nba coach of the year的八卦，YOUTUBE和Yahoo名人娛樂都在討論

太陽的總教練 Monty Williams 當選 NBA 教練總會年度最佳教練！

By @Talk Talk NBA

如果你還不知道的話，火箭用七個人加一首輪，還有現金去換CP3...

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Adrian Wojnarowski @WojVerticalNBA

Source: Terms of Clippers-Rockets deal: For @CP3,
Houston sends Williams, Beverley, Dekker, Liggins, Hilliard, Harrell, Wiltjer, FRP + $661K
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Michael Eaves 是現任ESPN的主播，他稍早針對了快艇火箭交易做了一些內幕的陳述，這個我認為還需要一些內部證實，不過這種球隊內部爆料嘛，就先看誰會在這個爆料後得利就好。我先簡單做一些翻譯，再來針對這件事情做些評論。

1. CP3 跟教練Doc的關係是自從教練的兒子Austin Rivers到球隊之後開始惡化，簡單的說球隊成員們都認為小河仗著他老爸是教練兼總冠，在核心隊友希望小河能做的事他都不願聽老鳥的話，更衣室氣氛也不會好。

2. CP3 認為教練偏袒兒子，兩個情況，第一教練在球員犯錯時大喊，但他兒子出現一樣的狀況時，不論在比賽或在練習，教練會睜一隻眼閉一隻眼。第二，原本快艇有機會迎來Carmelo Anthony，但
這筆交易必須把他自己兒子打包，教練兼總管（兼老爸）就不願意了。

（雖然說這筆交易從帳面上看起來快艇根本是搶劫，不太可能會成真，不過這畢竟是偏CP3陣營的說法，大家姑且先相信。）

這些舉動讓CP3覺得，教練兼總管兼老爸，似乎老河流比較重視當老爸，沒有想要讓球隊透過交易更強。

3. CP3沒有跳出他的球員選項，也就是說明年他在火箭將會有完整的鳥權（簡單說就是母隊可以用更大的錢但比較小的薪資空間留人，但母隊現在變成火箭）加上火箭所在的德州又可以不用繳德州的所得稅。

4. 一年在火箭的合約，可以給CP3很大的彈性，萬一跟鬍子處不好也只有一年，明年說不定可以跟幾個大牌的自由球員組團。現在的情況是他們LeBron James都非常的有彈性，他們兩個可以一起挑一隊新的球隊一起加入。

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以下簡評：
CP3這時候離隊，再透過Michael Eaves放出這個消息，把責任都怪到球隊管理階層上面。這根本就是多贏的局面，我實在是太佩服CP3場上跟場下的能力。

首先，CP3先告知球隊，等於是逼球隊要交易掉他，但是讓球隊不至於血本無歸，這在社會輿論跟公關上面，是一個很好的招數，不論交易的球員是不是對等，至少跟前面幾個報團的球員不一樣。我就不要說誰了，大家自己填空。

第二，CP3目前一毛錢都沒有少拿，甚至還為自己明年的兩種狀況都做了最好的打算，如果跟鬍子與球隊現在正在想辦法抓的第三隻大牌球員融合的好，那撐一下在生涯末期以主力球員身份撈個冠軍，不是不可能。如果狀況不好，拍拍屁股閃人去跟Lebron James再組一團也沒有什麼，只打一年球迷也沒什麼好怪的。反正CP3不管在哪裡他都會是主力控球，不會是在板凳上等領戒指的人。

這個時間點真的太完美了，我對於CP3的佩服真的又高一個檔次，而『報團』的這個情況，將會是我對NBA這個10年的代表詞彙。今年還沒結束，事實上也才剛開始，我們還可以期待很多隻球隊要怎麼組隊，這齣戲將會一直延續到2018年。

勇士隊，都是你們害的，大家都在組團針對你們了！

Here's some information on the Chris Paul trade. First the MICRO:

Paul's relationship with Doc Rivers started to deteriorate rapidly after the Clippers acquired Austin Rivers. Several members of the team felt Austin acted entitled because his dad was both the coach and the President of Basketball Operations. In the view of the tenured players, Austin Rivers never tried to fit in, and when players tried to address the situation with him, he still did not respond the way the core of the team wanted him to. It led to resentment within the locker room, which often played out during games. One of Paul's biggest contentions with Doc was that Paul, and other players, felt Doc treated Austin more favorably than other players. He would yell at guys for certain things during games and practices, but not get on Austin in the same manner for similar transgressions.

