01 Tragic childhood
A god of basketball in disguise and humiliated Tyronn Lue, Iverson's career is best described as legendary, but who would have thought that every accident Iverson experienced in his childhood would be enough to erase the legend from the world, and being able to appear in front of our eyes may be his biggest accident.
On June 7, 1975, a newborn baby was crying in the arms of a girl who looked like he was only the age of his sister, Anne Iverson, a 15-year-old girl named Anne Iverson, a member of the local supervising high school girls' basketball team, and the eldest daughter of 17 children born to her father and four women.
The young and strong Anne is quite fatherly, and Anne, who does not want Iverson to leave home without a father, takes Iverson back to Connecticut, where her biological father is, but after seeing the horror and darkness of Hartford, Anne has to return to the Hamptons with the three-year-old Iverson Jr., where Anne meets her boyfriend Freeman, the man who was regarded by Iverson as a father for the rest of his life, and at this point, Iverson Jr. finally began his own story.
As a member of the women's basketball team, Anne's obsession with basketball was not crushed by life, but was transferred to the latter with the advent of Iverson, when Iverson was 9 years old, Anne forced Iverson to learn basketball, but for Iverson at that time, basketball did not have a wide field like rugby, and there was no thrill for him to show his strengths, but fortunately, his football teammates were playing basketball, so he simply joined in.
Soon, Iverson swept through the smoky neighborhood like a brisk wind, and the legend of this talented boy spread throughout the Hamptons, and every coach in the area said that Iverson was a member of his own team, and threatened each other not to beat Iverson's idea, this was the first time Iverson felt so concerned since he was born, but his family situation became more and more embarrassing, Freeman had to rely on drug trafficking for a living after his dismissal, and in 1991, Freeman was sentenced to 22 months for drug possession, and then sentenced to an additional 23 months, when the news reached Iverson's ears, he was both incredulous and angry, which forced the talented teenager to make this difficult choice.
02 Genius Yokoku Rise
Iverson's stepfather's behavior forced Iverson to drop out of school to work, and it wasn't until his appearance that Iverson's self-depraved behavior was stopped.
After becoming a star in the Hamptons, Iverson had a chance to be promoted to the first team in eighth grade, but his coaches thought Iverson was too loose, but it was true until Coach Moore caught Iverson, which was the 69th consecutive day of his absence, and Iverson moved to Moore's parents since then, but it was this incident that reminded Iverson that he had not yet succeeded.
In 1991, Iverson chose to join Beser High School, Anne's alma mater. The 15-year-old not only won the state championship at Besser High School on the basketball court, but also led the school's football team to the team's first divisional championship in 15 years with an undefeated record. Iverson's high school teammates recalled that they were full of praise for Iverson's high school performance even after many years
But living on the sewage pipe all year round has brought great trouble to the Iverson family, especially the sewage pipe may burst at any time, which makes Iverson's two young sisters weak, even if Anne works 18 hours a day, she still can't maintain the normal expenses of the family, let alone bring the most basic treatment to the two sisters, which also makes Iverson more sure of his commitment to his mother at the age of 13, he wants to succeed, he wants to get rid of the life troubled by the sewer pipe!
Until Iverson led the team to the semifinals of the national football under-17 finals, Iverson was only 15 years old and received close attention from Duke, Kentucky and other famous universities, the following summer, Iverson just missed the preseason warm-up game of the football team, and it was rumored that he had given up football, but then came the state championship, Virginia 3A football game MVP and the best team, only three days after winning the championship, Iverson returned to the basketball court in his debut season with an average of 31.6 points per game, 8.7 rebounds and 9.2 assists broke the history set by Moses Malone 20 years ago, but in order to ensure that his family barely survived, Iverson had to do his best to earn money off the court. Iverson was grateful for the help of the coach and his neighbors, and everyone was looking forward to Iverson becoming a superstar like Moses Malone, expecting Iverson to appear on TV, but no one expected that this incident would almost leave Iverson out of the NBA forever.
03 A gifted high school student went to prison
Iverson was completely in trouble, and the sudden imprisonment made Iverson's original attention disappear overnight.
In 1993, at the age of 17, Iverson, who had already led the team to become the supremacy of the state, was playing at the bowling alley with his friends, and a group of white youths present were dissatisfied with Iverson's fame and picking quarrels and provoking trouble, which eventually turned into a brawl of 50 people, although the live footage showed that Iverson left the stadium before the brawl began, he was still identified as the main offender and sentenced to 15 years in prison, and finally with the help of the NAACP, Iverson was released on bail after only four months in prison.
