NBA's 60 Greatest Playoff Moments: #53

[242lakeshow]

who the fuck does that reporter think she is pulling on ai's jersey like that smh

he doesnt have to do an interview for her

[DetectiveBlacksmith]

the funny thing is, tyrone lue actually guarded iverson pretty well in this series

[gohjy271]

0:12 i tot he meant sexers.

[lathanbrown1]

That was their first and last horray. They would go on to lose four straight to kobe and the lakers.

[someweirdoboi2]

In case anyone forgot, AI ruined the Laker's perfect playoff run with this ridiculous performance. This coming from a Laker fan.

[TheMoparDrvr]

Lebron traveled

[fatkidmudsliding]

lebron james could learn from iverson

[luxuriouscandy]

i love the sixers but every year when ppl say the nba playoffs are coming up, i think of the lakers

[aaronschainm]

allen iverson the fuckin homie my favorite player what a G

[rockfan96channel]

say what u want about AI, but man, he carried that team, tremendous heart

[raarmaargaar]

@rockfan96channel He could do what he did on offense because the sixers had some strong & very good defenders who would do the dirty work for him.

[rockfan96channel]

@raarmaargaar he was a good defender tho, but hey in AI's prime i was a little kid what would i know

[gofeedtina]

This is why as a die hard Laker fan I have huge respect for AI, dude was a monster, the definition of putting a team on your back.

[theajroseshow]

Iverson in 2001 is in the conversation for best season ever played by a guard. He was absolutely unstoppable, and that 76ers team was mediocre, but he somehow dragged them all the way to the finals. Amazing.

[ChickenLiverNuts]

Tom McGinnis, the radio announcer is simply amazing. It was great when he had iverson but now he can make it sound like Iggy is the best player in the league

[madude04]

that;s when Iverson WAS good

[terryts2]

The Answer...one of the toughest guys to ever step foot on a court, THE reason the 76ers were in the finals, and pretty much had a monter of a season.

[willludsgoesham]

#53!!!!!!! are they serious this was the greatest game for ai in his career and LA was unbeatable at that time maybe one of the best teams ever they won every playoff game but that first game when AI dropped 48. seriously how is this 53 when its the greatest moment by one of the top 25 greatest player ever and maybe the best little man of all time.

[casinohiphopFLA]

I'm an unemployed recording artist. DroP By and LeaVe mE a Comment!

search: casino the anti social mixtape

[ShowtimeDk3]

Imma lakers fan , and I still love this upset . Big ups to AI he was a monster that season .

[broaddusmarines]

Ha! Iverson killed Lue's soul.

[cacaman11]

i used to have iversons shoes

[Stevenelow]

This should have been much higher. It was 1 v. 5 the entire series. Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kobe, Duncan, etc. all had tremendous individual NBA Finals performances. But I don't think any of those guys did what AI did (on the road) in Game 1 with as little support as he got from his teammates. And we're not talking about practice.

[TheDelaney401]

@Stevenelow lol ur comment was true but funny:)

[1944ACE1944]

He should just go 2 the Knicks, prolly finally win a ring

[MrJaredfrazier]

@1944ACE1944 ur a knicks fan arnt u?

[playoffexpert1]

Shaq and Kobe disliked this

[gblackbird]

@playoffexpert1 ahahaha great comment

[yiprye]

@playoffexpert1 and Phil Jackson

[SidBuford1414]

@playoffexpert1 it's all good. we still won

[playoffexpert1]

@SidBuford1414 I know, one of 5 bullshit rings in 10 years. Congrats.

[SidBuford1414]

@playoffexpert1 rings dont lie. you're trying to tell me that the 00-02 lakers teams are bullshit? you're probably mad because your team didnt win

[SidBuford1414]

@playoffexpert1 how can you win a ring over 3 HOFers (2009-2010 Celtics) and have that win considered a bullshit ring?

[playoffexpert1]

@SidBuford1414 Because that team is also bullshit, but even in that series the Celtics have nothing to do with it. It's all the lakers "Sterniified" success, they earned none of it, so the success is not real.

