From the Vault: A Complex Relationship

Anyone who lived through the Allen Iverson-Larry Brown rendezvous in Philly will appreciate this brilliant piece, written during the 2001 season, from the Sports Illustrated vault.

Iverson was one Matt Geiger trade-waver option away from being a Piston in the summer of ’00 after three very frustrating (yet successful) seasons fighting Brown’s views with his own. AI went from being “Me, myself and Iverson” (Barkley’s words, not mine) as a rookie, to a guy who dished out 16 assists in a Game 7 against the Raptors in ’01, en route to leading his gallant Sixers to the Finals.

Despite 2001 officially being the year where Iverson won over the general public with his play-like-there’s-no-tomorrow attitude, it was his part in mending the bridge with Brown that was what the year came to symbolize. From his “Where’s my coach?” speech after the ’01 All-Star Game, to helping Brown, a coaching vagabond of extreme proportions, reach his first NBA Finals, to claiming his only MVP trophy while leading Philly as far as they’ve gone in the last 25 years, 2001 was the zenith of the Iverson era.

And both men endured darn-near unspeakable hardships growing up (as detailed in the SI piece), which made them more in common than appeared.

Brown, long before he became the coach of what feels like 78 teams, was a point guard (in the ABA), the position Iverson was drafted to fill in Philadelphia. Brown was taught the game by Dean Smith, who was taught by Phog Allen, who was taught by James Naismith – so he had a hoops pedigree unmatched. Iverson, on the other hand, represented a new NBA – the tattoos, the rows, the attitude. But as harsh as his critics were at the time, the oft-overlooked aspect of his game – the fact that no one played harder – was right below the surface.

So for all the differences in their lives, and their basketball lives, in that one year they co-existed. With historic results. As this story indicates, their’s was a special relationship; sometimes hate-filled, sometimes drastically the opposite, but with never a dull moment. With Brown, since this story first went to print, having coached three teams in the interim, and with Iverson nearing the end of his career as a Nugget, it’s fascinating to look back.