Rise Together: A Toronto Raptors Retro Chise

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Fear No One: The Allen Iverson Story.

The sporting world has rarely been without its share of polarizing figures. People whose high level talent can only be rivaled by their big personalities. There are only a select few players in the history of the NBA whose ability and star power could rival that of Allen Iverson. There are also a select few who have caused as much off-the-court chaos for those in the front office. He was a player you loved to have on your team... until you got on his bad side, be it by things that the front office did themselves, or the coaching staff underneath them.

Case in point, the final three years of Iverson's time in Philadelphia. In 03-04, Sixers' Interim Head Coach Chris Ford suspended AI for missing practice (leading to perhaps the most famous press conference in NBA history), fined him for failing to let him know that he'd miss a game because he was sick, and "insulted" his star by asking him to come off of the bench following an injury, leading The Answer to refuse to play.

Eventually, the end of Iverson's time in Philly would come a few years later, after Iverson and Head Coach Maurice Cheeks had a few clashes (just a year after Iverson had averaged a career high 33 points per game under Cheeks) and Iverson allegedly demanded a trade from the Sixers. He then spent the rest of his career bouncing here and there.

Denver for two seasons (which included a famous spat between AI and official Steve Javie), Detroit for a season, Memphis for all of three games and even a return to Philly, all followed by a 10 game spell in Turkey with Besiktas- and then, it was over. The career of a guy who could absolutely take over a game on both sides of the ball had ended in the most pedestrian way possible. Worse yet, it hadn't even culminated in an NBA title.

Iverson had one good shot at a title, making the 2001 NBA Finals against the vaunted LA Lakers. He dominated game one, scoring 48 points and shocking the basketball world as the Sixers took down the Lakers 107-101 and handing LA their first playoff loss of the season. It all went downhill from there, however, as the Sixers were swept the rest of the way despite a heroic effort from Iverson, who averaged 35.6 points for the series. And then, as quickly as the Sixers had approached the summit, they faded back to obscurity, failing to get past the Eastern Conference Semifinals in either of the next two seasons. AI's shot disappeared as quickly as it had come.

And that is what this story will aim to fix. Can Iverson finally get the championship that eluded him and to reach the summit of basketball? Or will it peter out the same way as his real life career did? Either way it is not going to be easy.

I will pick the story up just before the 1997 NBA Draft. This was a major summer of change for the 76ers after Iverson won rookie of the year in 1996-97. They made a few good changes, but badly missed on others. Let's see how things turn out this time around.

Platform: NBA 2K20 PC
Control: Player Lock: Allen Iverson
Rosters: 1997-98 In Progress
Draft Classes: 1997 (Thunder Shaq), 1998 (Thunder Shaq)

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Storyline.

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1997-98 Season

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Seattle Supersonics acquire Carmelo Anthony in 4 team trade.

The Denver Nuggets completed a four-team megatrade that will land All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony with the Seattle Supersonics, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

The deal, as ESPN.com reported earlier Friday, would also involve Utah and Charlotte and is poised to deliver the Sonics #3 draft pick this year, Jazz veteran Andrei Kirilenko and multiple future first-round picks to Denver in exchange for their franchise player.

Sources told ESPN.com that the deal will send former All-Star point guard Devin Harris to Charlotte, with Bobcats forward Boris Diaw moving to Utah. The Sonics will also receive Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin, with Seattle's Jarvis Hayes accompanying Harris to Charlotte in a sign-and-trade. Sonics bigman Yi Jianlian will go to Utah and Denver will get a 1-to-7 protected first-round pick in 2012 that Seattle received from Golden State.

With the final hurdles being cleared, Anthony's uncertain future -- which has dominated discussion throughout the league since mid-April -- is set to be resolved before the Nuggets hold their first practice of the new season.

The trade's completion hinged in part on Anthony's willingness to sign an extension with the Sonics as part of the deal, as Kevin Garnett did to clinch the blockbuster trade that sent him from Minnesota to Boston in July 2007.

