LeBron James Has Decisions To Make, but He Can Learn From Allen Iverson

Matt Stroshane/Getty ImagesAfter all the nostalgia of the 16th title for Los Angeles has subsided and the NBA draft festivities have concluded, the one thing that is bubbling is free agency.The potential of blockbuster deals is the talk of the summer and certain players are at the center, but what makes these players a commodity?Is it actual performance or is it the potential of dollars that can be brought to a franchise for years to come?While we examine this, let’s look at LeBron James and Allen Iverson. These are two players who revived their initial franchises desperate need of winning. Their transcendent impact also put them at the forefront of the NBA.After years of facing tremendous pressure, one was forced to leave under bad circumstances, and the other has a chance to Tennessee Titans jersey
change the face of his city and the league forever.In Iverson’s case, he peaked early in terms of winning with the Philadelphia 76ers. From year one to year five Iverson’s teams went from 22 wins to 56. Every year, they showed steady improvement, with the only constant being Iverson.In year two, Larry Brown came and forced Iverson to become more efficient with the ball, averaging 22 points a game, which was a point and a half down from his rookie season, but raising his field goal percentage to 46 percent (a career high to this point).Brown knew he needed Iverson’s scoring prowess and in the process put hustle players around him who would rebound and play defense to go along with Iverson's flair and grit for Philadelphia.In Allen’s third year, the 76ers finished sixth in the East and upset the Orlando Magic and all things were looking up. Iverson won his first scoring title and was selected to his first All-NBA team.In the next two seasons, Iverson continued to increase his scoring and individual success followed, with two All-Star games to his belt, including one of the most memorable All-Star game performances ever leading the East squad back from a 21 point deficit.He took home the game's MVP award in the process. That season also saw Iverson lead the Sixers to the finals, even winning the first game against the Los Angeles Lakers, which capped a legendary playoff run.Despite losing the next four games, all looked well in Philly, but it clearly wasn’t.Individual success over the years came easy for Iverson, but wins were hard to come by because of the teammates Allen had around him.Throughout the years in Philadelphia Iverson had run-ins with management and his off-the-court activity often Washington Redskins jersey
overshadowed the fact that Iverson was forced to play with players that would never start on any other successful team, but Philadelphia was a constant in the playoffs throughout the prime of Iverson’s career.The same can be said for LeBron James. Cleveland has not really placed the necessary pieces around him for them to win a championship, but somehow James has found ways to get the best out of the talent around him.Like Iverson, he has never complained about any of these circumstances.That silence was Iverson’s gift and curse. Players such as: Glen Robinson, Keith Van Horn, Todd MacCulloch, a well past his prime Chris Webber and countless other over paid players put management in a position where they could not get quality players.This also made management lazy, because they saw that Allen could be very successful with less talented players, which took pressure off of them.From 1999-2006, Iverson scored 15,570 points, averaging 29.6 points and playing just over 42 minutes a game. He also averaged 5.9 assist being the primary play-maker for teammates for players who could not create for themselves.His brutal style of play also took a toll on his body while age and attrition had the last word.In that eight-year span, Philadelphia went to the playoffs six times, averaging 44 wins in seven full seasons (28 wins in the strike-shortened season), but other than the Finals run in 2001, Philly did not get past the second round.Some would say that Iverson could not carry his team, but contrary to popular belief each team the Sixers lost to was clearly better than them and some of the series that they won Iverson was the reason they were in that position.In the process, Iverson contributed some of the best playoff performances of Reebok Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald Realtree camo Jersey
all-time and often pushed those better teams to the brink with extraordinary performances. Perception is seen totally different though.This is something that James can escape with one summer.In LeBron’s seven years with Cleveland, he has averaged 27.8 points while playing just over 40 minutes per game.He also has been the primary play-maker for his team averaging seven assists.