But what really solidified Paul's dissatisfaction with Doc was a proposed trade involving Carmelo Anthony last season. New York offered Carmelo and Sasha Vujacic to the Clippers in exchange for Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce and Austin Rivers, a deal to which Rivers ultimately said no. That event led Paul to feel that keeping his son on the roster was more important to Doc than improving the team. So, ultimately, Paul lost both trust and faith in Doc. As one league executive put it, "Chris despises Doc."

(I was also told that when Paul met with the team to inform them of his plans, Jerry West was not in attendance. It was only Doc and Lawrence Frank.)

MACRO

This move is a win-win for Chris Paul, and it was all part of a master plan. By opting into the final year of his current contract and pressuring the Clippers to trade him to Houston, Paul will be in the exact same situation next summer. He can re-sign with the Rockets for 5 years and $200+ million or sign a 4-year deal for about $150 million with another team. In addition, he will save several million dollars in state income tax.

Also, by being committed to the Rockets for only one season, it gives him a year to see if he can actually co-exist and pursue a title with James Harden. But even beyond that, this move gives Paul more flexibility to join LeBron James in 2018. If he stayed in LA or signed the max deal with the Clippers and forced them to do a sign-and-trade with the Rockets, Paul and LeBron could only join forces at one location. Now, they will have the ability to pick and choose wherever they want to go as a tandem, which could be Houston, LA {Lakers or Clippers (provided Doc is no longer with organization)}, or any other destination in-between.

Word by LBJ!


https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=548349265268946&id=236831853087357&set=a.373752049395336.1073741828.236831853087357

LeBron James is going home, great day for sports and NBA fans. He made the right decision.

LeBron's thoughts on returning home.

"Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart. People there have seen me grow up. I sometimes feel like I’m their son. Their passion can be overwhelming. But it drives me. I want to give them hope when I can. I want to inspire them when I can. My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now.

Remember when I was sitting up there at the Boys & Girls Club in 2010? I was thinking, This is really tough. I could feel it. I was leaving something I had spent a long time creating. If I had to do it all over again, I’d obviously do things differently, but I’d still have left. Miami, for me, has been almost like college for other kids. These past four years helped raise me into who I am. I became a better player and a better man. I learned from a franchise that had been where I wanted to go. I will always think of Miami as my second home. Without the experiences I had there, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today.

I went to Miami because of D-Wade and CB. We made sacrifices to keep UD. I loved becoming a big bro to Rio. I believed we could do something magical if we came together. And that’s exactly what we did! The hardest thing to leave is what I built with those guys. I’ve talked to some of them and will talk to others. Nothing will ever change what we accomplished. We are brothers for life. I also want to thank Micky Arison and Pat Riley for giving me an amazing four years.

I’m doing this essay because I want an opportunity to explain myself uninterrupted. I don’t want anyone thinking: He and Erik Spoelstra didn’t get along. … He and Riles didn’t get along. … The Heat couldn’t put the right team together. That’s absolutely not true.

I’m not having a press conference or a party. After this, it’s time to get to work.

When I left Cleveland, I was on a mission. I was seeking championships, and we won two. But Miami already knew that feeling. Our city hasn’t had that feeling in a long, long, long time. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio.

I always believed that I’d return to Cleveland and finish my career there. I just didn’t know when. After the season, free agency wasn’t even a thought. But I have two boys and my wife, Savannah, is pregnant with a girl. I started thinking about what it would be like to raise my family in my hometown. I looked at other teams, but I wasn’t going to leave Miami for anywhere except Cleveland. The more time passed, the more it felt right. This is what makes me happy.

To make the move I needed the support of my wife and my mom, who can be very tough. The letter from Dan Gilbert, the booing of the Cleveland fans, the jerseys being burned -- seeing all that was hard for them. My emotions were more mixed. It was easy to say, “OK, I don’t want to deal with these people ever again.” But then you think about the other side. What if I were a kid who looked up to an athlete, and that athlete made me want to do better in my own life, and then he left? How would I react? I’ve met with Dan, face-to-face, man-to-man. We’ve talked it out. Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made mistakes as well. Who am I to hold a grudge?

