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http://buddahjankey.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/clint-eastwood-mean-look.jpg?w=950

This should have been posted in the Seattle Supersonics forum. ...hahahahhahahhahahhahhaa, jk.

Replying to everything else just means I'm going to continue repeating what I said earlier, but this... Come on, dude. You are the guy that sits here and says that McGrady could have been better than Kobe...but if you sit him aside, all of those players are better than Iverson AND Drexler (and I know you'll argue for T-Mac...keep in mind that he was a shooter, far more range than Iverson and Clyde both, so I'm not surprised that his percentage was decent). Both don't even come close to Kobe and LeBron. We know what those guys were capable of, regardless of who was on their team...not necessarily regarding their team's success, but on an individual level. LeBron had shooters and defense lined up, and he was both the primary scorer and facilitator, penetrating and hitting all of his teammates much like Iverson was asked to do many times throughout his career...but to compare the two? No point in that, no reason to even bring LeBron up, because James is already the greater player (and better, overall). And as far as leading the team in assists goes, that wasn't exactly my point. Snow and McKie were no Terry Porter...not even close, and I'm definitely not saying that Iverson would have won a championship with Porter in 2001, but damn, it would have at least helped throughout the years. Eric Snow was absolute trash without Iverson by his side, and McKie only had a good season or two in his career, anyway. Those guys fed off AI more than anything, and even with Snow out there throwing 5-7 assists a night (only happened in Philly, by the way), it was Iverson racking up his 6-7 as well (Snow and Iverson threw seven each in the 2003-04 season, and Iverson was at 5.5 APG the two previous seasons before that, Snow only one more per game).

Teams took more threes a game (and generally, longer jumpers) because of the illegal defense change. Even Jason Kidd talked about this (he was on the only team in the pre-00's that took over 23 threes per game...the 1996 Mavericks), and logically, it makes perfect sense. Because the zone defense basically targets players EXACTLY like Allen Iverson, you saw him suffer because, quite frankly, he never did have a legitimate, reliable, second scorer next to him until he found Carmelo Anthony in Denver (Stackhouse wasn't that reliable in Philly). At one point, Theo Ratliff and Matt Geiger were the next two leading scorers for the Sixers, and that's just sad. What happened when Iverson went to Denver? His FG% shot up to 45%, which was actually quite high for him. Clyde had help. Kiki was there for what...4-5 seasons? After that, in the late 80's...he had Kersey (who was putting up pretty nice offensive numbers and was a defensive beast), Duckworth (two-time all-star in Portland) and Porter (two-time all-star in Portland that ran the offense). Iverson NEVER had that. Aside from Mutombo and Ratliff (who were not even close to the offensive weapons Drexler had), Stackhouse playing good every three games for the Sixers...he didn't have a teammate that could genuinely give him rest in Philly. Iverson was both the primary scorer and the facilitator. Drexler was fortunate to have Terry Porter by his side for most of his career as a Blazer, and also have guys like Kiki (who was putting up huge scoring numbers) and both Kersey (around 15-20 a night) and Duckworth (same as Kersey). Once the team started to break up, Cliff Robinson came in and put up 20 a night, and Rod Strickland was running the offense. Against better defensive teams, and zone defenses at that...Iverson had the ball much more than Drexler AND was forced to do more with it. I can't believe I'm actually defending Iverson (never liked him, because my younger brother was shoving him down my throat and bashing Kobe at the same time back in the early 00's), but it's all true. And I'm not saying that Iverson isn't at fault for some of those turnovers, but I put more weight on the defensive teams, and the role he was playing, if we're going to compare AI and Clyde. Kiki Vandeweghe, Jim Paxson, Mychal Thompson, Jerome Kersey, Kevin Duckworth, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, Rod Strickland...all of those guys averaged 18-19+ PPG alongside Drexler back in Portland. Stackhouse (one season + 22 games, sophomore in the NBA), Coleman (for 116 games, injured, playing poorly), Iguodala, and a 32-year old Chris Webber...those are the players that reached 18+ PPG and that's what Iverson had in Philly. Iverson may not have found his way to a championship ring behind Carmelo (like Drexler did behind Hakeem), and he didn't carry the Sixers to a second NBA Finals, but a big reason is because he didn't have a team to carry in the first place, much like McGrady didn't in Orlando. I don't think Clyde would have been able to reach the Finals with the team that Iverson had in 2001, when you consider the teammates, the offense + the role he would have, and the defensive rule changes. I would bet my house on it. Clyde didn't carry Portland to the Finals in 1990. That team had four 16+ PPG scorers on it, and none scoring 24 a night...with Porter running the offense. There was no doubt that Clyde was "the man" from that squad, but he didn't carry that team. The 1992 squad was more Clyde than the 1990 team, but he still had more help than Iverson did in 2001. So, it's hard to say what you're posting because Iverson didn't have those opportunities. We see what it's like to team with Carmelo Anthony...and while people may have had high expectations, we know that wasn't going to work out like it did for LeBron/Wade (two similar players on the same team, in regards to their distinct roles). I'm still surprised when I go back and see the 2001 Sixers in the Finals, and shocked that they beat my Lakers one game in the series, ruining our perfect 15-0 in the playoffs (thanks to Iverson's 48). That team was ranked in the middle of the league on offense, and not even top three defensively...but Iverson averaged 33 or so a night, and over 46 minutes a game (both in the playoffs), to take his team to that destination, with Aaron McKie being the only scoring threat on the floor next to him...and shit, McKie shot almost as bad as Iverson did that postseason. I like Clyde. I just can't say he's better than Iverson. More efficient, better rebounder and shot-blocker (of course), but that's all.