Before his arrest, Iverson had just been selected for the national high school team with an average of 31.1 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists per game, and even after being arrested, Iverson led the team to defeat Molley High School, which was led by the NBA champion in '95, and led the football and basketball teams to win the state championship again, but when the joy calmed down, the ongoing brawl brought too much negative news to Iverson.
Fate played a joke on Iverson, but it also brought him another light in a difficult life, and Iverson did not sink during his sentence, "He was obviously different from other prisoners, he knew what he had to do, and he never complained", recalled the guard who guarded Iverson many years later, at this time Iverson knew exactly what he was facing and knew that he had to succeed.
Iverson's insistence was answered, during his sentence, NBC anchor Brokaw interviewed Iverson many times and did a lot of publicity work for him, and finally three lawyers accepted his appeal, and the local judge also gave leniency, after Iverson was released from prison, a female teacher named Sue Lambert saw Iverson's difference, she volunteered to be Iverson's tutor, which made Iverson not pull down his course, and two years later, the Virginia court also dropped Iverson's charges because there was not enough evidence, and his file would not be imprinted, as if nothing had happened, but Iverson's sweat has also written off the results.
Looking at the increasingly depressed Iverson, Anne understood that if she didn't help her son, maybe the former's life was about to end here, so Anne found Thompson, the coach of Georgetown University at the time, Thompson understood Iverson's excellence, but his experience made Thompson always reluctant to believe the latter, under Anne's strong persuasion, Thompson finally agreed to accept Iverson, and it was at Georgetown University that Iverson grew from a hairy boy to the "answer" of his life
04 In order to save my sister, I participated in the NBA draft in advance
If it weren't for the court decision, maybe Iverson would have entered the NBA even more.
In 1994, it was an unforgettable moment for Iverson, when he stood at the door of Georgetown University with his luggage, he found for the first time that this school that he had never heard of in the past was so beautiful, and the first time he saw him, even Thompson, who had won two NBA championships and played as a substitute for Russell, had to admit that this kid was indeed a good piece of basketball material, but Thompson did not say anything.
Rather than saying that Thompson is a coach, it is better to call him a godfather, Thompson is known for his strictness, fairness and command, rather than the wisdom on the court, Thompson is more willing to teach his disciples how to behave off the court, and Ewing, Mourning, and Mutombo who came out of him are all heroes who dare to love and hate in the NBA, after accepting Iverson, Thompson decided to give Iverson a chance, he gave Iverson a scholarship, and fully trusted Iverson.
In return, Iverson soon showed his talent on the court, in the 94 season, Iverson led the team to win the NCAA round of 16 with an average of 20 points per game and 4.5 assists, and the following year, Iverson once again led the team to the NCAA quarterfinals with an average of 25 points per game and 4.7 steals and was named the NCAA All-American team in both seasons.
Looking at the high-spirited Iverson, Thompson's hands couldn't help but tremble after teaching for 24 years, because he saw Georgetown University's chance to win the championship, and it was also the only chance, but because of the long-term living on the sewage pipe, Iverson's two younger sisters were already weak, and he had to join the NBA as soon as possible to continue his sister's life.
On this day, a figure of Georgetown University flew by, for Thompson, it was his pride, but it was also his regret, "I need money, I need money to treat my sister." In just a few words, even Thompson's battle-hardened heart couldn't help but ripple, and after weighing it, Thompson finally decided to let Iverson chase his dream. He recommended Iverson to Falck, then Jordan's agent, and with the latter's help, Iverson successfully participated in the 76ers' tryout, and then began his legendary superstar career.
05 Elected as the NBA No. 1 pick
The story of the dragon turning into a dragon has existed since ancient times, but it is truly concrete at this moment.
For Iverson, there has never been a moment in his past when he needed money more than now, after experiencing falling from the top to the bottom to standing on the top again, 1995 was special for Iverson, his originally dilapidated family was about to go bankrupt because of his sister's heart disease, and it happened that at this time, another news came that Iverson's daughter Tina was born.
After all that has been going through in the past, family and responsibilities are a heavy burden that Iverson has to carry on his shoulders today, and he can only solve all these troubles in the shortest possible time by becoming the champion.
In 1996, because of the addition of the Raptors and Grizzlies, only one team in the league that did not make the playoffs last season was able to get the top three draft picks, and the 76ers "unexpectedly" got the top pick.
Between Marbury and Iverson, 76ers president Kloss had to be very cautious, the 76ers were still a team in transition, and the president, head coach and team manager were all going through their rookie season, but after hearing about Iverson's draft test results, he decided to have a good talk with the young man.