[SidBuford1414]

@playoffexpert1 i would really like to know what the fuck makes you think that winning 5 rings in 10 years makes you a bullshit team. it's not like stern tells the refs to be nice to the lakers. you still havent even given me a legitimate reason as to why those rings are bullshit. i guess every time a team wins a championship, it's a bullshit ring

[playoffexpert1]

@SidBuford1414 I just said, Sternified. You can't dispute the lakers get more help than the refs by far more than any other team. And what's worse, it ALWAYS comes in a crucial situation, and the end result is typically the lakers getting the benefit of the play or winning the game. If you dispute that, don't bother replying, because it's true and you're in denial if you can't acknowledege it. All goes back to the Jordan dynasty, and laker success is a huge money maker for Stern.

[SidBuford1414]

@playoffexpert1 GIVE ME ONE FUCKING SITUATION WHERE THAT WAS TRUE. You're being immature as a muthafucka right now. You're just going to take the "I'M NOT LISTENING. I'M RIGHT" route? Every time kobe hits a game winner, the plays are fair and sqaure. It's like you're saying that every time the lakers win a game, it was a fake win. BTW, kobe's always calling for the foul calls, and never gets them. is that what you call "sternified"?

[playoffexpert1]

@SidBuford1414 First of all, stop being so butthurt over it, not like someone made you be a laker fan. Numerous playoff games, most notable would be game 6 in 2002 WCF, most recent would be game 7 of the finals in 2010 (albeit it against the Celtics, making it automatically irrelevant to everyone else). There may be times where Kobe doesn't get calls (to which he proceeds to bitch about) but there are plenty of times he and his teammates get calls they shouldn't, and more than any other team.

[SidBuford1414]

@playoffexpert1 Stars tend to get calls they shouldn't have. It's not a Laker thing, it's a star power thing. Dwayne Wade often gets calls he shouldn't have. Stern wants to see stars succeed. BTW, Joey Crawford, the most strict referee ever, refs a lot of Laker games. How the fuck did you jump to these Conspiracy Theories? If you were right somebody would have found out by now, or somebody would have at least spoken to Stern about it.

[playoffexpert1]

@SidBuford1414 I know that, but the lakers as a team, regardless of just Kobe or other stars on the lakers, they still get by far the most calls they shouldn't get than any other team. Now it's expanding beyond them. The Heat is one of those teams now, the Celtics have it going for them, all the same crap. Dick Bavetta has also done a lot of laker games, the most biased ref ever. They aren't theories, the facts are there, right in front of you. If you choose to deny, you aren't a fan.

[SidBuford1414]

@playoffexpert1 well, i would say that you're telling the facts, but it's never been proven that stern tells refs to be kind to the lakers. you just said that the same's happening to other teams with star power. so if miami were to win this year, you would call it a bullshit ring just because they have calls going in their favor?

[playoffexpert1]

@SidBuford1414 For teams like Miami and Boston specifically, anything they do that relates to success is all bullshit. Miami has bought all their success, people like McHale just gave away Garnett, and they attacked money pressed team officials. lakers did the same to get Gasol (which is hilarious, because now everyone LA wants to strangle him). Stern hasn't necessarily "told" anyone to help, but he sure as hell doesn't oppose the inside jobs being done, which means he's just as much to blame.

[SidBuford1414]

@playoffexpert1 sounds like a conspiracy theorist to me

[playoffexpert1]

@SidBuford1414 There is no conspiracy, the facts are in the calls and the resulting outcomes of the games.

[SidBuford1414]

@playoffexpert1 you're yet to give me some type of document making you correct. you pay more attention to the fact that the foul was called than to the actual play

[playoffexpert1]

@SidBuford1414 I'm not gonna make and go through a list of specific bullshit calls that have decided games almost entirely for the money making type teams, if you're a fan you've watched the games over the last 10-11 years and seen them yourself.

