Remember when LeBron used to actually attempt a game winning shot? Seems like years ago, oh that’s right that’s about as long as it has been. Remember that time Kobe didn’t take the last shot, what about Jordan, or even Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Derrick Rose. I guess they just don’t make MVP’s like they used to.

To say LeBron James has had a great year would be an understatement. If the season ended today his PER (player efficiency rating) of 32.6 would be the best in NBA history, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons. Now that is some great company, the guy can put up 30 points every night without breaking a sweat. Not giving LeBron the MVP, would mean he would have the greatest non MVP season of all time.

Until a better definition comes out we judge the award by the most “valuable” player. LeBron is the best player in the league that would be impossible to argue, but to say LeBron is more valuable to his team than Durrant would be farfetched. James has Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Durant has Russell Westbrook and James Harden. There really is no comparison.

You can win all the great games you want and put up all the meaningless stats you want, but if you can’t be counted on in the clutch you shouldn’t even be mentioned as an MVP. The MVP has to not only make the shot, but want it, and time after time LeBron has shrunk. I put much of this blame on Spoelstra and Wade who repeatedly try to prove everyone wrong that LeBron can make that shot. Spoelstra needs to stop drawing up plays for LeBron unless he wants to be watching the playoffs at home. This isn’t just this week or this year or last year, it’s been NINE years he has never been clutch. LeBron apologist will say “he made that game winner against Orlando”. They were on the verge of getting swept I would hope he would have made one big shot. Find me one MVP that passes up the biggest shot of the game, the picture you will show me is LeBron.

LeBron James is the best player on the planet, that isn’t even debatable. He is the best pure athlete on the planet, he is a genetic freak. Greatest pure athlete to EVER play the game of basketball in my opinion. This is still Dwyane Wade’s team and this is still Miami WADE County, and this team and LeBron go as far as Dwayne Wade takes this team, so LeBron shouldn’t even be in the discussion. LeBron James needs to be careful, because his legacy is starting to get tainted by his fear of taking the big shot. He was practically begging Wade to take the game winner, last night. If you could read his lips I'm sure they said "here save me Wade, I don't want it". He doesn’t have that clutch jean and he never will. Before LeBron can be considered one of the greats or at the very least an MVP, he needs to take the ball in the big moment and do what the greats do: Win. Until then giving this guy the MVP would be a travesty, but then again I guess they don’t make MVP’s like they used to.

               After the recent game in Madison Square Garden against the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks fans have been screaming “the Knicks are back!.”  Don’t get me wrong the atmosphere in New York was electric, and this is great for the NBA.  The Garden was alive and electric, very reminiscent of the 90s when the Bulls and Heat would come in for playoff series.  While the Knicks missed out on their “savior” Lebron James, this could have all been a blessing in disguise.  They got Amare Stoudemire, who is the leading candidate for MVP, and has made the New York Knicks not only the talk of the NBA, but a legitimate playoff team.  The future is bright for the Knicks, with Carmelo and Amare on the same team they will be the team no team wants to play in the playoffs.

               The New York Knicks are back, and here to stay, not so fast.  Let’s not get carried away here, while they’re future is bright; unfortunately we live in the present.  The way the East is they can’t be considered a legitimate threat to win the East.  The Heat, Celtics, Orlando, Atlanta, and Chicago, are all better than the Knicks in a playoff series.  The Celtics also didn’t exactly play their best game of the year, their defense was lacking, and they were sucked into all of the hype in MSG.  They started playing Knicks basketball running up and down the court, which isn’t what they do best.  That being said even though they were sucked into playing the run and gun mike d'antoni offense, they still did it better than the Knicks.  The Knicks got the style of play they wanted in the game, they had the biggest home court advantage in the league, and the Celtics played badly and they still lost.  In a playoff series the Knicks wouldn’t stand a chance against the Celtics, Doc Rivers is a much better coach than mike d'antoni, and he will put the clamps down on defense, because in the end defense wins championships.

               Mike d'antoni has also never proven himself on the big stage.  His Phoenix Suns teams lost every year in the Playoffs, even though they were at times the most talented team in the league.  They simply ran you out of the building with their scoring, but that doesn’t win the playoffs.  He simply can’t make the proper defensive adjustments in a playoff series, any good coach can figure out that offense, let’s not forget that most teams can run and gun, but they simply choose not to.  In order for this team to go anywhere in the playoffs, they have to start playing defense, which isn’t something that d'antoni, has coached in his career.  As the leader of this team Amare needs to set the tone on the defensive end, much like garnet sets the tone for the Celtics on the defensive end.  Perhaps the solution to this problem would be to bring in a defensive stopper, a Bruce Bowen type that can set the tone on defense.  Adding Carmelo Anthony to the team, still will not help them on the defensive side of the ball, Melo has never been much of a defensive player.

