“This is some BS” – Stephen A Smith goes off on Allen Iverson not being a part of the Philadelphia 76ers staff
Nobody says it like Stephen A Smith. And this time, it is the Philadelphia 76ers organization that is the target of the long-time NBA commentator and sports analyst’s latest salvo. Speaking on 76ers’ legend Allen Iverson not being a part of the franchise’s staff, Smith came down heavily on the Sixers while speaking on First Things First.
Smith said:
“My response to that is the Philadelphia 76ers organization is the one organization that has not business taking this position. Allen Iverson is absolutely right. One thousand percent. And I haven’t spoken to the Sixers, but I will. Because this is some BS. I was not aware, I didn’t ask Allen Iverson about this. I wasn’t aware that he had absolutely no role with the Sixers organization.”
Damn Right I said this about Allen Iverson. And I meant every word! https://t.co/t6Pmz9Odxb
Smith prefaced his comments by admitting that he is very tight with Allen Iverson. Smith called Iverson “the little brother I never had”.
The reason Smith assumed that Iverson had a role with the Philadelphia 76ers organization is because, according to him, Iverson was there to bail out the franchise when they were losing and going through their rebuilding phase (between 2012 and 2017), the phase now referred to as ‘the process’.
Smith took off on the Philadelphia 76ers, saying:
“The same Philadelphia 76ers organization that evidently doesn’t employ Allen Iverson in any capacity, is the same Sixers organization that used him for ‘Bobblehead Night’ and retired his jersey and did everything they could to celebrate him in recent years, to generate revenue, and interest in their franchise when that bogus ‘process’ was ongoing, and you couldn’t win a damn practice game, let alone a real NBA game. Nobody was interested. You sucked as an organization. And what did you do? Allen Iverson. Did you come to the rescue? Could you be there for us? We want to celebrate you. We marketed it. We monetized it. We generated revenue off of it. That’s what you did coz you didn’t matter at that time.”
Allen Iverson expressed his desire to help the Philadelphia 76ers organization
Smith’s comments come amid the backdrop of Allen Iverson recently telling Bleacher Report that he wanted to help his former team. Iverson, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, was picked first overall by Philadelphia in the famous 1996 NBA Draft.
He played for the organization for ten straight seasons between 1996 and 2006 before being traded by the Philadelphia 76ers in December 2006. Iverson returned to Philadelphia in December 2009 for one last hurrah, playing 25 games for the franchise in the 2009-10 NBA season. Iverson called it quits on his NBA career at the end of that season.
It was in this context that Iverson told Bleacher Report:
“I know I can help an organization get better. I know so much of the in-and-out of basketball, and not just talent wise… but I know other things when it comes to basketball. I know the look. I know the eyes. I know the posture… I’m a Sixer for life. I got Sixer blood pumping through me. Everybody knows that I want to help the organization. I’ve been retired eleven years. I don’t know how I’m not a part of that staff in some kind of way… And the money thing, it got nothing to do with it. It’s just me being me and me being a Sixer and wanting to help.”
Over the course of his 14-year NBA career, Allen Iverson won four scoring champ titles as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. He was an 11-time NBA All-Star and the 2001 league MVP. He most famously single-handedly carried the Philadelphia 76ers to the 2001 NBA Finals where they took a game off the LA Lakers in Game 1. Iverson dropped 48 points on the Lakers in that contest while playing almost the entire 53 minutes of the overtime game.
Off the court, Allen Iverson also impacted the NBA as a cultural icon. His cornbraids, arm sleeve and swagger were a big influence on his peers and those that followed him. He also had one of the nastiest crossovers in NBA history. Why the Philadelphia 76ers don’t have him on their staff is a mystery to most people.
Also Read: What is Allen Iverson’s net worth now?