In fact, before this meeting, the 76ers had already investigated Iverson, and the former clearly knew what happened to Iverson, but they had to make sure that all this would not be an obstacle for the team in the future.
"Our meeting was very straightforward", many years later Cross recalled this conversation, when Iverson was wearing a casual shirt, at first Cross did not recognize the guy who was sleeping on the sofa as Iverson, fortunately, after looking around, only Iverson was the most in line with Iverson's image, the first sentence of the conversation, Cross very directly mentioned the situation of Iverson's father in prison, "Have you been involved in your father's drug trafficking?" to which Iverson replied very categorically, "Absolutely not, sir!" But as a child who was also born in southern Philadelphia, Cross didn't directly trust Iverson at first, but in the subsequent conversation, Cross understood that the child in front of him had a very strong sense of responsibility to the family, which made him finally willing to believe that Iverson was a kind-hearted child. The 76ers made their decision, and Kloss began to be proud of Iverson.
In the 1996 NBA Draft held at the Continental Airlines Stadium in New Jersey, when David Stern announced that the Philadelphia 76ers had signed Iverson with the first draft pick, the whole Philadelphia was suddenly immersed in laughter, and when the camera showed Iverson, the latter was already in tears. But for Iverson, the story has just begun.
06 Shake the god of basketball
As the first defender since 1979, Iverson has been the enemy of countless people from the moment he entered the league.
For the 76ers, Iverson's arrival was a joy to them, but it also worried them as they found themselves that the No. 1 pick they had worked so hard to pick didn't seem to be a decent playmaker.
On November 2, 1996, Iverson appeared in the NBA for the first time in his life, in the previous preseason Iverson just played an average of 39.5 points per game, but his average number of passes per game was not even 4, and the turnovers were more than 4, as expected, Iverson lost the first game,
In the second game of his rookie season, the back-to-back 76ers met the Scarlet Dynasty, which was the first time Iverson had such close contact with Jordan, but even in the face of his idol, Iverson did not flinch in the slightest, "Hey, boy, I heard you don't respect me very much?" "On the basketball court, I don't have to respect anyone. Iverson replied very hard, but he also lost very happily, Iverson only scored 15 points in the whole game, and the 76ers lost by 29 points.
But this is Iverson, on Christmas Eve, he challenged Jordan again, but this time it was Rodman's turn to teach the rookie how to play, in the fourth quarter of the game, Rodman deliberately elbowed Iverson's head during the fall, and the powder keg was suddenly ignited, until looking at the former's bad smile and the technical foul given by the referee, Iverson realized that he had been tricked, but Rodman didn't seem to be happy with it, and after returning to the front court, he gently patted Iverson's buttocks, and the helpless Iverson could only stare back.
Once the competitive spirit is ignited, it cannot be extinguished, and finally, the third dialogue between the two sides on Iverson's calendar has arrived, and the 20,000 fans of the Wajovia Center witnessed this moment, Iverson received the ball at the top of the arc, and Jordan lost his center of gravity in a flash, and then completely shook his position, and then faced Jordan to hit the shot steadily, in this battle, Iverson slashed 37 points, and the 76ers finally raised their eyebrows in front of the Bulls.
But for the 76ers, there is enough trouble, even though Iverson played a good enough performance in his rookie season, but the 76ers only have 22 wins in the whole season, and the team's boss House is very dissatisfied with Iverson's performance, and the 76ers, who have nothing to do about it, can only point the finger at head coach Davis and establish Larry Brown as the team's new coach.
Brown's appearance created the absolute pinnacle of Iverson, but it also brought endless darkness to Iverson. After the season, the ambitious Larry Brown didn't meet Iverson in a real sense until a month after he came to the 76ers, because Iverson had been attending sponsorship events for the entire month before that, and it wasn't until the 76ers held a welcome meeting for the players on the team, and Iverson hurried to the court before the game started, and he scored 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the 34 minutes he played, but he didn't say a word to Coach Brown. It wasn't until August 15 that Brown, who had been with the 76ers for three months, had a real conversation with Iverson, and the difficulty of this conversation seemed accidental, but it also hinted at the difficulty of getting along with the master and apprentice in the future.
07 Fight against the peak OK combination on your own
"Get him away, I'm not going to coach him anymore, and I don't want to see him on my team roster next season," Larry Brown hung up hard.
