Allen Iverson as Clinton Portis

Like many basketball fans in Denver, I was ecstatic when I heard Allen Iverson had been acquired by the Nuggets. The city has lacked an athlete of his stature since the retirement of John Elway. On the court, Iverson has been electric, not only scoring the expected bunches of points, but distributing the ball at will to his teammates for easy assists.

But Iverson's value to this city goes beyond his on the court talents. Iverson is certainly intense, sometimes eccentric, and arguably a difficult player to coach. It's the eccentricity, exuberant eccentricity, that I believe will be the lasting image in the minds of Denver sports fans. His press conferences make great theater, sometimes drifting into a tangent on a barely recognizable metaphor for competition. The term "warrior" is a staple of these tangents, which in the world of sports is never a good thing (see Kellen Winslow Jr.). His interview with Stephen A. Smith on his way out of Philly was an instant classic (I wish I had video of this...please post a link if you do). Stephen A. Smith played this ridiculous word-play game, where Smith would suggest a word or a phrase and ask for Iverson's one word response. One exchange went something like this:

Stephen A. Smith: "Allen Iverson."
Allen Iverson: "Killer."
Stephen A. Smith: "Carmelo Anthony."
Allen Iverson: "Killer."
Stephen A. Smith: "Allen Iverson...with Carmelo Anthony."
Allen Iverson (stone faced): "Double killer."

It doesn't get much funnier than that. Allen Iverson, dead serious, responds with "double killer". I want to party with this guy.

However, this eccentricity has other manifestations, such as his desire to in his words, "bring some style" in being the first Nuggets player to ever wear yellow socks. Adding, "They would have already been brought", Iverson seemed surprised it hadn't been done before. Finding that yellow socks were unavailable, Iverson simply mummified his ankles in bright yellow tape. With antics like that, Iverson is like a more intense, not gay, version of Clinton Portis. And with that, Allen Iverson has the opportunity to make professional sports in Denver fun again. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that he has 42 points and 9 assists with 6:22 left in the 4th quarter of tonight's game.


Additional thought: Wouldn't it be entertaining to schedule one NBA game per team per season in which the players could wear anything they deemed appropriate as long as their standard uniform was a part of the ensemble? I'd love see your responses on what you think certain players would wear in such a game. I'll start off with a suggestion that Allen Iverson might just wear a grey hooded sweatshirt that looks like it was borrowed from Bill Belichek's closet. He wouldn't even have to wear that goofy sleave thing he wears on his right arm.

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Clinton Portis, Stephen A. Smith, Bill Belichick, NBA Uniforms