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Perhaps he shouldn’t adopt Iverson’s approach to practice,
but, Michael Carter-Williams could learn a lot from the guy whose number three
was raised to the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center Saturday evening, both
about the game of basketball and how to thrive in the city of Philadelphia.
The Sixers tried to keep their focus on the Washington
Wizards on Saturday, but the distractions were evident. There was the expanded
media presence. There were the celebrity guests, and a packed and passionate Wells
Fargo Center; something the Sixers haven’t seen all season. All of this of
course, was to acknowledge one of the organization’s all-time bests in Allen
Iverson, and for an evening, the current Sixers’ struggles were secondary.
Allen Iverson never won a championship for Philadelphia, yet he is in rare revered air in a city that is as title-hungry as they come. He is embraced, loved, and applauded for his time in Philadelphia, while some of his contemporaries that had similar success (Donavan McNabb) are marginalized.
The reason that Allen Iverson resonates with, and is so
well-respected by the Philadelphia fan base is simple: They never had to
question how much he cared.
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| Image from Philly.com |
His original rookie Reebok may have been called ‘The
Question,’ but when it came to his drive, determination, and dedication, there
wasn’t any. Sure, the Sixers might lose, but if you secured a Wells Fargo
Center seat during Iverson’s tenure with the team, you were going to see a
show.
You know those days where you just don’t feel like doing
your job? Iverson didn’t have those.
He would have played 48 minutes a night, every night, until
his body broke down, if his coaches allowed him to. He hated coming out, and
was consistently among the league leaders in minutes played per. In fact, he
led the league in that statistic a ridiculous seven times, second all-time only
to Wilt Chamberlain’s eight. His effort was evident to anyone who watched him,
and he played with pride.
That type of drive goes a long way in Philadelphia, and in
the NBA.
Iverson’s small stature and frail frame are well-documented,
and if you didn’t know better you might not believe that a guy of that size
dominated a sport predominantly populated by dudes the size of Shaq. But, he
did, and Iverson’s drive and determination demonstrated that attitude and
approach can more than make up for lack of a specific physical tool, and that is
something that any young player, especially one who is trying to follow Iverson’s
footsteps in Philadelphia, should follow.
“It’s definitely inspiring,” Michael Carter-Williams stated after
the Wizards game in regards to the support shown for Iverson throughout the
evening.
“It definitely inspires you to work hard and to do
everything you possibly can to get the love that he had. The whole ceremony, it
would definitely be nice to one day have that.”
Carter-Williams is having an excellent rookie season
considering his circumstances. He was blessed with the size that Iverson wasn’t,
and he has a chance to be something special. Certain areas of his game however need
great improvement, and some nights he is still sure to struggle. It is on those
nights that Carter-Williams can learn from number three. Iverson had plenty of
nights where his shot wasn’t falling, or the defense was taking him out of his
game (something that has already started to happen to Carter-Williams), but he
continued to battle, and that made him an infinitely better player. If
Carter-Williams can channel that aspect of Iverson into his own game, it will go
a long way toward making him the best possible player he can be in the league,
and in endearing himself to a city that is notoriously tough to win over.
While his career may have been complex, Iverson’s explanation
for the adulation that the city has for him is simple.
“I gave everything I had on the basketball court, and the
people of Philadelphia appreciated it.”
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