Allen Iverson vs. Steve Nash - Analyzing the skills and offensive prowess of two Hall of Famers
Allen Iverson and Steve Nash were two point guards feared by their foes and respected by their teammates; the hallmark of a great basketball player.
Being a point guard comes with a lot of responsibilities. Good ball handling skills, speed, agility, shooting, playmaking- all go into setting up plays so that your teammates can score.
Let's see how good these two Hall of Famers really were:
Allen Iverson's dribbling skills are still the stuff of legends
Allen Iverson entered the league as a No.1 overall draft pick in the 1996 NBA draft. he made an early impact as a rookie and was named Rookie of the Year in the 1996-1997 season. He became the Sixers' main man in the early part of his career.
He got the attention of sportswriters and basketball aficionados through his elusive dribbling:
Iverson was so good with the ball that even Michael Jordan fell victim to his crossover:
As the years went on, Allen Iverson took his game to a higher level. Silencing the naysayers, he lifted the Sixers to the 2001 NBA Finals against the mighty Los Angeles Lakers. Iverson did almost everything to have a chance against the Lakers.
Take a look at his statline in the Finals: 35.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.8 APG and 1.8 SPG. But his lone heroics weren't enough to defeat the Lakers.
After ten seasons of playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, he got traded to the Denver Nuggets where he continued his prolific scoring. After a two-season long stint at Denver, he was traded to the Detroit Pistons and subsequently to the Memphis Grizzlies.
In the twilight of his career, he came back home to end his basketball career with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Allen Iverson's accolades include MVP Award (2001), NBA Rookie of the Year (1997), and 11x NBA All-Star selection (2000-2010). He was also a four-time NBA scoring champion and also became the NBA All-Star MVP twice.
Career Stats: PPG 26.7, RPG 3.7, APG 6.2.
Also Checkout:- Allen Iverson Net Worth (Updated 2022)
Leadership is what made Steve Nash one of the best point guards ever
Steve Nash entered the league through the 1996 NBA draft and was drafted by the Phoenix Suns as the fifteenth overall pick. Two years later, he teamed up with German Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.
Initially, he wasn't as highly touted as Iverson. But he put in a lot of hard work and continued to improve his game, working on his shooting and passing prowess. All his efforts bore fruit when he became an All-Star in 2002.
In the 2003 NBA playoffs, he lead the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals where they faced the battle-tested San Antonio Spurs. Unfortunately, the Spurs proved to be the better team.
Steve Nash's game was very unpredictable with clever movement and high basketball IQ:
In 2004, Nash was traded by the Mavericks to the Phoenix Suns. It was a good comeback as he teamed up with a young Amare Stoudemire, an athletic Power Forward. They reached the 2005 Western Conference Finals but came up short against a familiar foe, the San Antonio Spurs.
He also played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2012-2015 from where he subsequently retired in 2015 due to recurring nerve damage in his back.
Nash was a 2x MVP of the league (2005, 2006), and an 8x NBA All-Star (2002, 2003, 2005-2008, 2010, and 2012). He was also a 5x assists leader in the NBA.
Career Stats: PPG 14.3, RPG 3.0, APG 8.5.
Watch analysts Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith debate the issue:
The two Basketball Hall of Famers were unique in their own right and gave the fans several memorable moments. But if we are to pit them against each other, let's rate them on several key skills. We know the ratings are subjective and bound to be influenced by a number of biases. Nevertheless, we'll try to be as objective as we can.
The ratings are on a scale of 1-10 [10 being the highest].
Allen Iverson
- Ball handling - 9
- Assists - 6
- Steals - 7
- Shooting - 8
- Leadership - 8
Steve Nash
- Ball Handling - 7
- Assists - 8
- Steals - 7
- Shooting - 9
- Leadership - 9
Looks like Steve Nash just edged out Allen Iverson on our scorecards. Nonetheless, both were era-defining superstars who helped pave the way for the NBA to become what it is today.