Treat Kawhi Leonard’s final run the same as Allen Iverson’s
By Troy Hanning
Who carried more?
Iverson is remembered as the golden child for an NBA player carrying the least amount of talent to an NBA Finals. Sort of like how Chris Paul is remembered for always getting hurt at the worst possible times. But… and I know this is going to shock some people, Iverson’s supporting cast was not the lousy group of no-good grunts that your biased love for AI made you believe. In one season, the team had the Coach, Sixth Man and Defensive Player of the Year.
If your team is winning all of those awards, don’t tell me the supporting cast is complete garbage. The reason nobody scored other than Iverson was that no one else had 10 or more field goal attempts a game. And just like how Iverson didn’t add much to rebounding and defense, the team just happened to be one of the best rebounding and defensive teams in the league. Again, that’s not Iverson.
Toronto had just parted ways with reigning Coach of the Year Dwane Casey for Nick Nurse, their championship coach. The Raptors also had Serge Ibaka and Fred Van Fleet coming off the bench. Ibaka did more on the court than Aaron McKie, the former Sixth Man of the Year. So the award doesn’t mean too much, it was just a slow year.
While Dikembe Mutombo was integral to the Philadelphia 76ers defensively, the Raptors also had a former DPOY who was past his prime named Marc Gasol. They also had the most improved player of the year, Pascal Siakam, who was better than Dikembe and any other 76er during the playoffs.
As mistreated as that 76ers team was, I’m taking Siakam and Kyle Lowry over Mutombo and Eric Snow. Final score: 7/5 Iverson.