Who played harder than Allen Iverson? Ever?

[Kblaze8855]

He has become the antichrist for a new generation of "efficiency" lovers. But lets sit that aside for now please.

If you watched the guy I watched...you have to respect one thing at least.

The desire.

It is a very short list of people you can name in comparison to AI on this issue.

They exist. Im not gonna disregard Bird or...any number of others no doubt about to be mentioned.

But watch a few clips for me....not even the best of him at all. Just a few random examples of what I mean.



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


^
Normal play for him. Not a highlight at all. But how many people...ever....get to that ball first and score it? He goes from zero to 100 in half a second. Hes got 2 Knicks ahead of him and hes off before any other nugget is even turned around.


Another game that isnt really of note. Not even highlights. But....a lot of those plays are just off wanting it the most. The swarming defense?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-rtvkOO0Ak

Talk about swarming defense....

Look at the play at 1:50:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKoNwyG6ETA

If you dont like that...you dont like basketball.

Im gonna spare you the essay on heart and how underrated hes become because of stat watchers.....ill just say....we need more Allen Iversons not less.

[COLOR="White"]And I assume the 3-4 Rose haters we employ will be along shortly to inject discussion of him where it doesnt belong.[/COLOR]

[Rasheed1]

Nobody... Some players come close (Rodman, Westbrook) but none surpassed him in terms of pure effort during games.


He would have lasted longer if he would have transitioned into a play maker late in his career, but he was too stubborn to do so..

but I miss the AI days..

[Bano114]

Agreed. I will always remember Iverson as an absolute threat on the floor. Everyone feared him, no matter who he was playing.

Do you think head coaches were saying...

"Back off on Iverson, hes so inefficient if he's the one with the ball we have nothing to worry about."

Absolutely not.

All these amazing plays, always against the Knicks. I remember those days too, it was a struggle to watch.

[Budadiiii]

Russell Westbrook plays hard on both ends, every single game. We all know he hadn't missed game in his whole life until his recent injury.

He's also dedicated to the franchise and would never skip out on practice and create an embarrassing scene like AI did.

AI was a lazy and insecure idiot. He played hard in games because people were watching, he was always trying to impress people.

What Russ does is much more respectable. The most dedicated athlete in history. No one puts in more effort to their franchise than Russ. No one in history.

[B-Low]

I can say with 100% certainty, I've never seen an athlete compete as hard as Allen Iverson. Say what you will about his shot volume, lack of rings etc...but when you hear the cliche "leave it all on the court", Iverson was the personification of that phrase.

[Electric Slide]

Joakim Noah
Lebron James
Kevin Garnett

[BoutPractice]

I'll be entirely honest here. The biggest problem I have with Iverson is that he gave thousands of shitty, diminutive streetballers all over the globe unwarranted confidence to hog the ball, shoot contested jumpers and gamble like crazy on defense all game long. Guys who believed Yao Ming wouldn't deserve the ball from them because they could dribble between the legs. Allen Iverson was a great player but a horrible influence on the game, because he did stuff only he could get away with.

But some of the things he did on the court were unbelievable. You had to respect him and his passion for the game. At his best, he was incredibly entertaining to watch.

[B-Low]

Joakim Noah
Lebron James
Kevin Garnett

Not quite
Hell No
I'd say 2nd or 3rd all time in playing with heart/intensity

[9erempiree]

Russell Westbrook plays hard on both ends, every single game. We all know he hadn't missed game in his whole life until his recent injury.

He's also dedicated to the franchise and would never skip out on practice and create an embarrassing scene like AI did.

AI was a lazy and insecure idiot. He played hard in games because people were watching, he was always trying to impress people.

What Russ does is much more respectable. The most dedicated athlete in history. No one puts in more effort to their franchise than Russ. No one in history.

WTF does Russ have to do with this?

[kNicKz]

Good post. Iverson is one of my favorites

[PHILA]

Also this play in the Finals, which should have been a foul.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdU-amDQTrE&t=8m27s

[Electric Slide]

Not quite
Hell No
I'd say 2nd or 3rd all time in playing with heart/intensity

Why would you say no to any of them? All of these guys like Iverson play every game like it's their last and unlike Iverson, those guys had dedication off the court.

Practice?

[The Macho Man]

Andray Blatche

[Fudge]

LeBron James

[JimmyMcAdocious]

How do you define play hard? Iverson no doubt left it all on the floor, but so did many other NBA players. Who much of his "heart" was magnified by the fact that he was an elite scorer, face of a franchise/NBA, and that he was maybe 6 foot tall? If someone plays with the exact same passion and intensity of Iverson, except he's a role player and 6-8 PF, I bet everyone would say Iverson and it's not close. Even though it wouldn't be true.