               Let us not forget that the Knicks have also played one of the easiest schedules in the NBA.  They have won the games they’re supposed to win, and that’s no knock on the Knicks, you can only win the games your scheduled to play.  The NBA playoffs are a marathon not a sprint, and defense is the way NBA championships are won.  Mike d’antoni isn’t a good enough coach to win a championship, because he doesn’t preach defense on a consistent basis.  I much like every basketball fan realizes how important the Knicks are not only to the NBA, but basketball in general.  It’s huge for the NBA to have that energy in such a big market like it does in L.A.  The energy in the Garden is back, the excitement is back, NBA in the big apple is back in a big way.  So while the Knicks haven’t arrived just yet, they are pulling into the driveway as we speak, and that’s something we can all be excited about.

               Yao Ming’s place among the sport’s greatest big men of all time may be behind names like Shaquille O’ Neal, and Tim Duncan, but his impact on the sport of basketball is untouchable.  While his future seems bleak with the hairline fracture in his left foot, he will never be forgotten.  All across the world the realization that Yao Ming may never play basketball again are real.  From the time he was drafted to the Rockets in 2002 he has felt not only the pressure from the Rockets and the NBA but the hopes and dreams of a people and a country.

                Yao Ming coming into the NBA was a dream for not only David Stern but all basketball fans around the world.  David Stern now had a face to put on his international movement, a player whose character was as high as his talent level.  Unlike other international players Yao embraced the opportunity and hired personal English teachers and grew as an individual and a basketball player.  David Stern and china saw him more as an object than as a human, running him to the ground and ultimately tossing him aside.  From the time he started playing basketball China played him too many summers, and the Rockets played him too many minutes.  He was the most popular player in the world, even shattering all star vote records. 

                As far as the global game goes Yao Ming is the most important player since Michael Jordan.  He’s the reason why China has fallen in love with the NBA, the reason why millions watch his every move.  The NBA outreach to China has opened new doors that were once unimaginable.  Yao Ming is the reason why Kobe Bryant and our NBA stars are treated like movie stars in the Beijing Olympics.

                From the time he arrived into the NBA he was criticized and attacked not only as a player but as a person.  Perhaps it was because in a sport dominated by Americans, no one believed that an Asian could come in and become a star.  He didn’t play like your typical 7 footer, after all he had a jump shot, and we can all remember those videos of Yao Ming shooting 3 pointers in China.  From day one the attacks came and sometimes they pushed beyond just the basketball court and were sometimes needlessly personal.  Perhaps there has never been an athlete that has had the burden that Yao Ming carried on a regular basis.  From carrying the pride of  1/3 of the world on his shoulders, to trying to carry the Rockets to a championship he never complained.    He gained the respect of his peers in the NBA he worked relentlessly and became an unstoppable force on and off the basketball court.

                The Rockets GM is much too good to allow his team to just bottom out.  They have already started to rebuild, sadly without the expectation that yao will be around, but thats what they have to do.  They will make the proper moves to position themselves in the future, and we will always be left with the what if questions about Yao.  what if he could have stayed healthy, would he have been one of the best centers of all time, what records would he have shattered?  Now sadly enough those questions may never have any answers to them, but we have all sat back and enjoyed watching Yao play.

                Basketball and the NBA in particular is full of folk heroes and bigger than life characters that never lived up to their potential.  But make no mistake about it Yao Ming has lived up to his destiny and has lived up to his potential.  As far as the global game goes, no player has meant more to the game of basketball and perhaps no other player has given so much to the game of basketball.  There are players with MVP trophies, and multiple NBA championships that will never leave the legacy that Yao Ming will leave.  Yao Ming will probably be gone for this year, maybe for longer, and maybe for good, but make no mistake about it his legacy will be felt for generations.  As a player, as a fan I can speak for all fans around the world when I say thank you Yao.

