NBA: 20 ridiculously obscure NBA All-Star seasons that we totally forgot

14: Allen Iverson (2009-10)

Season Stats: 13.8 points, 4.0 assists per game

Call it a farewell tour, but Allen Iverson‘s 2009-10 All-Star nomination is one of the most underserved in the history of the game.

Like Yao Ming, this isn’t supposed to berate Iverson as a player, since he had a remarkable career, and is synonymous as one of the most influential players in the league’s history. But come on, the circumstances of Iverson’s All-Star nod just feel ridiculous.

Based on sheer popularity, Iverson was voted into the All-Star game, as a starter, despite being waived from the Grizzlies, and playing subpar games because of his wishes to not play off-the-bench. It feels shameful for the NBA to even consider Iverson as an All-Star, and it always goes back to that age-old debate, whether fans should have that big of an impact on voting?

There’s nothing wrong with nominating an NBA player based on their farewell season. They did it last season with Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade, and it was a good commemoration for the two. But you can’t consider this a farewell tour whatsoever, especially since he didn’t even play the game itself. Iverson’s final run in Philadelphia was woeful, and kind of flopped. It’s just a shame that he couldn’t cope with his age taking a toll on how good he was.

Let’s just hope these occurrences don’t happen again. Goes to show how we should leave the All-Star voting to the professionals.