If Thompson shaped the beginning of Iverson Field, then Larry Brown made Iverson the pinnacle. In this lineup with Iverson as the core, the 76ers began to fight back, and in the third year of his career, Iverson won the scoring title with an average of 26.8 points per game, and entered the playoffs as he wished. In the first round against the Magic led by Hardaway, the 76ers sent the opponent away bloodlessly, but then they were taught a hard lesson by Miller 4-0. The following year, when the 76ers won 49 wins and entered the playoffs again, they still couldn't escape the curse of stopping in the second round, but at this time, Marbury, who entered the league with Iverson, not only led the team to the playoffs early, but the No. 13 pick Kobe Bryant had already got his first ring with O'Neal.
"Iverson can't lead Philadelphia, he's a symbol of evil. As the champion, Iverson's every move seems to be magnified all the time, life off the field is messy, nightclubs, gangs, drugs, all kinds of tattoos appear on Iverson's body under the wide attire, crazy offense on the field but don't like defense, and even being scolded by the coach on the bench is still indifferent.
After the end of the '99 season, the conflict between Brown and Iverson had already reached the point of irreconcilability, and Kloss called Iverson, "I'm a starter, I did all this, and I only deserve to watch the game from the sidelines?" The latter roared on the phone, and then hung up, and the old man Brown was even more concise, "I don't want to see him again", and hung up the phone again.
"This problem has to be solved, the 76ers need Iverson and they need Larry Brown," Cross said loudly to the staff in the conference room.
On December 19, 1999, there was a strange appearance in the 76ers' training hall, a group of people in the court were constantly adjusting the fighting spirit of the two, Iverson took the lead in speaking, he described his unhappiness all, and the old man on the court was cold-eyed, seeing that Iverson was about to go berserk, the staff spoke out again, until Brown put his arm around Iverson's shoulders and discussed his basketball philosophy with him, and the master and apprentice realized that the biggest trouble between the two was just no communication.
01's 76ers and Iverson officially opened the road to revenge, they exchanged Ratlif and Kukochi for Mutombo, the two Thompson's love will meet with fate, the best coach is by his side, all difficulties have become extremely fragile in front of the 76ers, 56 wins in the regular season to win the first place in the East, the regular season against the Pacers again, Iverson was killed by Miller in the first quarter and led the team to four cities in a row, and faced the Raptors led by Carter, one of the four quarters, in the second round, the two teams fought to tie seven, Iverson, who never passed the ball, sent 16 assists in this game, at this moment Iverson finally realized the power of team basketball that Coach Brown said.
The 76ers, who advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, met three musketeers, and this battle completely stimulated Iverson's blood, and G2 lost the team due to injury. G3 watched his teammates fight bloodily but still lose, the 76ers could no longer afford to lose, Iverson was the same, regardless of the dissuasion of the team doctor, Iverson forced a comeback in G4, 2 minutes before the end, Iverson's mouth was accidentally impacted, blood flowed on the spot, in order to stay on the court, Iverson swallowed the blood, and finally the 76ers crossed the three musketeers, this time, Iverson stood on the stage of the finals.
"I'm afraid the Lakers are going to win 16 in a row" The outside world unanimously speculated, and no one was optimistic about the 76ers.
It is true that the combination of O'Neal and Kobe Bryant is like a mountain that is dead on the heads of the 76ers, Iverson has no way to get rid of the ball, and he simply took the ball and started his crazy performance, the 76ers under the leadership of Iverson once opened the Lakers for 15 points in the second quarter, and the Zen master who saw the bad situation waved his hand and sent a kraft candy to teach Tyronn Lue, but for Iverson, at this time he could not stop anyone, 1 minute and 19 seconds before the end, Iverson got rid of Tyronn Lue and received the ball, and the out-of-position Tyronn Lue hurriedly made up for the defense, but ate Iverson a full disguise, without too much hesitation, a dry pull-out jumper completely killed the suspense of the gameAt this time, Tyronn Lue happened to step on Iverson's foot and sat on the ground, seeing this, Iverson did not show the slightest mercy, he raised his foot and stepped over Tyronn Lue as if he was about to step over all the injustice and criticism that happened to him.
Iverson fought for this fate, but also lost to fate.
After the finals, Iverson and Larry Brown went further and further, on May 26, 2003, Larry Brown resigned and left at the end of the season, even though Iverson is still the scoring champion, MVP, and All-Star, but no coach can read this unruly book like Larry Brown, until 04 The 76ers and the Pistons met in the playoffs, facing the Pistons five tigers led by his former mentor Iverson was miserable,
Everyone is questioning Iverson, kicking his naked wife out of the house, continuing to indulge in nightclubs and absent from training, Iverson has single-handedly become the object of media coverage all over the world, and the 76ers have exhausted their patience until they see another self in Denver, at this time Iverson has already become famous, MVP, scoring champion, All-Star, but for Iverson, maybe no one can understand Anthony, and no one can really understand Iverson's loneliness.