This year the Cowboys went from Super Bowl hopefuls in their own stadium, to scouting who they will draft in the top of the draft in what seems like a month.  While it’s easy to blame the coach for the fundamentals, there is more than enough blame to go around in Dallas.  Wade Phillips was fired, because it would have been impossible for Jerry Jones to fire everyone on the roster.  What makes the Dallas disaster so confounding, though, is the core of a team that won 33 games under Phillips the last three seasons -- including two NFC East titles, and last season, the first playoff game in 14 years -- returned utterly intact, with 20 of 22 starters back to build on its accomplishments.  All is not lost though; the Cowboys may be seen in Dallas in the Super Bowl, just at the after parties. 

            The collapse in Dallas is mind boggling, the dropped passes leading to interceptions, the bad tackling, and all the blown coverage’s.  Three straight games surrendering at least 35 points, they have a take give differential that ranks 3rd in the NFL.  Mike Jenkins, who was believed to be an emerging star at corner, has given up countless pass interference penalties.  Make no mistake about it Jason Garret deserves his share of the blame for this debacle.  Jason Garret hasn’t been able to get the run game going, or at least has shown no faith in it working.  Jason Garret has believed that they can win games, with Tony Romo just slinging the ball down the field every drive, well this approach clearly isn’t working, and won’t work.  He has two capable backs that would work in the right system, but Garret has had a hard time sticking to the running game, granted the terrible offensive line doesn’t help.

            Jerry Jones deserves much of the blame, because he can’t seem to take a hands off approach with this team.  He is a bigger than life figure who, takes too much of the attention away from his team.  He made terrible roster cuts on special teams just to save money, and these decisions have cost them games.  Including at the end of the Titans game, when they let Marc Mariani run 73 yards down to the 6, setting up a touchdown that would lose the game for the Cowboys.   When you have a team as talented as the Cowboys and you are not winning, the owner has to make changes and make them quick, before the season is a complete disaster.  Listen, it is apparent to us all that some coaches have "juice" and some don't.  All the Cowboys players rave about being able to play for Wade Phillips, but maybe that’s because he wasn’t tough enough on his “superstar” players. 

            The secondary is terrible; here are the quarterbacks the Cowboys have faced this season: Donovan McNabb, Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub, Vince Young and Brett Favre.  While these are all great quarterbacks they all tend to thrown into coverage’s and the Cowboys only have one interception in these games.  Brett Favre usually throws an interception every time a wrangler commercial comes on.

            I think we can all now agree that Tony Romo is not a “franchise” quarterback.  He ranks 7th or 8th at best in the NFL.  So to put the blame on Romo would be to overrate his ability at quarterback.  I was never a fan of his quick side armed release, his passes are easily batted down at the line of scrimmage, and his receivers have a hard time seeing the ball when it’s released.  Someone should have shown Tony Romo the proper way to throw a football, but that should have been done a long time ago.  He has been getting Williams more and more involved in the offense, which is a good sign for the Cowboys moving on.  He was never drafted to be “the guy” and he isn’t a guy that’s going to lead the league in any particular statistic.  He is a good quarterback just not a “great” quarterback, for anyone to call him overrated, simply gave him more credit than he deserved. 

            Let’s be clear Wade Phillips was never meant to be a head coach, he was a great coordinator who got misplaced on the sidelines.  To blame the coach would be too easy on a team that has problems across the board.  He isn’t one of the top coach’s in the NFL, bottom-line he never was and he never will be.  He inherited a great team and he was put in there to, make sure these guys do their jobs and don’t fall apart.  So while Wade Phillips may have gotten the ax in Dallas, the fault of the team continues to be pointed at a guy that wasn’t the main problem

From the day he entered the league Tim Duncan has been the kind of guy that stands out, well because he doesn’t stand out.  He is the best powerforward to ever play the game, but try not to tell him about it, because he would prefer to remain lowkey  He comes to work everyday, doesn’t complain doesn’t make headlines, just performs on a consistant basis every single night.  Duncan has been a winner since his first year in the league, when he orchestrated what, at the time, was the largest single-season turnaround in NBA history.  Tim Duncan is his era’s greatest big man, sure Shaq was more dominant, but domination does not always equal greatness.  Tim Duncan is what every powerforward should strive to be, he never had any huge shoe contracts he never did any commercials, he was a basketball player.  He doesn’t growl and bark and call people cancer patients, he plays basketball.

