Supergigant

And like that... He's gone...

W wieku 34 lat, po 13 latach gry w NBA. Za wcześnie ale nie było innego wyjścia. Jeszcze półtora roku temu, w Denver, rzucał średnio 26 pkt. Tyle, że drużyna nie wygrywała. Po przejściu do Detroit nastąpił błyskawiczny zjazd w dół. Narzekania na ławkę, na trenera, kłótnie, obrażanie się. W zasadzie tak było zawsze. Ale dopóki wszystko w danej drużynie (Philadelphia) było ustawione pod niepokornego Iversona, to trener (Larry Brown) nie miał innego wyjścia - musiał znosić jego kaprysy. W Denver, Detroit i Memphis było już inaczej. Marudzisz? To do widzenia.

To niesamowite, że tak utalentowany i tak wiele potrafiący facet jest takim samolubem, taką potencjalną gangreną w szatni, że nikt - żaden z 30 menedżerów NBA - nie odważy się go zatrudnić. Mimo, że co poniektórzy nie mają praktycznie nic do stracenia. Kiedyś Lakers nie bali się zatrudnić na podobnym etapie kariery wziąć Isiaha Ridera, Mavericks - Rodmana, ostatnio Celtics - Marburego. Allen Iversona nie chciał zatrudnić NIKT. Ani Knicks, ani Bobcats, ani Heat, ani Clippers. NIKT.

Tako rzecze Danny Ainge (który rok temu nie bał się zaryzykować z Marburym): “We have had internal discussions about (Iverson), but a decision like this has to be unanimous, and it wasn’t. He’s someone I would definitely consider if I felt we had a need, But I like the team we have now, and we don’t have that need.”

Bardzo smutno skończyła się kariera Iversona. Szkoda. Jest późno więc nie będziemy się rozpisywać. Bardzo fajny tekst pożegnalny popełnił Kelly Dwyer, z większością się zgadzamy. Przekleimy co fajniejsze kawałki.

W każdym razie - możecie się śmiać - ale będzie nam Iversona brakowało.

So this is how it ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

(...)

Pissed off Jordan. Crossed over Jordan. Took over for Jordan as the league's most popular player, when the NBA was in its darkest era since the drug daze of the late 1970s. Won the MVP. Took home-court advantage from a swaggering, dominant Lakers team in the 2001 Finals. Made it, nearly, to the top. On his terms.

And, because things stayed on Allen Iverson terms, it all fell apart from there.

Allen Iverson is set to retire. This follows an ignominious attempt at shopping himself on the open free-agent market, with the season having already started. That followed an ignominious three-game turn with the Memphis Grizzlies, which followed an ignominious season with the Detroit Pistons, which followed a ... you see where I'm going here.

Every step of the way, Iverson stayed true to himself. And, in a game and a culture that had grown up around him, that steadfast refusal to do anything but stay true to himself resulted in this early, unnecessary retirement.

(...)

Iverson never adapted. His game never grew, it hardly changed, and everybody knew. He could still get his — A.I. was still averaging over 26 points and seven assists for the Nuggets two seasons ago — but at what cost?

He needed the ball, quite a bit, to get those numbers. It took others out of their games. He bitched and moaned every time he was asked to leave the game, even though he averaged over 41 minutes per game in his career. He never tried to help, he never tried to lead, he never tried to learn.

He stayed true to who he was. It's what got him a nice house, huge contracts, out of poverty, into working at the game he loved. Good for him. But at some point, you have to stop working at things as if you're a week removed from the breadline.

(...)

A.I. never adapted. And while "me against the world" is admirable when it truly is you against the world, at some point you have to realize that you have four other guys with you, on your side, against the world. And they're not interested in fighting your fight. They're interested in winning the game.

And that hurts. Iverson accomplished quite a bit, but I'll never shake the feeling that so much was left unaccomplished. That he could have learned so much and contributed so much to this game had he not decided to essentially flatline in his early 20s.

I take no great pleasure in pointing this out, but the man quit on the 76ers (who traded him a few weeks later), his presence stifled the Nuggets, he quit on the Pistons, he quit on the Grizzlies (complaining about playing time after sitting out of practice for weeks and playing one whole game), and he just quit on this league. Way too early. With so much left to do.

(...)

What we do know is that this is a shame. For a man with his talent, his vision, his will, and his heart; to go out like this? To never, really, "get it?" It's a shame.

And, saddest of all, it's typical A.I.

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