One source close to Anthony had told ESPN.com on Friday afternoon that the 26-year-old -- whose top two preferred destinations were New York and Chicago -- warmed to the idea of joining the Sonics, whose planned move to Seattle under Starbucks billionaire owner Howard Schultz is a strong lure, in addition the presence of center Brook Lopez, one of the league's top young big men.

Anthony is now on the verge of signing a three-year, $65 million contract extension with the Seattle Supersonics.

There have been talks about trades involving the Sonics in recent weeks and new head coach Gary Payton was asked about the rumors.

"All year you are going to hear stuff about not only our situation but every team. That's the way it goes," he said. "Every general manager, and you have 30 of them, they are always out looking to improve the ballclub and that's what they should do. If Ronnie was sitting up in his office looking at some political talk on television, because I heard he was a politics guy, I would be very disappointed. He is going to be always looking to improve our ball club."

Payton refused to speculate on how many games the new-look Sonics would win after winning only 12 last season.

"We're not making any promises except to say we're going to play hard and we'll see what happens on nights when our talent level is not as high as other teams."

New owner Howard Schultz has said the Sonics will challenge for a playoff berth this season.

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Iverson: The Story So Far.

Allen Iverson, in full Allen Ezail Iverson, byname the Answer, (born June 7, 1975, Hampton, Virginia, U.S.), American basketball player known for both explosive play on the court and controversy away from the game. He became the first great athlete to be strongly identified with the hip-hop movement.

Athletic success and controversy came to Iverson at an early age. At Bethel High School, he led the school’s gridiron football and basketball teams to state championships his junior year. At age 17 he was jailed after being accused of starting a racially charged brawl in a bowling alley, but his conviction was later overturned because of lack of evidence.

He was offered a scholarship to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he won two Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards before making the decision to leave school to play professionally this season. From 1994-96, Iverson suited up for former Head Coach John Thompson Jr. and led Georgetown to two straight Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA tournament, reaching the Elite 8 his sophomore year.

Iverson averaged 23 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game and 3.2 steals per game. Named Big East Rookie of the Year his freshman year and First Team All-American his sophomore year, Iverson was a star from day one.

Iverson’s presence at Georgetown was memorable from day one. Before him, no player had electrified the crowds the way he did. Sure, the team had Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85) to anchor three trips to the National Championship in four years, but Iverson brought to Georgetown what was only found in recreational leagues and parks across the country: streetball.

Iverson’s style of play was flashy, relying on embarrassing defenders with crossovers and fancy dribble moves. Iverson also relied on his slashing and toughness in taking the ball to the rim, highly unconventional for a 6-foot, 180-pound guard.

Selected as the first overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Iverson quickly became the team's leader and one of the premiere point guards in the country.

His $9.4-million contract was an instant ticket out of poverty for him and his family. During his rookie season, he led his team in per-game statistics, including points (23.5), assists (7.5), steals (2.1), and minutes played (40.1). During the final eight games of the season he averaged thirty-nine points per game, and on April 12, in a 125-118 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he became the second youngest player in NBA history to score fifty points in a game. (Iverson was twenty-one years, 310 days; Rick Barry scored fifty-plus at the age of twenty-one years, 261 days).

He was subsequently named Rookie of the Year in 1996-97.

1996-97 Rookie of the Year.

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Sixers set to hire Larry Brown as next head coach.

May 5, 1997.

Larry Brown will be named the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, The Associated Press has learned.

Team sources confirmed that Brown, 56, has agreed to become the 76ers' sixth coach in the past seven seasons. He will replace Johnny Davis, who was fired the day after the team finished the season 22-60. Vice president Dave Coskey said the team would have "a major announcement" Monday at 11 a.m. EDT, but declined to confirm it involves the hiring of Brown, who resigned as coach of the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Brown did not immediately return a phone call to his Los Angeles home. Terms of the deal were not available.

Pat Croce, the president and part owner of the 76ers, acknowledged last week that he had an interview with Brown hours after he left Indianapolis following his resignation. Brown later said he was coming back to Philadelphia for a second interview this weekend.