            Duncan has amassed incredible individual accolades along the way, including eleven trips to the All-Star game, two NBA MVP’s, 12 All-NBA teams and twelve All-Defensive Teams.  He is a threat on the offensive end with his underrated passing skills, and he terrorizes offenses on the defensive end with his rebounding and blocking skills.  He has transfromed his game from an eager yet consistent and dominant rookie to a polished superstar without changing his demeanor or approach.  In his career he has averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds, and 3 assist, he is a walking double double night in and night out.  He has over 10,000 rebounds, and over 2,000 blocked shots.  When someone asked him what he thought about his achievments Timmy said “it just means I’m getting older”.  He single handedly changed a struggling franchise to one of the top franchises in the NBA.

            He has carried inferior supporting casts to actual championships, and is one of the greatest players of this generation.  Duncans biggest asset is the way he comes through in the clutch where he really excels, and opens up his offensive reputoire.  Malone would settle for tossing up turnaround jumpers over his right shoulder from the left box whereas Duncan reaches into his bag of tricks.

            Tim Duncan should be considered in the NBA’s top 15 players to ever play the game.  I say this because half of the game of basketball is played on the defensive end, where too many players overlook steady defense.  Too many players go for the flashy steals and blocks, while these may look good on sportscenter too many times the steals are missed which leads to an open shot.  The argument can be made that Tim Duncan isn’t a true powerforward and that he played center for much of his career.  Yes in college he did play center, but for the majority of his career he has played powerforward, most players change positions through their career (the triangle offense requires that on a regular basis).  Duncan has become the epitome of what a basketball player should be, we’ve seen this man grow up right before our eyes, yet most of us haven’t even noticed, and Timmy wouldn’t have it any other way.

Oh my how things have changed for the beloved Brett Favre.  Over the past few years Brett Favre has been able to make us forget all of his bad passes and all of his interceptions, by just giving us a wink and a smile that made him so impossible not to love. 

            So now that he is no longer so easy to embrace, as those circuitous monologues look less like stream of consciousness and more like a cover for something hidden beneath.  He has now become, what many athletes are hated in public, but loved in the locker room.  How has this 4- year old fallen so fast and so hard?  Was it his arrogance in never wanting to come to training camp, and developing the trust with other receivers besides Sydney Rice?  Was it when he publicly criticized his coach, and caused controversy early in the season?

            The innocence is gone. The training camps missed, the dramas created – the accusation that he sent photographs of his genitals to a Jets sideline reporter.  Make no mistake about it Brett Favre has turned into an old man right before our eyes on national television.  Sexual Harassment is never okay, but when your 40 years old sending pictures of your testicles to a reporter, it’s downright embarrassing.  He hasn’t proclaimed his innocence through this whole thing; he has dodged the questions left and right.  What else, are we to expect from Brett Favre, he can do anything and the public will always love him?  But this time around it’s different; he isn’t winning games if anything Brett Favre is the problem in Minnesota and not the solution. 

            Monday night on what should have been the biggest game of the year.  Brett Favre was forced to confront his teammates about how much of a distraction he has become.  He looks like the man who should have retired, last year when he was an interception away from making it to the Super Bowl.  His 264 yards passing and three touchdowns look better on a stats sheet than they did in the game. In the end he was still the quarterback of a football team with two brilliant receivers and a dominating running back and yet a 1-3 record.

            If his age hasn’t caught up to him, these recent allegations certainly have.  It’s hard to believe in a leader if the league is investigating whether the pictures of a male private part floating around the Internet is his.  Say he does manage to bring the Vikings back from this terrible start, let’s say he does the impossible and gets them into the playoffs and makes Moss the man he once was in Minnesota, what then?  What is left for Brett Favre is it Super Bowl or bust?  Because the way it looks right now the season is going to be a bust, and the Vikings will be stuck without a quarterback next year, in the same place they were in 3 years ago when they begged Brett Favre to be their savior.

            For now the Vikings support him you can tell by the way they pat him on the back, and lend him support.  It’s changed now though, these aren’t, the we will get them next time pats on the back Brett Favre used to get.  The Vikings players know that without Brett Favre they have no chance of even making the playoffs, they need the old Brett to even have a chance.  The players know they went all in, when they decided to bring in Brett Favre, it was all or nothing. 

            But how much longer can they believe in Brett if he can no longer bring them victories.  Can they believe in a man that may be on the verge of being suspended by the NFL?  Make no mistake about it the Vikings are losing faith in Brett Favre and along with his departure next year could be a few more.  Brad Childress the head coach will have to take the fall for this, after all he was the one that brought him in, and got away from Adrian Peterson. 