08 The Golden Twin Guns are here
If Philadelphia witnessed the birth of the answer, then the plateau is where the answer finally remains valid.
As the conflict between Iverson and the 76ers became more and more irreconcilable, this time Kloss had to face the reality, Iguodala's appearance accelerated the process of Iverson's departure, compared to Iverson's unruliness, Iguodala not only obeyed the command more, but also had a good answer to the rookie in his rookie season.
For the 31-year-old Iverson, he seems to have forgotten what he really craves, although the 76ers have been trying to bring in Iverson, but the latter has never made any adaptation behavior for the new roster, and finally, in the endless accusations with management, the 76ers have impatiently sold their once proud superstar just for the cabbage price of Miller + Joe Smith + 2 first-round picks.
"I learned from him everything he did before the game, his warm-ups, his shooting details, even the songs he listened to. Anthony couldn't sleep that night when he heard that Iverson was coming, and he came to the arena early on the day Iverson arrived at the plateau, and the city and everyone on this team were full of passion, "This is AI, this is AI!"
In the first season, the Nuggets under the leadership of the two barely squeezed into the playoffs with 45 wins in the regular season, but they encountered the Spurs in the first round, and a slap was inevitable, and the Nuggets in the second season were the league's highest score of 110 points per game, but the average of 107 points per game made them not even have a chance to see the face of each enemy, and it was inevitable to sweep again.
The failure of two consecutive seasons made the Nuggets realize the devastation after the passion faded, for Iverson, who could not adapt to the ball, the frequent ball was a headache for George Carr, once Anthony and Iverson were all on the court, the three players on the court had to be reduced to spectators, from starters to rotations, the most reliable was still just a hairy boy JR.
Perhaps even Iverson didn't expect this to happen to him one day, and this time, he was no longer a guest.
09 A superstar on the move
"He's just a spoiled kid in Philadelphia, nothing special. ”
Iverson, who has been swept in a row, has a great uneasiness in his heart, even though he has just won the ranking behind Kobe and James in the scoring list, the trade still does not let him go.
At this stop, he came to the Pistons coached by his former mentor, but after Ben Wallace left and Billups traded, only three of the former Pistons Five Tigers remained, because the Pistons' No. 3 was selected by the team's rookies, the arrival of Iverson put on the No. 1 jersey of the former owner Billups, and the answer stubbornly wanted to prove that he was still one of the league's leading scorers, but in the eyes of his teammates, this behavior was full of provocative significance,
This directly led to the strange appearance on the Pistons court, it was not Iverson who held the ball when he was in urgent need of scoring, and it was still not Iverson who held the ball when the situation was optimistic, among the few balls, Iverson's blind shot despite the dissuasion of the coach on the sidelines made him look incompatible with this team, and sure enough, Iverson was once again shaped by the media as the team's cancer, and the team's performance took a sharp turn, but the growth of age made Iverson know how to forbear, and he hoped to win respect with his performance, rather than his mouth.
But at the end of the day, he's just an outsider, and Motor City has its own pride, and eventually, at the end of the season, Corey decided to let Iverson lead the bench, "If you don't play on the bench, you don't get a minute of playing time." ”
"I've never heard of an All-Star starter playing off the bench, I've never heard an Olympic member playing off the bench, I've never heard an MVP playing off the bench, I've never heard a scoring champion playing off the bench, I've never heard a superstar playing off the bench, I've never heard of a first-team player playing off the bench!!" Iverson averaged a career-low of 17.4 points and 4.9 assists per game this season, and no one paid attention to whether he was on the floor or whether he was on the team during the playoffs.
At the end of the season, Iverson joined the Grizzlies on a short contract, but the ending was no different, in December 2009, this was the last time Iverson appeared as a 76ers player on the 76ers' home court, and Iverson, who was cheered by the audience again, burst into tears, he leaned over and kissed the floor of the 76ers' home court, he looked back on his madness like a hoarse guitarist, but in order to take care of his young daughter, he had to leave the 76ers for Turkey, and ended his basketball career completely after ten games.
On October 31, 2013, Iverson officially retired from the Philadelphia National Service Bank Center, in a group of suits and leather shoes, Iverson in a red baseball uniform is still unruly, this slum out, the suffering teenager stood on the side of fate towards him, the rules and regulations did not nail the sun that shot at him, Iverson left, but he used his bravery and tenacity to open up the road of countless Iverson.