There is no way to get around the fact that Allen Iverson is one of the most transcendent figures in NBA history. On the court, he redefined the role of the point guard. Off the court, Iverson was the one-person fusion of basketball and hip-hop.
Despite that, some will try to take him down by undermining the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers' trip to the NBA Finals. They will try to contend that Iverson took a bad team to the Finals all by himself.
But his fellow NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady is coming to his defense, per the Cousins with Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter podcast.
“People act like he took a terrible team to the Finals.”
In 2001, Iverson was the NBA MVP. Larry Brown was the head coach. The 76ers finished 56-26 and were the best team in the Eastern Conference.
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In addition to Iverson, the 76ers had Dikembe Mutombo win Defensive Player of the Year, and Aaron McKie win 6th Man of the Year. Overall, they developed a reputation for being a gritty, defensively dominant team.
In the first round, the 76ers defeated the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers in four games. They then eek it out in a seven-game scrap with Carter and the Toronto Raptors. The pattern repeated itself in seven games against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The 76ers faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, for Iverson, a chance to go up against Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.
In Game 1, Iverson scored 48 points and cemented his iconic status with the famed step-over on Tyronn Lee in a 107-101 OT win. However, the heavily favored Lakers went on to win the title in five games.
While Iverson never won a title, he and that team were good enough to get there.
There is no way to get around the fact that Allen Iverson is one of the most transcendent figures in NBA history. On the court, he redefined the role of the point guard. Off the court, Iverson was the one-person fusion of basketball and hip-hop. Despite that, some will try to take him down by undermining the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers' trip to the NBA Finals.