             He was asked if he was guilty of the allegations.

“If you want to talk about what happened in the football game I would love to,” he said. “I would love to talk about Randy Moss’s touchdown catch.”

            He was asked if he thought the charges were embarrassing.

“I’m embarrassed we lost this football game,” he said. “I thought we gave a great effort. We had a chance to win the game with 40 or 50 yards. They are a good defense but we are a good offense.”

            Brett smiled and he chuckled and a few people chuckled back.  Brett you’ve aged in front of an entire nation this season, and you can no longer get away with being good old Brett.  The innocence is gone and will be gone until you answer these allegations; Brett is no longer the lovable athlete he once was.  I said it before the season started and I will say it again, the Vikings are better off without Brett Favre, they need a quarterback to manage the game and just hand it to Adrian Peterson.  If Brett fails a lot of people will lose their jobs, because of his decision to come back when he knew he couldn’t.  The lovable man and personality of Brett Favre is no longer with us, the player may not be far behind. 

                Yao Ming’s place among the sport’s greatest big men of all time may be behind names like Shaquille O’ Neal, and Tim Duncan, but his impact on the sport of basketball is untouchable.  While his future seems bleak with the hairline fracture in his left foot, he will never be forgotten.  All across the world the realization that Yao Ming may never play basketball again are real.  From the time he was drafted to the Rockets in 2002 he has felt not only the pressure from the Rockets and the NBA but the hopes and dreams of a people and a country.

                Yao Ming coming into the NBA was a dream for not only David Stern but all basketball fans around the world.  David Stern now had a face to put on his international movement, a player whose character was as high as his talent level.  Unlike other international players Yao embraced the opportunity and hired personal English teachers and grew as an individual and a basketball player.  David Stern and china saw him more as an object than as a human, running him to the ground and ultimately tossing him aside.  From the time he started playing basketball China played him too many summers, and the Rockets played him too many minutes.  He was the most popular player in the world, even shattering all star vote records. 

                As far as the global game goes Yao Ming is the most important player since Michael Jordan.  He’s the reason why China has fallen in love with the NBA, the reason why millions watch his every move.  The NBA outreach to China has opened new doors that were once unimaginable.  Yao Ming is the reason why Kobe Bryant and our NBA stars are treated like movie stars in the Beijing Olympics.

                From the time he arrived into the NBA he was criticized and attacked not only as a player but as a person.  Perhaps it was because in a sport dominated by Americans, no one believed that an Asian could come in and become a star.  He didn’t play like your typical 7 footer, after all he had a jump shot, and we can all remember those videos of Yao Ming shooting 3 pointers in China.  From day one the attacks came and sometimes they pushed beyond just the basketball court and were sometimes needlessly personal.  Perhaps there has never been an athlete that has had the burden that Yao Ming carried on a regular basis.  From carrying the pride of  1/3 of the world on his shoulders, to trying to carry the Rockets to a championship he never complained.    He gained the respect of his peers in the NBA he worked relentlessly and became an unstoppable force on and off the basketball court.

                The Rockets GM is much too good to allow his team to just bottom out.  With the signing of Trevor Ariza which could turn out to become a bargain they have made good moves this off season.  Former superstar Tracy Mcgrady is nothing but an expiring contract and Yao Ming may become known as the biggest what if story in sports history. 

                Basketball and the NBA in particular is full of folk heroes and bigger than life characters that never lived up to their potential.  But make no mistake about it Yao Ming has lived up to his destiny and has lived up to his potential.  As far as the global game goes, no player has meant more to the game of basketball and perhaps no other player has given so much to the game of basketball.  There are players with MVP trophies, and multiple NBA championships that will never leave the legacy that Yao Ming will leave.  Yao Ming will probably be gone for this year, maybe for longer, and maybe for good, but make no mistake about it his legacy will be felt for generations.  As a player, as a fan I can speak for all fans around the world when I say thank you Yao.

Throughout this entire summer Allen Iverson has been looking for a place he can call home once again.  After leaving Philadelphia it seems that Allen Iverson can’t seem to find any team that wants him on the team?  Is there any reason why no team wants to pick him up, his heart and desire for the game have never been questioned and he is considered to be a lock in hall of famer.  So why is Allen Iverson currently not on any NBA roster, the answer is simple because Allen Iverson is one of the most overrated players of all time.  No team is a good fit for Allen Iverson and the simple reason is that he is all about Allen Iverson not about winning.

