[ShekiruBoomParticipant]

Okay i’m not comparing these two guards, obviously AI was a much much better player and Walker will never get to AI’s level let a lone a starting pg job in the NBA. But Ive been reading some comments saying Walker has to be a top 5 pick which I do not believe, late lottery at best, and it made me wonder how the hell did AI become the 1st pick? I’m not sure how it was in 1996 since I was like 4 but in these days, you can’t be a top 10 pick if you are a small scoring point guard a la Kemba Walker. I know he was dominant in GTown but plenty of other small pgs like Kemba dominated the college game only to get chosen in the late lottery/1st round. What separated AI from other small scoring pgs?

[JoeWolf1]

 AI was an elite athlete despite his small frame.  In college the guy was an above the rim player with un-matched speed. 

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

What Joe said. He was the fastest player in the league, incredibly creative and few were better at getting shots off. He also was amazing at getting to the line, did it at a rate better than any small PG I know of. Plus, his sophomore year at G-Town, he shot 48% from the field and 36.6% from three. He came into the NBA as an elite scorer and one of the more unique players of all-time, and won rookie of the year in one of the deepest draft classes in history. Kemba had a great junior year, but he is still kind of a volume shooter and has nowhere near Iverson’s athletic ability. Also, one last thing, Iverson had a really freakishwingspan as well, his arms were really long.

[ShekiruBoomParticipant]

 ah never knew iverson was a above the rim player. maybe it was because he was older when i started watching nba around 03, but i rarely saw iverson dunk except for the classic put back dunk lol. i always envisioned iverson as a quick, speedy player. I wasn’t sayin Iverson didn’t deserve the number 1 pick I was just wondering what made Iverson special

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 Nowadays I guess it’s harder to imagine with Derrick Rose, Wade, Westbrook, John Wall, and a plethora of other freakishly fast guards running rampant in the NBA.

In 1996 5’11 was still small for a PG, and the word combo guard I don’t even think existed yet.  Their weren’t any players in the league who started, or even played SG in the league under 6’3 at all.  Swingmen were all the rage, with Jordan still in his prime, and Grant Hill ready to take his throne that was position of glory in the league.  And then came The Answer.

The Sixers needed a PG after drafting Stackhouse, and Clarence Weatherspoon in years before they looked like they had a solid core on the wing so the decision in that draft was out of Iverson, Marbury, Marcus Camby, and Kobe Bryant actually being a huge dark horse considering he was the hometown hero at the time and their were a ton of Sixer fans in the city who actually wanted Kobe first.  But nobody had the buzz Iverson had.  The only player who had a chance at going first in that draft over Iverson was Tim Duncan if he had decided to leave after his JR year.  A lot of people including myself were open to drafting Marbury because he had the best pure PG abilities in the draft and also had that star potential.  

But Iverson was the man that year.  Remember how excited everybody was over Rose and Wall coming into the league with their speed?  Iverson’s buzz was that on steroids because nobody had ever saw that much pure speed in person on a basketball court.  And after watching John Wall in person I still haven’t saw it.

 Iverson’s speed, quickness, agility, creativity,  and ball handling skills were clearly off the charts and even during Iverson’s rookie year this became more obvious because he simply had no peers on the court.  When Larry Brown came in a few years later he made the huge switch of putting Iverson at SG full time and having Eric Snow run point and also guard the opposing teams SG.  A system that is now rampant in the league.

As for Kemba.  Iverson has stated himself that Kemba is the closest thing he can remember to his own G’Town days.  But Kemba don’t have Iverson’s off the charts athleticism.  People forget that during Iverson’s second year in the league he was gonna be apart of the slam dunk contest but had to be replaced because of a wrist injury.  Iverson didn’t dunk much in games but had over a 40 inch vert.  Kemba in my opinion could and should go top ten based on this years draft and his proven ability to win and take over.

[ShekiruBoomParticipant]

 thanks for the knowledge guys lol

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Spent most of college dunking on cats all the time. I think they are very different players and Kemba will not be like Iverson. I still think Kemba can be a solid back up PG early who will turn into a starter because the kid will work hard enough to develop his game. I see decent PG potential in him, but he will really have to look to penetrate and dish more than he did in college. Once guys start playing him for the pass more his scoring will become effective, but not leading NBA in scoring type like AI.

[bozman11Participant]

I don’t think Kemba was an all american quarterback either..