I’m not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver. We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic. It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010. My patience will get tested. I know that. I’m going into a situation with a young team and a new coach. I will be the old head. But I get a thrill out of bringing a group together and helping them reach a place they didn’t know they could go. I see myself as a mentor now and I’m excited to lead some of these talented young guys. I think I can help Kyrie Irving become one of the best point guards in our league. I think I can help elevate Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters. And I can’t wait to reunite with Anderson Varejao, one of my favorite teammates.

But this is not about the roster or the organization. I feel my calling here goes above basketball. I have a responsibility to lead, in more ways than one, and I take that very seriously. My presence can make a difference in Miami, but I think it can mean more where I’m from. I want kids in Northeast Ohio, like the hundreds of Akron third-graders I sponsor through my foundation, to realize that there’s no better place to grow up. Maybe some of them will come home after college and start a family or open a business. That would make me smile. Our community, which has struggled so much, needs all the talent it can get.

In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have.

I’m ready to accept the challenge. I’m coming home."

Stat

Michael Jordan's coach pleaded with him to go back in the game, and the opposing coach made sure Jordan had the chance to end his career with a basket.

Jordan's last shot was a free throw, and like his final appearance in an NBA uniform, it was good.

One of the greatest players in NBA history played the final game of his illustrious career Wednesday night, not in the setting that he would have preferred but in a special atmosphere nonetheless. Jordan's final moment on the court ended with him receiving applause and a lengthy standing ovation from nearly everyone in the arena -- including the coaches and the other players.

He soaked it all up with a wide smile and a wave to the crowd after exiting for good with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 107-87 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

``Now I guess it hits me that I'm not going to be in a uniform anymore -- and that's not a terrible feeling,'' Jordan said afterward. ``It's something that I've come to grips with, and it's time. This is the final retirement.''

Jordan finished with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes -- drawing several adoring ovations from the last sellout crowd that will ever watch him play.

``The Philly people did a great job. They gave me the biggest inspiration, in a sense,'' Jordan said. ``Obviously, they wanted to see me make a couple of baskets and then come off. That was very, very respectful, and I had a good time.''

Jordan's final points almost looked scripted, with Eric Snow of the 76ers fouling him in the backcourt for no apparent reason except to send him to the line.

``Coach (Larry Brown) told me to foul him, get him to the line to get some points and get him out of there,'' Snow said.

Both foul shots went in, and the Wizards committed a foul one second later so that Jordan could be removed from the game and receive the proper send-off. In a rare scene, the 10 players who remained on the court turned to Jordan and applauded, too.

The 40-year-old Jordan would have preferred to end his career in the playoffs, but the Wizards never clicked during his two years in Washington and finished 37-45 in both seasons.

But that was merely a footnote on this stirring night, the last time the basketball public was treated to one of the greatest athletes in history playing the game one last time.

Jordan finished his career with 32,292 points -- the third-highest total in league history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. His final career average of 30.12 goes down as the best in NBA history, just ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.07.

``I never, never took the game for granted. I was very true to the game, and the game was very true to me. It was just that simple,'' Jordan said.

With the Sixers ahead by 21 points with 9 1/2 minutes remaining, the crowd began chanting ``We want Mike.'' The chant grew louder as the period progressed with Jordan remaining seated, and fans ignored the game to stand and stare at the Wizards' bench, wondering why Jordan wasn't playing.

This being Philadelphia, they eventually booed.

Jordan finally pulled his warmups off and re-entered the game with 2:35 left for his brief final appearance.

``I played here. I told him I at least have to be able to come back (to Philadelphia),'' Wizards coach Doug Collins said. ``I told him to go back in for a minute. He said, 'I'm stiff.' I said, 'Please. They want to see you.' He said, 'Larry Hughes is going to foul out soon, so put me in then.'''

Earlier in the game, Jordan showed his age.

There was a play in the first quarter when he looked like the Jordan of old, except for the result. Starting near the foul line, Jordan ducked his shoulder, lowered his head, stuck out his tongue and drove to his right, the ball rolling off his fingers ever so softly as it arched toward the net.

Rather than going in, though, the ball hit the front rim and missed -- one of several of his shots that came up a few inches short.