            Allen Iverson plays his heart out every game and would want nothing more than to finish his career with an NBA championship.  However, he has only made it past the second round of the playoffs one time and won his division once in his career.  That one time he won his division was when the East was so bad that they might as well have just given the Lakers the championship after winning the West.  Not to mention that he had a great supporting casts that season, any “superstar” should have been able to do what he did that postseason.  What supposed future hall of famer doesn’t make their team better; after all he didn’t make the Nuggets or the Pistons any better these last couple of seasons.  Could you imagine if Dwayne Wade or any other future hall of famer had been traded to those teams they would be championship contenders by now.

            Perhaps Iverson’s most overrated stat is his defensive stats.  Iverson was and always will be a terrible individual defender, who gets beat way too much.  Spare me all of his steals stats because those are some of the most overrated stats in the NBA.  Of course he gets a lot of steals, because he goes for the steal way to often which in turn leaves his team in vulnerable positions.  He has been and always will be a liability on the defensive end of the basketball court.

            He was never a true point guard in this league because he has too much of a shoot first mentality.  When Iverson has the ball the offense comes to a complete stop there’s no more ball movement and no more open shots.  Iverson on offense is all about Iverson, give it to Iverson and what happens is dribble dribble dribble dribble shoot, oh it barely hit the rim.  When Allen Iverson has the ball all we see is him over and over again twisting and turning through a forest of arms and legs of bigger guys.  It’s almost like people become blinded by this and don’t see his crummy field goal percentage and blinded by the fact that no team is better with Allen Iverson.

            No team will ever win with Allen Iverson because he is not the point guard that he wants so desperately to be.  Bring him on any team and you create a cancer, not only do you take away shots from younger players who probably shoot it at a better percentage, you also create turmoil in the locker room.  Even those who do not agree with me would agree that Iverson is no role model for younger players in this league, exhibit one would be how Melo has changed with the presence of Billups.  He's a liability on the defensive end and on the offensive end also yeah he can light it up for 25 or 30 every once in a while but most of the time he lights it up on the shot count not the points.

            So those are the reasons why Allen Iverson is perhaps the most overrated player in NBA history.  Iverson supporters would say he took his team to the finals, that was the worst I have ever seen the Eastern conference and somebody had to win it just happened to be him.  His steals are greatly overrated because he goes for them too often and leaves his team in bad defensive position.  Iverson’s version of NBA offense is hand me the ball and watch me weave and out of traffic only to barely hit the rim.  Iverson will always be loved because he was glorified by shoe companies and commercials that were hungry for the next big thing.  Fact is Allen Iverson and Tracy Mcgrady are two of the most overrated players in history, not because they lack the talent to be great, but because they will be future hall of famers that left no lasting impression on this league.  In conclusion I believe Allen Iverson is homeless right now because he just isn’t that good.

.

Throughout this entire summer Allen Iverson has been looking for a place he can call home once again.  After leaving Philadelphia it seems that Allen Iverson can’t seem to find any team that wants him on the team?  Is there any reason why no team wants to pick him up, his heart and desire for the game have never been questioned and he is considered to be a lock in hall of famer.  So why is Allen Iverson currently not on any NBA roster, the answer is simple because Allen Iverson is one of the most overrated players of all time.  No team is a good fit for Allen Iverson and the simple reason is that he is all about Allen Iverson not about winning.

            Allen Iverson plays his heart out every game and would want nothing more than to finish his career with an NBA championship.  However, he has only made it past the second round of the playoffs one time and won his division once in his career.  That one time he won his division was when the East was so bad that they might as well have just given the Lakers the championship after winning the West.  Not to mention that he had a great supporting casts that season, any “superstar” should have been able to do what he did that postseason.  What supposed future hall of famer doesn’t make their team better; after all he didn’t make the Nuggets or the Pistons any better these last couple of seasons.  Could you imagine if Dwayne Wade or any other future hall of famer had been traded to those teams they would be championship contenders by now.

            Perhaps Iverson’s most overrated stat is his defensive stats.  Iverson was and always will be a terrible individual defender, who gets beat way too much.  Spare me all of his steals stats because those are some of the most overrated stats in the NBA.  Of course he gets a lot of steals, because he goes for the steal way to often which in turn leaves his team in vulnerable positions.  He has been and always will be a liability on the defensive end of the basketball court.