Although Brown wanted some say in the team's personnel decisions, sources indicated he will not have the general manager's job, which remains open following the dismissal of Brad Greenberg and Davis on April 20.

Still, it's believed Croce guaranteed Brown a significant say in shaping the team's roster.

In Brown, the 76ers get a coach who has many accomplishments - and many stops - on his resume. He has been a head coach in college, the NBA or the ABA in each of the last 24 seasons, compiling a record of 1,091-702 (.608).

The highlights were an NCAA title in 1988 with Kansas and a loss to Louisville in the 1980 final with UCLA.

He has an 853-587 regular-season record as a pro coach in a career that started in 1972 with the ABA's Carolina Cougars and continued with stops at Denver in both the ABA and NBA, the New Jersey Nets, the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Brown spent the past four seasons with the Pacers, but resigned after a 39-43 finish kept them out of the playoffs this year. In each of the previous two seasons, however, Indiana was 52-30.

His job with the 76ers won't be easy. Although they have point guard Allen Iverson, named the rookie of the year Thursday, the complimentary cast is thin.

Jerry Stackhouse, the team's other star, has one year left on his contract and has indicated he might not renegotiate if the 76ers don't reverse the losing that has resulted in a 194-342 record over the last six seasons.

Both Iverson, the first overall pick in last year's draft, and Stackhouse, the third overall choice in 1995, were lottery picks. Philadelphia will have another one this year.

But with nine players already having guaranteed contracts, the 76ers have little room under the salary cap to bring in additional talent.

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76ers Select Keith Van Horn, but is set to be traded to New Jersey.

June 26, 1997.

Officially, the 76ers, choosing No. 2, drafted Utah (and Diamond Bar High’s) Keith Van Horn.

Unofficially, Van Horn has been traded to the Nets, along with Don MacLean, Lucious Harris and a player to be named later--reportedly Michael Cage--for Jim Jackson, Eric Montross and the Nets’ seventh and 21st picks, who turned out to be Tracy McGrady and Anthony Parker.

Not that the Sixers or Nets were admitting it.

“We won’t comment on any trade or speculation,” said the 76ers’ new personnel director, Billy King. “Right now, Keith Van Horn is a 76er.”

Not for long, evidently. The Sixers-Nets trade was reported by a variety of media outlets but the 76ers couldn’t announce it, having already traded Cage in a previous deal to the Celtics for Dino Radja.

The Sixers say Radja failed their physical exam, voiding the deal. The Celtics filed for arbitration, claiming the 76ers exaggerated the extent of Radja’s knee problems to get out of the trade.

Van Horn had refused to work out for the Sixers before the draft, doesn’t want to go there and has been told he’s ticketed for New Jersey. Officially, however, he hasn’t heard anything.

“I told him today’s a great day, enjoy it,” said 76er Coach Larry Brown, the man running the Sixer front office. “Things will work out.”

Brown says the league office has scheduled a hearing on the Celtics’ grievance for Friday. A speedy decision and everyone may know who went where in this draft by the weekend.

“When Dino left us two weeks ago, he was working out, playing tennis and one-on-one basketball and his knee looked great,” Celtic Coach Rick Pitino told TNT. “I find out when he saw two doctors in Philadelphia, they found something totally different. Where the truth is, I’m not sure.”

After the second pick by the 76ers/Nets, the thing actually ran close to form.

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NBA TRADE SENDS NO. 2 PICK VAN HORN TO NEW JERSEY.

June 27, 1997.

The New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers finally completed their multiplayer trade Thursday that will bring No. 2 draft choice Keith Van Horn to New Jersey.

In the deal, the Nets got Van Horn, a forward from Utah, and three veterans, center Michael Cage, swingman Lucious Harris and forward Don MacLean. The Sixers received Tracy McGrady from Mt. Zion Christian Academy (the seventh pick), Bradley guard Anthony Parker (21st pick overall) and two veterans, swingman Jimmy Jackson and center Eric Montross.

"This trade is the largest in team history, and we're excited," Billy King, the Sixers' vice president of basketball administration, said in a conference call Thursday.