NBA TV will be airing a documentary – “Everything But the Chip” – that portrays Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers’ incredible run to the 2001 Finals. NBA TV even released a clip of the documentary on their Twitter account in which AI spoke about the iconic step over Ty Lue during the Game 1 win. As one can expect, Iverson disclosed it to be a feeling that he has never felt before.
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The Answer’s incredible 48-point Game 1 outing led the 76ers to a 107-101 win. While the Los Angeles Lakers would go on to win the next 4 games, Shaquille O’Neal has often complained about Allen disrupting their perfect 15-0 run during the 2001 playoffs.
While the game certainly wasn’t over when AI stepped over Lue, it did crush the spirits of the Lakers.
“I don’t know how I even thought about stepping over him”: Allen Iverson
During the dying seconds of overtime, the 6-footer displayed his fancy handles and rose up to attempt a shot. Lue, who was defending pretty well, would go to the ground after tripping on Iverson’s feet. Right after the shot sunk in, the guard stepped over the LAL defender in the heat of the moment.
In the clip NBA TV released on their Twitter account, Iverson is talking about the iconic play. Unable to express what that moment felt like, the Hall-Of-Famer stated his emotions:
“I can’t tell you what the feeling was like, I can’t duplicate it. I was in the moment. I just know he fell in front of me, I don’t know how I even thought about stepping over him.”
Scoring 7 points in the overtime, the reigning MVP finished the night with 48 points.
With Kobe Bryant and co. favored to win the battle, this was a bold statement by AI revealing his hunger to win the title.
According to Larry Brown, AI could’ve been the GOAT
Allen Iverson retired as one of the most dominant scorers in the history of the game. While he did win an MVP, and 4 scoring titles, among several other accolades, he was never able to get his hands on the prestigious Larry O’Brien trophy.
Had Iverson won a ring, his rankings on the all-time list would’ve definitely been much better than what it currently is.
Larry Brown, Philly’s coach for 6 seasons, would go on to state that AI could’ve been in the GOAT conversation had he done a better job with his star player. In another NBA TV clip, Brown said:
“If I had done a better job of making Allen understand, then we might be talking about the greatest player who ever played the game.”
It’s easy to reminisce about what could have been. But, given how much he has done already, perhaps it would be a greater service to him to appreciate the amazing things he achieved instead.