One of the exceptions was Jordan's final shot of the first half -- a one-handed dunk that came after he received a nice pass under the basket from Bobby Simmons.

Jordan hit his first two shots of the third quarter but didn't do much else positive in the period. On an alley-oop pass from Tyronn Lue, the ball hit him in the fingertips and bounced harmlessly away. A lazy crosscourt pass was picked off by Aaron McKie, leading to one of Philadelphia's 31 fast-break points. Jordan's final field-goal attempt was a missed layup with 8:13 remaining.

``I'm not embarrassed,'' Jordan said, ``but it's just not ... I've had better feelings in terms of playing a competitive game.''

The standing ovation that Jordan received lasted about three minutes, with Jordan smiling, nodding and chewing gum throughout. The group Boyz II Men sang ``It's So Hard To Say Goodbye'' between the first and second quarters as a montage of Jordan's career highlights was shown on the scoreboard.

Allen Iverson finally shook his shadow and shook up the NBA Finals.

Hounded by unheralded Tyronn Lue, Iverson scored seven of his 48 points in a one-minute span of overtime as the Philadelphia 76ers stunned the Los Angeles Lakers with a 107-101 victory in the opener of the NBA Finals.

Iverson scored 30 points in a scintillating first half, letting everyone know that the 76ers were going to be more than another pushover for the powerful Lakers. His late flurry silenced the Staples Center and unceremoniously ended Los Angeles' run at a perfect postseason.

"Anybody that bet on it, some broke people out there," Iverson said. "I'm glad nobody didn't bet their life on it 'cause they definitely would be dead right now."

Instead, the Sixers -- double-digit underdogs -- are very much alive as they again displayed their heroic heart.

"Our guys just try hard," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "This is kind of unexpected but it's neat."

In between Iverson outbursts, Lue stymied the NBA Most Valuable Player for nearly 20 minutes, using his quickness to prevent Iverson from even getting the ball, let alone shoot it. He had spent the last two practices impersonating Iverson and apparently got pretty good at it.

"I just try to deny him the ball as much as possible, because when he does get the ball, the best penetrator in the game is going to be hard to stop," Lue said. "We were trying to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible."

"He was holding me the whole time," Iverson said.

But the third-year reserve let his guard down for just a second and it cost the Lakers. Iverson's two free throws pulled the Sixers within 99-98 with 1:46 remaining and the Lakers called a timeout.

Lue drove and threw up a wild shot as he fell out of bounds. The Sixers rebounded and Iverson ran out in transition. With Lue nowhere in sight, he drilled a 3-pointer that gave Philadelphia the lead for good at 101-99 with 1:19 left.

"That was really the knife that wounded us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Rick Fox spoiled a solid game by throwing away a pass and Iverson made a step-back baseline jumper for a 103-99 lead with 47 seconds to go.

Kobe Bryant, who shot poorly and could not defend Iverson, hit a baseline jumper with 33 seconds to play. But Eric Snow, whose runner late in the fourth quarter saved the Sixers, made a similar shot to seal it with 10 seconds left.

On the eve of his 26th birthday, Iverson made 18-of-41 shots and 9-of-9 free throws, adding six assists and five steals. Playing his first NBA Finals game, his explosion offset 44 points and 20 rebounds by Shaquille O'Neal as he won the duel between the league's last two MVPs.

The Lakers rallied from a 15-point third-quarter deficit only to blow a five-point overtime lead as they lost for the first time since April 1, a span of 20 games. They had come into this series as huge favorites, having romped through the postseason with 11 straight wins by an average of more than 15 points.

"I'm kind of relieved it's over in some ways but but it does put some pressure on us to get a win on our home court," Jackson said. "We've got to go out on Friday night and find a way to get this series tied up."

The Sixers came in with no one expecting them to win a game, let alone the series. But they used their trademark toughness to do in just one game what the weak knees of the Western Conference could not do in 11 -- beat the Lakers.

"They thought we were gonna get swept and that was like a slap in the face to us," Iverson said.

Game Two is Friday at Los Angeles. Philadelphia is trying to knock off the defending champions and win its first title in 18 years.

"Now it's a series," O'Neal said.

However, Philadelphia may have to try a little harder. Guard Aaron McKie, who did a superb job of defending Bryant, suffered a chip fracture of his right ankle but is probable for Friday.