[esperanzafleet69Participant]

^^^^^ LOL yeah… not to mention, kobe was coming out of high school and not much was known about him then.. iverson was just miles ahead of other players in the draft like ray allen, shareef abdur-rahim, antoine walker, camby, and starbury.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Kemba Walker was used like Allen Iverson in Philadelphia, but he had AI’s NBA levels of shooting efficiency in college. Not a good sign.

[M-DYMESParticipant]

One other thing that seperates A.I. from Kemba was his ability to play the passing lanes.  Not saying that Kemba isn’t a good defender, hell on ball he may be better than Iverson, but A.I. had a knack for intercepting passes in the lane.  He was one of the best anticipators of all time from that aspect.

[fliptonnParticipant]

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvI_iTbgTwU

and dont forget that iverson was an absolute lock down defender when he put his mind to it besides being able to jump passing lanes at will

[apb540Participant]

I like Kemba Walker but he isn’t even in the same stratoshpere as Iverson.  

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

I am pretty sure that Iverson never won a championship in college.

But, Iverson is not in this draft.  Kemba Walker, Derrick Williams, Perry Jones, Kyrie Irving, and Brandon Knight are in this draft. 

Kemba Walker is a top five talent.  He put his team on his back and won the Big East Tournament and then the REALLY BIG Tournament.  

This draft probably has a few guys that could go number one with Derrick Williams, Kemba Walker, Perry Jones, and Kyrie Irving being among those guys. 

If that draft were redone then Kobe is the first pick, with possibly Ray Allen going ahead of Iverson.  All three are gonna end up in the Hall of Fame, but AI should not have been the pick in retrospect.  At the time, Ray Allen was a GREAT college player who could really shoot and he was a very good character guy.  I am not sure that AI was the NO BRAINER pick over Ray Allen even then.  

 

[Im Your FatherParticipant]

Do you honestly think Ray Allen has been a better player than Allen Iverson? That just seems absurd to me.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

"I am pretty sure that Iverson never won a championship in college.

But, Iverson is not in this draft. Kemba Walker, Derrick Williams, Perry Jones, Kyrie Irving, and Brandon Knight are in this draft.

Kemba Walker is a top five talent. He put his team on his back and won the Big East Tournament and then the REALLY BIG Tournament."

He shot 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from three in the Big East and no better in the NCAA tournament. It was a bad college basketball season, but that doesn’t elevate his NBA prospects. A sub-6 foot guard who isn’t a natural point guard or a natural shooter does not see his weaknesses melt away because of a title. Jon Scheyer is in the NBDL. Khalid El-Amin is in Lithuania. Mario Chalmers is still a middling point guard for Miami. Corey Brewer is at best a role player. Juan Dixon was never anything special in the NBA.

"If that draft were redone then Kobe is the first pick, with possibly Ray Allen going ahead of Iverson. All three are gonna end up in the Hall of Fame, but AI should not have been the pick in retrospect. At the time, Ray Allen was a GREAT college player who could really shoot and he was a very good character guy. I am not sure that AI was the NO BRAINER pick over Ray Allen even then."

Some people have clearly forgotten that garbage Sixers team Iverson carried to the Finals and have given too much credit to events outside the players’ control (Pau and Garnett trades).

 

[apb540Participant]

Actually, Iverson was the no-brainer pick over not just Ray Allen, but everyone in his draft. 

[bozman11Participant]

shabazz is better than both so who cares…jk

[kobyzParticipant]

you are overeating Allen Iverson all over this topic, by looking at AI numbers, steals and all that stuff you understating Kemba worth, you ignore the bad stuff of AI, things like knowing the team aspect of the game, knowing to make room for teammates, on defense knowing how much to go for steals over playing your man, knowing to take out your ego when needed, just things that Kemba is head and shoulders over Iverson, things that make Kemba more winning players than Iverson in college and may in the NBA also!

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

for a longer period of time. He still has solid years ahead of him where AI’s career looks pretty much over.

[Im Your FatherParticipant]

 Allen Iverson was a franchise talent, an MVP type player. Ray Allen has been a second tier type star for almost his entire career. 

[Michael.S.Participant]

"you are overeating Allen Iverson all over this topic"

Good job, this is a gem.

Comparing Allen Iverson and Ray Allen though? Not even in the same stratosphere.

[Dale WorthingtonParticipant]

The only thing they have in common is that they both went to Georgetown.

It’s a joke! Don’t shoot me.

[Author]

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