Allen Iverson

I had a thought today about Allen Iverson. Why is this guy playing basketball in Turkey??? I mean we really know - Iverson has been a controversial figure since his high school days in Virginia. His personality has always seemed to rub folks the wrong way.  He definitely became the poster child in the NBA of the spoiled athlete. But this cat had an amazing game. Pound for pound I think he was the best player in the NBA in the late '90s and early 00's, He isn't the same player today so his talent level has fallen below his "tolerance" level for NBA teams. But AI is better than a lot of guys starting on NBA rosters today - certainly better than most team's bench players. No team thinks he is worth the headache. Iverson does have to own some the negativity that is associated with his name. But like many other athletes, growing up in front of the world is not as easy as people make it out to be. Most of these guys are treated like royalty throughout their school years and then when they become pros, millions of dollars are dropped in their laps. Unless they are really mature or seriously grounded, they are bound to act a fool just like most young 20 something year old "kids" would. I'm not making any excuses here for Iverson; I just think that he has given a lot to the game and he deserves to end his professional career where it started, in the best basketball league in the world.