allen iverson should have made all nba defensive at least twice in his nba career because he lead the league in steals like four consecutive times and he was one of the best ever not just as a player but also getting steals
I mean defense is a lot more than just steals. Iverson didn't give 100% effort on defense always and he could be shot over as his contest wasn't the best. Still a way above average defender but this is at a time when there was truly LOCKDOWN guards in the league. Richard Hamilton, Gary Payton, there's a few more I can't think of off the top of my head, but you get the idea. Maybe if allen played the 1 and was giving 100% effort then yes
if he put his mind to it he could've been a great on ball defender with those quick hands and feet. I can imagine how tough it would've been to do that and have all that scoring load. either way a steal is a steal, playing passing lanes is still an effective way to shut down guys
So did the first two count? The first wasn't a steal, it didn't result in Philly getting possession in play, and the second was collected by AI, it wasn't stolen by him.
Iverson never let his size be a hindrance for him not to play defense unlike most of small guards today. Kyrie lookd like disgusting on that comparison because he has decent size for a point guard but he still don't play much D.
Allen Iverson came into the league as the fastest player period. look how Pat Croce was yelling for Allen Iverson, when 76ers won the draft. u would think he won championship. or the lottery
Trae Young needs to work with AI in the off-season to learn how to pick off steals and he needs to work with the Glove to learn how to be an all-around great defensive point-God.
John Stockton is also by far the career leader in assists. he has 15,800. Jason Kidd, in 2nd place, has 12,000. John Stockton is one million times the passer Iverson is. Of course, Stockton went up against Jordan.
@Kachi Ebi Better (i.e., ">")? I mean it depends on how you define it. AI was a better little man offensive machine, but he flamed out relatively quickly. Stockton had a much more accomplished career, even if he didn't have a shoe or whatever.
if someone drops the ball just like straight up drops a pass and you pick it up thats a steal? i thought you had to take it from someone or intercept a pass
Very true, but to play devil's advocate, when you are relied on to do the majority of the scoring for a major portion of your career (Bethel/Georgetown), those "old-habits" tend to die slow.
yeah, I mean the guy was incredible, and he never was on any championship calibre teams, so that's a huge factor, too. I just never really liked his thug attitude and arrogance. I think it turned a lot of fans off in the early 2000s.
@Domini478 Also to be fair Jordan did pass the torch on to A.I. when he retired for the last time. I would say Iverson is the greatest player of the post Jordan era, when you consider certain things.
Agreed. Too bad he didn't utilize his unique speed combined with his great play-making abilities (which he had); he would have been in the top 3 in assists every year.
@Domini478 Lol coulda fooled me with all that cussin you're doin. Maybe you need to learn to respond to people more respectfully. You can't be any older than 10 or 11, cussin at random people just for sayin 2 words to you.
ha, you're not even playing devil's advocate, you're just straight up correct. The thing is, there's a huge difference between the NBA game and everything else.
two garbage teams but a few jewels in the mix...iverson was a football player and he was either a safety or corner on d, thats why he knows how to bait the passer.
Everyone needs to appreciate the greatness your watching. Simply put he hurt his hand and decided the only way he could make an impact on the game was to create turnovers, "Steals". Best pure Basketball player of All-time.
if he put his mind to it he could've been a great on ball defender with those quick hands and feet. I can imagine how tough it would've been to do that and have all that scoring load. either way a steal is a steal, playing passing lanes is still an effective way to shut down guys
