Should Allen Iverson Make the Hall of Fame?

(i tend to think that maybe lebron's ppg will drop several points in the end)

yes down to 12.7 PPG.

how is this even a question

which hall of fame.

Just askin'. Lack of a ring makes it at least somewhat interesting.

as someone who grew up in philly and watched this dude on my TV for years this is an automatic lock for me. would be curious to hear cases of dissent from ppl outside philly

He deserves the nod.

Selfishly, I want him in so I can say I played against a hall of famer in a pickup game.

yes, even tho i think his game was poisonous if u wanted to win a title, thats not what the hall of fame is bout. its about true OGs of ballin.

Iverson's achilles' heel in making the HOF is his personality. Based solely on his game and his stats, he'll make it. But there are a ton of guys who've been statistical standouts while playing on mediocre teams and later they struggle to make it into the hall, because they had an uneven reputation or they pissed people off.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1054/5120276643_468dff43d1_z.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ucIWv.jpg

lookin old

gonna be hard to get dissent even from outside of philly, no question he belongs in the hall. blam took care of the hard numbers, which are basically untouchable. he went well beyond the "high scorer on mediocre team" stereotype into mvp territory- even a bad team with AI had a chance to win every night, and probably could have gotten a championship had they not run into one of the two buzzsaw teams of the 2000s (shaq-kobe lakers, odd-numbered-year spurs). he didn't really make his teammates better so much as force them to play at least moderately above their heads so as not to look awful in comparison to him.

on the subjective side, there must be a place for a guy who defined much of the post-jordan era: beyond the cornrows and "difficult" attitude he was as thrilling to watch play as he was in interviews. there should also be a place for the best guy under 6' ever (??) because if ai cracks 5'10 then i'm darko milicic.

and he just seemed terrifying to play against in the same way that guys must hate to face kobe, wade, maybe durant or ray allen on a hot shooting night now- sometimes it seemed no matter how a team played ai was just going to win out of sheer force of will.

i wonder if he played now (and was, say, 28 years old) which two stars would try to line up with him in a big three type arrangement. it's amazing to look at some of those philly rosters and see the dreck he had to work with.

http://deadspin.com/allen-iverson-has-destroyed-the-legacy-of-allen-iverson-1708683536

thought we had a dedicated general purpose AI thread, but that's on ILE. anyways, this is a pretty icky read. i mean this stuff has all been around awhile or at least whispered about, but it's hard to see all this shittiness in one place

Never forget:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXIGgVo00rw

20 years ago today and I still think about this night all the time.

Lol @ "Everything but the Chip", but stick this directly in my veins:

https://www.phillyvoice.com/sixers-2001-nba-finals-documentary/

Dwayne Wade was just inducted into the HoF and had Iverson present him. Damn if this didn't make me tear up a little bit:

About midway through his speech, Wade looked toward Iverson, a 2016 Hall of Fame inductee. Here’s what he said (you can watch the video below):

“As I reflect on my own destiny and the impact that my heroes have had on my life, I’m reminded that our heroes are not always perfect. Instead, they possess a relatability that makes them touchable and real. When anyone speaks about Allen Iverson, that’s exactly what they say. He’s real. So A.I., I need you to know this: I watched you with awe because I saw a reflection of myself in you. The way you played the game was exciting and fearless. It didn’t matter who they put in front of you. They weren’t going to stop you. I know. I tried.

“It didn’t matter what they said about you because they couldn’t measure the size of your heart. Your authenticity and unapologetic attitude resonated with me. Your swagger, your unique style — rocking durags, braids, the baggy shorts, the untucked jerseys, the earrings, the chains, the throwback jerseys. It all combined to create an image that broke the mold. You challenged conventional norms and became the poster child for individuality and self-expression, inspiring countless individuals to embrace their own uniqueness.

“You brought hope to those who grew up with limited resources. You showed us that success and greatness were attainable, even in the face of adversity. Your struggles made your accomplishments that much more remarkable. A.I., you are a living, breathing reminder that redemption and growth are possible. You inspired a generation, my damn self included, to believe that coming from nothing was not a limitation but motivation.

“I wore an arm sleeve throughout my career because A.I. did. I respectfully wore the No. 3 throughout my college and NBA career to represent the love and the respect that I have for this man. So from the bottom of my heart, you are the culture and we love you and we thank you, Allen Iverson.”

He was a joy to watch play, especially in person. He could take over a game like very few other players can do. Too bad he's such a dumpster fire.

A.I. seems like he's at peace in his elder statesman role or at least I hope so.