Is Iverson one of the most overrated players of all time?

Question

I respect the sentimentality of a small, tough guy succeeding in the NBA- but that aside, Iverson is unbelievably overrated- probably also because people love his handles, but overlook the other flaws in his game.

He's a guy who has never shot better than his team's average field goal percentage, has been an inconsistent shooter his entire career, is extremely turnover prone, is a ball stopper, plays no defense most of the time (mostly because he doesn't feel like it) and aside from getting steals, he just gambles defensively.

He got an MVP in 2001 over far more deserving guys in Shaq and Duncan- both of whom were fare more efficient offensively and better defensively.

And, don't cite that 2001 Finals as a reason to say he's not overrated- that team was tailor made to hide his weaknesses- mainly defense- with good to great defensive players in Mutombo, McKie, and Snow, and he was playing in probably the weakest Eastern Conference in the last thirty years.

There's a reason the 76ers didn't become any worse, record wise, after he got traded.

Answer 1

i disagree, he can still drop some crazy points on some teams. i actually agree slightly but i have to stuck to my gut and say that he is an EASY hall of famer.

Answer 2

LeBrick is your real user "Beast of the East"?

Answer 3

i dont think he is that overrated.. he will be remembered for exactly what he is which is the greatest scorer in nba history for his size(generously listed at 6'0) and for having a horrible attitude early in his career(who can forget the "practice" press conference) .. he did deserve that mvp i mean he led the sixers to the finals and a game 1 victory over the lakers.. i mean no one else on that sixers team was even close to being an all star.. but there is no debating that, come gametime, he will be ready to play and give it everything he has..

Answer 4

disagree...

-3rd ALL-TIME ppg among all current and past players (Only Jordan and Wilt have higher 30.1)

-20th in ALL-TIME scoring among all current and past players

-5th in ALL-TIME spg among all current and past players

-13th in ALL-TIME steals among all current and past players

-15th ALL-TIME in free throws made among all current and past players

-This year he had 26.4 ppg (3rd in the league) 7.1 apg and 2 spg

EDIT: Hurt who on his team? Mckie? Snow? Old Mutombo (Who has never been considered a offensive player)? Thats far from an All-Star cast of players, he didn't have any good player's on the 76ers period, they were lucky to get to the Finals, no matter how weak the Eastern Conference was, not to mention be the only team to beat the Lakers in the Playoffs that year.

Look at his stats with Denver, his FG% has went up now that he has some talent around him, and to be considered and old ball hog, he has dished more than 7apg for the last couple of years.

Answer 5

Git da f**k outta here. He aint even close to bein overrated.

Answer 6

i dont know if i would call him overrated, but i agree with u on everything else. I actually posted a question kind of like this one a little bit ago.  I think he is one of the best 1 on 1 players the game has ever seen but it stops there.  He will never win a championship cause he wont sacrifice his stats for the team

Answer 7

Do you know who has the Third highest Career ppg behind Jordan and Wilt

Iverson

So how can you say he is overrated when he is mention over great names like Magic, Bird, Isiah, so on

And plus he brings a lot of energy leadership, and is a good ball handler who can dish the ball off to the open man when he is being doubled

And why are you asking the question, you dont seem to be interested in the variety in answers.  You already know your stuff, and are convinced you are right, and everyone who disagrees with you is wrong

Answer 8

yes i think he is!!

Answer 9

Nope, Kobe is.

Answer 10

i agree, however i am surprised that some people actually considered that he dominated the 90's era



(to the guy below me yes and i changed my name for a bit cause i dont like lebron, i will eventually change it back, why do u ask?)

Answer 11

I agree with you.

Answer 12

I think he is very overrated. Of all-time...I don't know, but that's definitely not an overstatement.

Iverson's stat line is impressive when you look at the positives...

27.7 points per game

6.3 assist per game

2.3 steals per game

But when you compare the negatives side by side, you'll see how he struggled to get those numbers;

27.7 points, by taking 22.6 shots, but only shooting 42% from the feild, 31% from three, and 78% from the line.

6.3 assist and 2.3 steals, but also averaged 3.7 turnovers per game

I'd hate to make this comparison, but the only other person in NBA history who has that high of a usage rating and took that many shots per game was Michael Jordan. We all know what his stats looked like;

30.1 points, taking 23 shots, shooting 50% from the 33% from three and 84% from the line.

5.3 assist and 2.3 steals per game, only turning the ball over 2.7 times a game.

The difference is Michael's positives outweigh his negatives. He carried that scoring and defensive load with ease, while Iverson misses many more shots than he makes, gets almost 2 turnovers per steal he gets and has a less than 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio.

The most disappointing thing about A.I. is, while he was one of the quickest and most athletic players ever, he never played smart basketball. Had he played a style similar to say, Chris Paul, more of a pass first point guard I think we'd be seeing a much better, much more efficient career.

Answer 13

He's not the MOST overrated player of all time, that's a stretch, but he is overrated. He's know for his "scoring ability" and his "sick handles" which makes him popular in urban communities. To be honest, when he was traded to my Denver Nuggets for a great pure PG like Andre Miller I was upset. All my friends were talking about how great the Nuggets would be with Melo and Iverson. That sure turned out great. Aside from being a very good inside scorer, Iverson never demonstrated a good all around offensive game. Hes a poor shooter, 31% lifetime 3pt shooter, not very strong or physical, his height making him seem as a great cut/drive player but he really isn't, he often converts lucky tough shots and gets majority of his points from the charity stripe as he has to get calls due to his height, and hes never demonstrated great leadership as a point guard, something he obviously is not. What Iverson has taken advantage of however is his speed and ability to draw his own fouls. He takes beatings during games because he forces contact to pick up those fouls. Thats something we have to give him credit for because he does play through injuries and he will play all 48 minutes. Iverson's teams however are never successful. Yes, Larry Brown was talking about practice in 2002 because you not showing up to practice makes you a locker room cancer, and a bad example to the young players. Iverson does not play defense and gets his steals playing passing lanes, which is risky because you can very easily let up easy points. Iverson takes too many shots. There is a certain point where Iverson needs to come in and take over a certain part of the game, but he is not on the court to take 25 shots per game. I really give him credit for maturing as a Nuggets and for one, not being in any legal trouble, and two, taking much less shots and being way more effective on offense. He shot 46% from the field and posed a 2.5 Assits to turnover ratio, which is actually really good for a "superstar". So to answer your OVERALL question, no Iverson is not the most overrated superstar, because there have been many, needless to say, the game was much different in the past. But Iverson is VERY overrated as a player, as a point guard, and as a scorer, something hes strictly known for.

Answer 14

You do make some fair points, but so does AI. Around thirty points per game, that is; third most in NBA history. It's hard to argue with that.

Answer 15

h**l no

Answer 16

i extremely  disagree with that saying that AI is the most overrated player of all time? o c'mon men... he deserves all the praises that he gets because he know how to accept criticism,and taking all the responsibility of his losing team...

its not easy for a barely 6 feet guy to score 30 points a game ,allen iverson have to take a shot from bigger guys to get near into the  basket which make him frail tired and all banged up after every game,



for the record allen iverson led the league for in steals many times in a season, nobody seems to notice that. he wasn't even been a part of all defensive once in his career in spite of that fact...

larry hughes won a most defensive award because he averaged 2. plus steals per game. they should also give allen iverson his due.am i right about that?? try not to criticize allen iverson defense..he was an underrated player after all..

aaron mckie eric snow do you know who are these guys??compared to shaquille o'neal kobe bryant robert horry??

btw kobe took more shots than allen iverson if there's a less efficient guy its not allen iverson