Both Iverson and O'Neal abused a series of defenders. Iverson sent starter Derek Fisher to a permanent seat on the bench and also had his way with Bryant before Lue came on.

"You can't take anything away from Tyronn Lue," Iverson admitted. "A lot of guys go out against a player that's named MVP of the regular season and won't give it his all, act like he's scared. But he gave his team a great lift."

O'Neal met some resistance from Mutombo but manhandled Matt Geiger and Todd MacCulloch at the end of the third quarter. He made 17-of-28 shots but just 10-of-22 from the line.

Most of O'Neal's offense came against single coverage from Dikembe Mutombo, who sat down with foul trouble for most of the third quarter but still contributed 13 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.

His presence allowed Philadelphia to swarm to Bryant, who had an awful game with just 15 points, on 7-of-22 shooting, and six turnovers.

"They got into Kobe's body, and bodied him on the dribble, stripped the ball when he picked it up," Jackson said. "He really didn't clear himself for shots very easily tonight."

Snow scored 13 points and injury-hampered Matt Geiger provided an unexpected 10 for the Sixers, who shot 48 percent (40-of-83) and missed just two of 25 free throws, which came at the worst possible time.

O'Neal's dunk off a feed from Bryant with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter gave the Lakers a 94-92 lead, their first since midway through the second period.

Snow answered with his first running jumper and the Sixers had a chance to take the lead when Mutombo rebounded a miss by Snow and was fouled with 34 seconds to go. But he missed both after Philadelphia had hit its first 19 from the line.

Bryant and Snow missed, sending it to overtime, where it looked like the Lakers were ready to win. O'Neal threw in a hook, Bryant spun for a layup and O'Neal split a pair from the line for a 99-94 lead.

The Sixers looked dead when Raja Bell found himself trapped in the lane with the shot clock running down. But he pivoted and threw in a scoop shot with his left hand with 2:19 remaining, sparking the comeback.

Fox scored 19 points for the Lakers, who were playing for the first time in 10 days and shot 44 percent (40-of-90).

At the start, it looked like another Lakers landslide. A 16-0 burst capped by Bryant's first basket gave Los Angeles an 18-5 lead with 5 1/2 minutes to go -- and perhaps allowed complacency to set in.

"We watched games that they played when they jumped out on guys and guys just packed it in and stopped playing," Iverson said. "But we've been like that before. We've been in games where we started off slow and ended up winning."

Iverson scored 10 points in the rest of the period, then opened the second quarter with a jumper over Bryant for a 24-23 lead.

The Lakers still held a 38-36 lead midway through the second quarter when Jackson was hit with a technical foul for arguing a non-call against Mutombo.

Iverson made the foul shot, Geiger hit two jumpers to give the Sixers the lead at 41-40 and Iverson took over from there as he scored Philadelphia's last 15 points of the half, mostly off his trademark crossover dribble.

His 3-pointer gave the Sixers a 56-48 advantage before O'Neal hammered home a miss by Bryant in the final second.

At intermission, Iverson had 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting, lighting up Bryant, who was 2-of-10 for four points with five turnovers.

"Allen really stepped it up," Brown said. "His first half was about as good as it gets."

It continued in the third quarter, as Iverson fed Jumaine Jones for an alley-oop slam, sank a jumper and dropped a layup over O'Neal for a 64-54 lead. He took a steal in for a layup and hit a fading corner shot before Eric Snow's three-point play gave the Sixers their largest lead at 73-58 with 5:23 left.

But with Mutombo on the bench, Philadelphia could not fight off O'Neal, who overpowered Geiger and MacCulloch and muscled Los Angeles back into it. He scored 14 points in the final 5:10 of the period, and with Lue shadowing Iverson, the Lakers pulled within 79-77 entering the final period.

Philadelphia led by as many as seven points early in the fourth quarter, when Mutombo picked up his fifth foul and again sat down before returning less than a minute later as Geiger fouled out.

For those who were there at McDonough Gymnasium on August 4, 1994, few will forget the arrival of a 6-0 freshman guard who needed no introduction. The rumors of Allen Iverson's arrival to the Kenner Summer League were true, and by game's end, Iverson had scored 40 points. By the Sunday afternoon final, before an overflow crowd inside the gym and a crowd of those outside who could not get in, Iverson finished a combined 99 point effort in three days against some of the best collegiate talent in the city. This, of course, from a player that had not played organized basketball in over a year.

