Small guards dominating big men, hip-hop culture becoming the norm, and stylish crossovers that left crowds dazzled. Allen Iverson changed the game in many ways. To fans and most analysts, he was one of the most dynamic and influential players of all time. But for Baron Davis, AI had another, often underrated trait: his ability to flop.
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Iverson was a phenomenal scorer and a strong defender despite his small 6’0″ frame. His elite quickness and instincts helped him average 2.2 steals per game over his career, ranking him in the top 10 all-time. He led the league in total steals twice, in 2003 and 2005. While he might not have been the best on-ball defender due to his size, the Hall of Famer made it work.
But as a scorer, he was one of a kind. When he had to go up against a defender as good as, if not better than, him, like Davis, he started to rely on a common theme that has become frequent in today’s NBA: hitting the ground. BD addressed this during a recent appearance on Podcast P with Paul George.
“You gonna foul what you can’t guard,” said Davis, who revealed that Iverson indeed admitted to flopping whenever they played against each other. “Allen Iverson seen me in the club, ‘Oh BD man. Soon as I see you guarding me, I just run into you and fall. Get you right out the game.’ I’m like, that’s the highest compliment you can get as a defender.”
This wasn’t Davis breaking any news. Iverson himself was once caught on camera saying the very same thing, and even seemed proud of it, knowing that BD was going to be a problem whenever they faced each other. “I knew when we played them. I used to irritate the hell out of them. He (Davis) was younger, but I knew, if we were to have any success in playing the Hornets, I got to get BD in foul trouble. I knew how to do that. I knew how to flop,” stated the Answer.
“Soon as I get a little bit of body contact, I act like he killed me,” Iverson added. And why wouldn’t he utilize that advantage? Points from the free-throw line count just the same when the clock hits zero. Don’t like floppers? Learn how to play defense.
Davis has made his relationship with Iverson into a folktale of his flopping ability. “Every time I guard Allen Iverson, I get in foul trouble,” the former Golden State Warriors man said during an old interview with VladTV. He’s been talking about it for years.
But Davis always has a smile on his face when it comes up. Rather than hold a grudge, he respects the fact that his on-ball defense was so elite that a superstar player would try to cheat their way out of a showdown.
It’s one of the reasons guys like BD podcast about basketball. It keeps them close to the game they love and gives them a platform to share stories from the past. And really, who wouldn’t want to talk ball for the rest of their lives?
