When it comes to the most impressive combinations, many people may think of the OK combination that established the Lakers dynasty, the Heat Big Three who won the championship together, the Splash Brothers who combined the all-time three-point king group, and so on. But in addition to these successful combinations, there are actually some combinations that seem to be more failed but are very regrettable, such as the former Nuggets backcourt duo - Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. Today, let's take a look back at the regrettable super backcourt duo back then, and see if their combination is a mistake!
The lone hero of Philadelphia still seems to be alone when he comes to the plateau
Allen Iverson, when this name is mentioned, people's minds should subconsciously come to mind the lone hero who led Philadelphia against the Super OK group and gnawed off a piece of meat on them who won all 11 games to advance to the finals. Indeed, since he first entered the league, Allen Iverson has always been equated with the word lonely. Because after becoming the absolute core of the school's football and basketball teams in high school, Iverson found out that his good friend Clark, who often cared for and encouraged him, had been murdered by his girlfriend, and his adoptive father, Freeman, was arrested for drug overdose and sentenced to 22 months in prison.
As a result, Iverson had to carry the burden of the team and his family on his own. However, this is not the end, after Allen Iverson went to college, his sister Lisa's condition gradually began to deteriorate, and he urgently needed money for treatment, so Iverson, who only played for a year, had to decide to participate in the NBA draft. Fortunately, Iverson's talent is indeed high, and his hometown team Philadelphia 75 has the top pick, so he successfully selected Allen Iverson as the top pick in 1996.
As the shortest champion in NBA history, people are very concerned about this small point guard, thinking that how a small man like this can be elected as the top pick in '96. But Allen Iverson proved that he deserved the No. 1 pick, not only scoring 30 points on his debut, but also averaging a staggering 23.5 points per game in his rookie season to win the Rookie of the Year title. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, Iverson seems to have been born to equate with loneliness. So despite Iverson's individual performances, the 76ers didn't do well in his early seasons, and were often in a rebuild, lacking a consistent main lineup.
Under such circumstances, Iverson had to take on the responsibility of scoring and leading the team alone, and once soared from 23.5 points per game to 31.1 points per game in three years before leading the team to the Finals. It's fair to say that Iverson almost single-handedly carried the team out of the East that year, with 54 points, 52 points, 44 points, which is what he scored in key games in the playoffs, and he scored more points in each game than the rest of the team combined. But after this year, Iverson seemed to be drained of energy, and nothing was left but the lonely courage that always accompanied him.
In the next four years, even Iverson's stats still exploded, averaging 27.6 points, 26.4 points, 30.7 points per game, and even 33 points per game, he could not lead the team to the next level, and the best result was only the second round of the playoffs. So on December 20, 2006, Iverson, who had a conflict with management, was traded to the Nuggets. However, the Nuggets are Carmelo Anthony's team, and as the same shining star, he will not give up the position of boss to Allen Iverson, so after coming to the Nuggets, Allen Iverson is still alone.
The Nuggets supernova, who has never missed the playoffs, never seems to be able to break through the first round
Carmelo Anthony, as the star of the 03 golden generation, has shown super ability since entering the league, not only averaging 21 points, 2.7 assists and 6 rebounds per game in his rookie season, but also leading the Nuggets to the playoffs last season. Although he was eliminated in the first round, he was thought to have a very bright future.
Unfortunately, in the next three years, even if Carmelo Anthony evolved to average 26.5 points, 2.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, he still couldn't break the first-round curse. Seeing this situation, Nuggets management also understands that they should have substantial reinforcements, otherwise Anthony, whose rookie contract is about to expire, may not renew their contract. So, the Nuggets management traded Allen Iverson, who was once able to carry the team to the Finals alone, thinking that with such a super scorer and Anthony, their team could at least enter the second round of the playoffs, right?
However, things did not go as expected, Allen Iverson could not integrate into the team at all, and although his arrival provided the team with firepower and heat, it did not actually bring any qualitative change. The team has even become an embarrassing team where Anthony plays one goal and Iverson plays another, so it looks like there is no difference at all from Anthony playing alone before. So the pair, who looked like a golden duo in the backcourt, parted ways in less than two years, ending with a trade for Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups.
The right people met at the wrong time, but unfortunately there was no if
Actually, it's not that the two are incompatible, it's just that they didn't come together at the right time. Four years after entering the league, the Nuggets at that time were already completely Anthony's team, so adding a boss to the team would definitely not tolerate two tigers, and the team was destined to fail to produce chemistry. If the two had been combined since 03, I'm afraid the situation would have been completely different.
At that time, Anthony had just entered the league, and as a rookie in the league, he must be very willing to be the younger brother of the legendary Allen Iverson, after all, Iverson had just played the most classic performance in 01, setting off the Iverson craze. And after the 00-01 season, Iverson has proven that he really needs a helper to take the pressure off his own, otherwise he alone will not be enough to compete with the league's superpowers. It can only be said that the 75 team is too picky, and they want the team to win the championship but dare not make a big deal, and they deserve that their team record has not progressed. If Anthony had cultivated a chemistry with Iverson in '03, they would have been very scary in the future, and it was not impossible to even win the championship. Unfortunately, there are no ifs.