The Allen Iverson years had begun.

A brief profile can't do justice to tell the story of one of the greatest pure athletes ever to attend Georgetown, a man without peer in his talent over two years at the collegiate level. Just a year before his Kenner debut, few would have imagined Allen Iverson ever playing college basketball.

Iverson was not only a 31 point a game guard for Bethel HS, but a football player of tremendous skill. As a quarterback and defensive back his sophomore season, he produced nearly 1,600 yards offense and 13 INT's. By his junior year, he accounted for 2,204 yards, 21 touchdowns by rush or interception, and 14 touchdown passes. In a region which has produced NFL quarterbacks such as Michael Vick and Aaron Brooks, there are those who will still say "Bubbachuck" Iverson was better than both of them. Schools such as Arkansas, Kentucky, Duke, and three dozen other top programs across two sports were vying for perhaps the greatest two-sport star the Tidewater had ever produced.

When he led Bethel to the state title, someone asked what it was like to win the title. "I'm going to get one in basketball now," which he did. In late February, 1993, en route to the state title he had promised, Iverson was one of a large group of Bethel teammates at a Hampton bowling alley when a fight broke out between students from rival schools trading racial insults. Three people were hurt in the aftermath. Despite conflicting testimony from eyewitnesses and no clear evidence linking him to the crime, Iverson was one of four black students arrested.

Racial tensions were heightened when the prosecutors passed on a misdemeanor assault charge and charged Iverson with three counts of felony "maiming by mob", which carried a 20 year prison sentence. Despite video evidence which did not place Iverson in the crowd at the time of the fight, he was convicted in a racially charged case.

The 20 year sentence was later reduced to five, and Iverson was granted clemency by Gov. Douglas Wilder three months later, sending Iverson to a detention program at an alternative high school. (The original charges were thrown out by the Virginia court of appeals in 1995.)

In the spring of 1994, with Iverson still in detention, his mother approached John Thompson with a plea to help her son get to college and start a new chapter of his life. Though Thompson had passed on a number of troubled players in the past, he offered Iverson a scholarship in April of that season, contingent upon his completion of high school and his legal release, which was granted 48 hours before his Kenner debut.

By his debut in a Georgetown uniform in November 1994, Iverson had been the subject of intense national media attention. In the Hoyas' annual exhibition with Fort Hood, Iverson scored 36 points, five assists, and three steals in 23 minutes. Local columnists were in awe.

"Hang his number up in the rafters," wrote Tom Knott of the Washington Times. "He's better than most of the point guards in the NBA right now."

"I saw Lew Alcindor, Austin Carr, Moses Malone, Alonzo Mourning, Albert King, Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing play in high school," said the Post's Thomas Boswell. "Now, I have two memories on my first impression top shelf. The man who became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Allen Iverson."

Iverson opened the 1994-95 season in Memphis, TN in a 97-79 loss to defending NCAA champion Arkansas, scoring 19 points. Six days later, he scored 31 in a nationally televised game with DePaul, followed by 30 four days later against Providence, leading the team in scoring 22 times that season. His only game under double figures for the season (and his career) was a game where he played only ten minutes in a loss at Villanova, a game Georgetown coach John Thompson threatened to forfeit when a group of Villanova students paraded through the Spectrum in black and white-striped prison garb, with a sign comparing Iverson to O.J. Simpson.

"You accept certain ribbing, but there is a line," Thompson said after the game. "I can condone any Christian university sitting and watching that happen...If that happens [again], I going to walk. It that simple." Such fan behavior was not seen thereafter.

Later in the season, with President Bill Clinton in attendance, Iverson scored 26 as the Hoyas routed Villanova, 77-52. He followed it up with 21 to beat Syracuse, 28 versus St. John's, 31 in a Big East tournament opener with Miami (a game that saw Iverson outscore the entire Hurricane team at the end of the first half), and 27 versus Connecticut in the semis. In the NCAA regional, he scored 24 in the loss, but held Jeff McInnis to 1 for 8 shooting. By season's end, Allen Iverson had been named Big East Player of the Week nine times, Rookie of the Year, a second team all-conference selection, and honorable mention All-America recipient. Having led the Hoyas in points and steals en route to the school's first NCAA regional appearance since 1989, Iverson was already a star. By 1996, he would become nothing less than a sensation.