            He was never a true point guard in this league because he has too much of a shoot first mentality.  When Iverson has the ball the offense comes to a complete stop there’s no more ball movement and no more open shots.  Iverson on offense is all about Iverson, give it to Iverson and what happens is dribble dribble dribble dribble shoot, oh it barely hit the rim.  When Allen Iverson has the ball all we see is him over and over again twisting and turning through a forest of arms and legs of bigger guys.  It’s almost like people become blinded by this and don’t see his crummy field goal percentage and blinded by the fact that no team is better with Allen Iverson.

            No team will ever win with Allen Iverson because he is not the point guard that he wants so desperately to be.  Bring him on any team and you create a cancer, not only do you take away shots from younger players who probably shoot it at a better percentage, you also create turmoil in the locker room.  Even those who do not agree with me would agree that Iverson is no role model for younger players in this league, exhibit one would be how Melo has changed with the presence of Billups.  He's a liability on the defensive end and on the offensive end also yeah he can light it up for 25 or 30 every once in a while but most of the time he lights it up on the shot count not the points.

            So those are the reasons why Allen Iverson is perhaps the most overrated player in NBA history.  Iverson supporters would say he took his team to the finals, that was the worst I have ever seen the Eastern conference and somebody had to win it just happened to be him.  His steals are greatly overrated because he goes for them too often and leaves his team in bad defensive position.  Iverson’s version of NBA offense is hand me the ball and watch me weave and out of traffic only to barely hit the rim.  Iverson will always be loved because he was glorified by shoe companies and commercials that were hungry for the next big thing.  Fact is Allen Iverson and Tracy Mcgrady are two of the most overrated players in history, not because they lack the talent to be great, but because they will be future hall of famers that left no lasting impression on this league.  In conclusion I believe Allen Iverson is homeless right now because he just isn’t that good.

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Throughout this entire summer Allen Iverson has been looking for a place he can call home once again.  After leaving Philadelphia it seems that Allen Iverson can’t seem to find any team that wants him on the team?  Is there any reason why no team wants to pick him up, his heart and desire for the game have never been questioned and he is considered to be a lock in hall of famer.  So why is Allen Iverson currently not on any NBA roster, the answer is simple because Allen Iverson is one of the most overrated players of all time.  No team is a good fit for Allen Iverson and the simple reason is that he is all about Allen Iverson not about winning.

            Allen Iverson plays his heart out every game and would want nothing more than to finish his career with an NBA championship.  However, he has only made it past the second round of the playoffs one time and won his division once in his career.  That one time he won his division was when the East was so bad that they might as well have just given the Lakers the championship after winning the West.  Not to mention that he had a great supporting casts that season, any “superstar” should have been able to do what he did that postseason.  What supposed future hall of famer doesn’t make their team better; after all he didn’t make the Nuggets or the Pistons any better these last couple of seasons.  Could you imagine if Dwayne Wade or any other future hall of famer had been traded to those teams they would be championship contenders by now.

            Perhaps Iverson’s most overrated stat is his defensive stats.  Iverson was and always will be a terrible individual defender, who gets beat way too much.  Spare me all of his steals stats because those are some of the most overrated stats in the NBA.  Of course he gets a lot of steals, because he goes for the steal way to often which in turn leaves his team in vulnerable positions.  He has been and always will be a liability on the defensive end of the basketball court.

            He was never a true point guard in this league because he has too much of a shoot first mentality.  When Iverson has the ball the offense comes to a complete stop there’s no more ball movement and no more open shots.  Iverson on offense is all about Iverson, give it to Iverson and what happens is dribble dribble dribble dribble shoot, oh it barely hit the rim.  When Allen Iverson has the ball all we see is him over and over again twisting and turning through a forest of arms and legs of bigger guys.  It’s almost like people become blinded by this and don’t see his crummy field goal percentage and blinded by the fact that no team is better with Allen Iverson.

            No team will ever win with Allen Iverson because he is not the point guard that he wants so desperately to be.  Bring him on any team and you create a cancer, not only do you take away shots from younger players who probably shoot it at a better percentage, you also create turmoil in the locker room.  Even those who do not agree with me would agree that Iverson is no role model for younger players in this league, exhibit one would be how Melo has changed with the presence of Billups.  He's a liability on the defensive end and on the offensive end also yeah he can light it up for 25 or 30 every once in a while but most of the time he lights it up on the shot count not the points.

