Iverson 99-02 vs Iverson 05-08

[WadeKnicks2010]

Iverson 99-02. The ultimate scorer and competitor. So much heart, and the pound for pound toughest player in the NBA. 3 scoring titles in that period.Quickest and most explosive player in the NBA, and his ballhandling skills were so good it was freaky.

Iverson 05-08. Still the heart of a champion and tough as nails. He's lost a step. Isn't as explosive a scorer. Has become a better point guard though and is more than serviceable as a floor general when his 1 is injured or his team wants to quicken the pace. A better passer now and more efficent with his scoring; he picks his spots rather than takes every shot.

So who you want for your team for just one season?

[Alex_De_Large]

99-02 by far

[imonfire99]

AI is playing much better team basketball now, but from 99-02 he was very close to unstoppable. he carried that 76ers team full of role players (they were good role players who knew their position but they werent stars to say the least) to the 2001 nba finals and managed to win 1 game against one of the greatest playoff teams ever. now he hasnt managed to get out of the 1st round last year due to facing an incredible spurs team. he has better players beside him now, such as camby and carmelo, but the west is soooo stacked compared to the east of the 2000s. iverson has rly helped denver tho, but he doesnt have the impact he had from 99-02.

[hermes]

99-02 seasons he was better than now, but he's still good

[risktaker91]

HeHe was scary in 99-02. He's still amazing, but kind of overlooked because he's on a better team.

[Hussien Fatal]

Hmmmmm he is much more efficent now than he was in 99-02 but he was much quicker and athletic back then. and i agree that he is a better passer/team player now but 99-02 Iverson was all over the floor and he could score 40 on any given night (not to say he cant do it now) but he was a much bigger threat back then. so i pick 99-02 iverson.

[dbodner]

The difference between Iverson now and Iverson then is his teammates. If he had Melo, Kleiza, JR, and Martin back then, he would have taken the same amount of shots as he is now, and would have a similar efficiency. I don't think Iverson has changed as a player, and I don't think he was incapable of playing like this (RE: better point guard) back then.

I am amazed at Iverson's longevity, though. I didn't think he'd still be able to physically play at this level at nearly 33 with how much he relies on his athleticism.

[OmniDEN]

The difference between Iverson now and Iverson then is his teammates. If he had Melo, Kleiza, JR, and Martin back then, he would have taken the same amount of shots as he is now, and would have a similar efficiency. I don't think Iverson has changed as a player, and I don't think he was incapable of playing like this (RE: better point guard) back then.

I am amazed at Iverson's longevity, though. I didn't think he'd still be able to physically play at this level at nearly 33 with how much he relies on his athleticism.

Pretty sure everyone is amazed by his longevity, at this point it's impossible to know when he'll really take a big drop in his production.

[big123]

I really don't see much of a difference. He's just on a different team in a different situation now. Back then, he showed all what he was about as the main threat. Now it's more of sharing the load and trying to fit into a different situation. I do think because of his help now, some of his fire and "me against world attitude" has dropped a little, which gave him that extra fuel to excel.

[tsherkin]

05-08 without hesitation; he's way less of an inefficient chucker. He's much more controlled about his shot selection because he's not The Man on the team and that makes him much more effective on the court than he ever was as the primary star. He's been doing a very good job for Denver in the regular season.

[WadeKnicks2010]

I voted 05-08 but you guys changed my mind. AI was really an unstoppable scoring threat in that 99-02 era and carried a bunch of nobodies to the playoffs and once to the Finals. Yes they were good roleplayers but it was nowhere near an NBA Finals supporting cast.

[tsherkin]

I voted 05-08 but you guys changed my mind. AI was really an unstoppable scoring threat in that 99-02 era and carried a bunch of nobodies to the playoffs and once to the Finals. Yes they were good roleplayers but it was nowhere near an NBA Finals supporting cast.

Weak conference, unbelievably poor efficiency, astonishing defensive squad including the DPOY and rebounding champ so that his bricks could be assists...

He had some fairly impressive single-game performances in the playoffs but he was still a really poor chucker who relied on bail-outs from the refs to get things done unless his jumper was falling.

That team was perfectly designed to complement his myriad flaws; when he gambled on D, the DPOY (and before him, Theo Ratliff) was behind him. His perimeter guys (McKie, Lynch, Snow) were mostly solid, aggressive defenders. His team rebounded astonishingly well, so his garbage efficiency didn't damage the team until they faced real competition.

Blech.

[ITK9]

imo , iverson is better right now in all the aspects of the game, maybe not in defence.he is a much better shooter, he makes less turnover and becaome a muuuch better team player.