, There are also two first-round picks in 2007, Smith and Miller played very well, but in the end they couldn't stay on the team, Smith was dissatisfied with the base salary contract offered to him by the team, and chose to leave Atlanta, and Miller joined the Trail Blazers for three years and $21 million, and the poor vision of the 76ers management was infinitely magnified in 2007, when they had three first-round picks and a second-round pick, but look at what they all chose, If the 12th pick selected Thaddeus Young still has the strength to fight, then what does the 21st pick mean by selecting Daquine Cook? He doesn't know anything but three-pointers, and the 30th pick, Petri Cowboneng, you tell me what else is worth getting out of his hands besides being handsome? The only second-round pick, the 38th pick, selected Kylero Feshenko, no one knows why they didn't choose Marc Gasol, Aaron Gray, Ramon Seysens, but they fancied Feshenko, who averaged 2 points per game, couldn't attack, only fouled...... This deal became the last straw that crushed the 76ers' record, and the team finally couldn't even make the playoffs, and had no choice but to be rotten year after year.
Last season, the 76ers won just 27 of their 82 games and missed the playoffs, making them the epitome of the team in recent years.