            So those are the reasons why Allen Iverson is perhaps the most overrated player in NBA history.  Iverson supporters would say he took his team to the finals, that was the worst I have ever seen the Eastern conference and somebody had to win it just happened to be him.  His steals are greatly overrated because he goes for them too often and leaves his team in bad defensive position.  Iverson’s version of NBA offense is hand me the ball and watch me weave and out of traffic only to barely hit the rim.  Iverson will always be loved because he was glorified by shoe companies and commercials that were hungry for the next big thing.  Fact is Allen Iverson and Tracy Mcgrady are two of the most overrated players in history, not because they lack the talent to be great, but because they will be future hall of famers that left no lasting impression on this league.  In conclusion I believe Allen Iverson is homeless right now because he just isn’t that good.

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Watching the NBA postseason this year has many people wondering if this will be the year Kobe Bryant is able to win a championship without the help of Shaquille O’Neal.  Now that Kobe Bryant is on the verge of winning an NBA championship without the help of Superman will he ever get the respect he deserves, or will his “supporting cast” be given all of the credit for his accomplishment. 

            In a year where he helped the United States win gold in the Olympics Kobe Bryant this postseason has elevated his career postseason statistics in almost every category.  He is averaging in the top 5 in almost every offensive statistic this postseason and his supporting cast often times gets much more praise then they deserve.  The Lakers only have two players in the top ten in scoring this postseason and Kobe Bryant is at the top of that list.  By comparison the Orlando Magic have four players in the top 10 in scoring this postseason.  He has also elevated his points per game and assists per game here in the finals.  In this years finals he has averaged more points per game then any of his prior playoff series in his career. 

            So I ask myself why does Kobe Bryant not get any credit for all of these achievements.  After all Shaquille O’Neal needed the help of Dwayne Wade who had one of the best finals performances of all time in that series against the Mavericks.  Kobe Bryant has an aging point guard in Derrick Fisher, and a center in Andrew Bynum who can’t seem to remember how to play without fouling.  That being said he does have quite possibly the most underrated big man in the league in Pau Gasol.  

            I believe the reason why Kobe Bryant has not and will never receive the respect he deserves among his peers is because of his drive to win at all cost.  In a recent poll Kobe Bryant was 3rd on the list of players NBA players would not want to play on a team with only behind Ron Artest and Starbury.  Any player who does not want to play on a team with Kobe Bryant obviously does not want to win and that’s why they are watching the playoffs at home.  People don’t hate Kobe Bryant for obvious reasons like his talent which is undisputable and amazing to watch or because he sold out Shaq, or because he's an adulterer, or because his face looks like a weasel, or because every time he gets breathed on a foul is called. 

            No people hate Kobe Bryant because he is Jordan's most talented immediate successor, and everyone including myself hates to admit that but it is undeniable.  Kobe Bryant has plagiarized MMS’s game so much that in some ways he has surpassed the master.  Kobe Bryant is much stronger than Michael Jordan ever was and he possesses a much deadlier outside shot.  What he does lack is Jordan’s Charisma and imagination and Jordan’s general sense of awe.  Every time anyone ever saw Michael Jordan they were left with a memory they may never forget the same thing can not be said about Kobe Bryant.  When Michael Jordan played it seemed more authentic and felt like every game meant something, Kobe lacks that mythology that Jordan had every time he stepped on the court. Jordan was able to build his empire on his attitude swagger and his celebratory gestures.  Kobe’s gestures are all either borrowed or embarrassingly bad. 

            In the end hating an athlete isn't like hating an actual person. It's like hating a character in a novel. The hatred is exceptionally pure and completely contained within the parameters of the game.  Nobody hates Kobe as a person but he has almost become a character in a movie, it has become accepted to hate Kobe Bryant.  After all Steve Nash won the MVP by essentially becoming the Anti-Kobe Bryant.  Lebron James is making a name for himself by becoming the Anti-Kobe Bryant.  In the end the sad truth maybe that we will never remember Kobe Bryant for the player he is and was, but for the character he portrayed himself as.  It has become a past time in the NBA to hate Kobe Bryant, when he came into the league he wanted so badly to become the next Michael Jordan, but as the saying goes be careful what you wish for he has tried to live up to something that he was never capable of becoming he was never destined to become Jordan.