The leaser of a talented team that featured four future NBA stars, Allen Iverson dominated the 1995-96 season as no Hoya has done before or since. Adept at the crossover dribble that became his NBA trademark, lightning quick to the basket, and able to score on opponents at will, Iverson was largely unstoppable. Even more impressive was an effort to improve his shooting touch, for despite averaging 20.4 points as a freshman in 1994-95 (2nd all time for a Georgetown rookie), Iverson only shot 39 percent from the field, 23 percent from three, and 19 percent from three in Big East play. For his sophomore season, his field shooting increased to 48 percent, his three point mark to 36 percent. The results were striking.

In the pre-season NIT versus Temple, Iverson shot 50 percent for 24 points and a career high 10 rebounds. After a 23 point effort against Georgia Tech, he scored a career high 40 against Arizona, one of two 40+ point games that season. In Big East play, Iverson could ring up points with ease, such as the game where he scored 21 points in only 20 minutes against Rutgers.

In the final three months of the season, Iverson led the team in 21 of the team's 25 games: 40 against Seton Hall, 39 against St. John's, 34 against Providence. He scored 30 in a wild win over Memphis, and followed it up two nights later with 26 in an upset of #3 Connecticut. For the game, Iverson totalled 26 points, 8 steals, and 6 assists, including a soaring dunk past Ray Allen and the Huskies. It was the highest ranked team any Georgetown team had defeated since 1988. His best performance of the season might have been a 37 point, 8 rebound, and three steal effort against #6 ranked Villanova, playing only 27 minutes. The 106-68 win represents the sixth largest margin of victory and the largest margin ever by a Georgetown team against a top 10 opponent.

Iverson was capable of an off game; unfortunately, two came at particularly inopportune times for the Hoyas' hopes for a national title. Entering the 1996 Big East Final with a #1 seed on the line, Iverson shot 4 for 15 and the Hoyas lost by one, 76-75. As a result of the loss, Georgetown was seeded #2 behind top ranked UMass, and in the regional final between the two teams Iverson struggled with a 6 for 21 effort in the loss. For the season, though, his statistics were astonishing: his 926 points broke the then-record by 124 points. He set new single season marks in field goals, field goal attempts, three pointers, three point attempts, steals, minutes, and scoring average (25.0), the latter of which ranked 7th in the nation that season. The Big East's defensive player of the year, he was named a consensus All-American amidst numerous other awards.

If he could somehow have stayed four years, Iverson undoubtedly would have shredded the Georgetown record books. But whatever hopes existed for Iverson to resist the lure of the NBA were short lived, particularly with the news that one of his sisters had fallen ill. Seeing the opportunity to take care of his family's medical needs, Iverson announced for the NBA draft soon after the end of his sophomore season, becoming the first Georgetown player in the Thompson era to do so. The compact that had bound so many great Hoya players to a four year commitment--from Ewing to Williams, Mourning to Mutombo--had now been broken.

The first pick in the 1996 NBA draft, Iverson signed a $3.9 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and a ten year, $50 million deal with Reebok. His effort on the court is well known and respected, but for all the media portrayals of Iverson as the anti-hero, an icon of a "Hip Hop Nation" that ran counter to the NBA's carefully constructed marketing image, or as a symbol of all that is allegedly wrong in professional basketball, he remains remarkably well-grounded.

Married for six years and the father of two, Iverson is fiercely loyal to his teammates and to his childhood friends. He considered it an honor to play for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 when other NBA stars passed on the offer, and maintains a number of charity events to benefit his local community. In comparison to his NBA career, his years at Georgetown were largely free of the intense media and personal scrutiny, providing at least two years where he could grow as a person as well as a basketball player.

His arrival and exit at Georgetown is still a source of debate in some circles, but his performance on the court is not. Allen Iverson found a home, even briefly, at the Hilltop, and remains one of its brightest stars. "In my heart, I know I'm a basketball player," Iverson said following his 2006 NBA trade, "being that I know I can play with the best of them."

From that first Kenner League game on 1994, no one has doubted it since.