Today is Allen Iverson’s 50th birthday. As we celebrate the former MVP, we’ll take a look back at his best performance: Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals.
Related: The truth behind Allen Iverson’s practice rant
The 2001 NBA Finals featured the Philadelphia 76ers squaring off against the Los Angeles Lakers. Many people saw the Lakers as heavy favorites and predicted they would sweep the 76ers.
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The only advantage the 76ers had was that they had the MVP. Iverson won the league’s highest individual award by averaging 31.1 points and 2.5 steals per game.
The NBA Finals and an Allen Iverson performance for the ages
After sweeping the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers had 10 days off, whereas the 76ers had only 3 days after their Game 7 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks.
This seemed to assist the 76ers. The Lakers appeared to be a team without any harmony or flow. This definitely included Kobe Bryant, who seemed to be out of sync.
The 76ers came out with a great deal of energy, led by Iverson. Following an initial 21-9 lead for the Lakers, it was all Iverson from there on out. Not only was he playing at an incredible level, but his teammates seemed to feed off his momentum and play at an equally high level.
Scoring 30 points in the first half, Iverson led his team to a 56-50 halftime margin. Starting the third quarter in dominating fashion, the 76ers blitzed the Lakers.
At one point, the 76ers had a 15-point lead over the Lakers. But just as it looked like the game was done for the defending champions, they came roaring back into it.
The Lakers were clicking on offense, and they appeared to find Iverson’s kryptonite, and his name was Tyronn Lue. The two teams fought hard until the end, and the game went into overtime.
Allen Iverson’s iconic moment
It seemed as if the Lakers had finally rediscovered their rhythm, and everyone was well aware that the only outcome to this game could be a Lakers victory in overtime. If you know anything about Iverson, then you know he never backed down.
He was the kind of guy who was a warrior on the court, and he was the kind of guy who proved this in overtime. After the Lakers scored the first five points of overtime, the 76ers stormed back and it would be Iverson leading the way.
The iconic moment of the game occurred with 48.2 seconds remaining.
Iverson showed up big, scoring 48 points in the game. There was no bigger moment than his step over Lue.
That was not only an iconic moment for the 76ers but also for the NBA Finals in general. It went down in history as one of the best “moments” in NBA Finals history.
Happy birthday, Allen Iverson.