[mcnalga]

poor iverson it was pretty much him by himself against the lakers lol

[adia2010f]

ai is a beast what the hell is he doin in turkey he would be a great pg for lakers kobe and ai imagine that

[elmanu312]

i used to hate that guy when he was so good, now i almost miss him...

[EvanConover]

Only Iverson can use his unbelievable talent to make a team worse. What a shame.

[word85208]

allen i love u

but retire man its over

[jgronewald08]

this is my favorite game ever... broke my heart that a.i. didnt get to win this year. shaq was too good in game 2... philly didnt have a chance after that, although iverson still tore them apart offensively

[basketboii96]

i miss the days when iverson used to be this good..

[ChrisnSnoop]

Shaq got away with so much bullshit during that Finals series, it wasn't even funny. I'm a fan of toughnosed, physical basketball a la the '90s, but Shaq's elbows to the face were beyond dirty, cheap, and I've said this already--complete bullshit. The refs allowed Shaq to do things another center would have gotten absolutely grilled for. Mutumbo couldn't even contain Shaq because Shaq's most effective post-move was the OFFENSIVE FOUL, that was rarely called. Whatever, this game was a CLASSIC.

[r1cw]

Ruined a perfect playoff run... dam you A.I.

[iHipHop]

Its horrible how A.I never had a team molded around him. And he'll end his career like Charles Barkley. Ashame. But this game was HIS game. Lue looked like an idiot. Everything was just Iverson.

[MrJeckel]

man lue must still have nightmares about this...

[playoffexpert1]

i love THIS game, but the following year, as a loyal Kings and Sixers fan, they got CHEATED! ugh, but this sixer team was a bunch of role players, i can honestly say they never get this far without this A.I. season

[JZ2001JC]

@playoffexpert1. Exactly because Mutumbo was old fart by 2001. If they would have kept Kukoc then that ould have given them another big time scorer for LA to worry about and at least taken it to 6-7 games.

[playoffexpert1]

@JZ2001JC no they needed mutombo, he was still durable, shaq could actually run 10 feet without getting tired unfortunately, but kukoc definitely wouldve helped, but id rather give up kukoc for mutombo cuz they needed someone to guard shaq

[JZ2001JC]

@playoffexpert1. Shaq in 2001 was a big stud and all the greats like Ewing, Hakeem, etc were aged out making no one in the league close to being able to stop him (ZO's kidney thing hit that season). Throw anyone in there and it don;t matter, even Mutumbo as we saw. Kukoc would have been another scorer that Philly needed and he was a good clutch player too (especially playoffs, see 1994 vs Knicks and many other games in the 96-98 Bulls Title Run).

[maxedwell]

For all knocks on Iverson, that dude could play. It's a shame he wasn't more disciplined and focused, because in spite of all his flaws, I loved watching him ball. People called him a hog, but he was pure energy.

 Never forget him @ Gtown grabbing rebounds mid-air over the backs of bigs and dunking them back w/ TWO hands. Then years later he dropped this gem to shock the world after the Lakers were favorites to become the 1st team ever to sweep the playoffs 15-0. Huh, sweep? Da Answer said NO!!

[ItalianBamBam]

Its a shame that his career will probably end without him having a ring to go on his finger. I am a 76ers fan and am stunned to see that AI has a drinking and gambling problem. Damn! he sure could cross some people up.

[SuperTwins2010]

allen is one of the best ever

[playoffexpert1]

yeeuh! Iverson crossed the shit outta Lue, Sixers had a great playoff run, but unfortunately L.A. got on a hot streak,

people fuck with Iverson now cuz he's old, but the fact is, its good to see him play one last time and now that his career is basically over u can stop worrying about him and just remember this A.I.

[biggirlfromnyc]

The Answer was killin niggas left and right that year!!! The 76ers should have won........................FUC­K THE LAKERS

[bryant24able]

@biggirlfromnyc but they did not have Shaq and Kobe!!

[biggirlfromnyc]

Yeah but why do they need Shaq and Kobe? The're not the best players

[bryant24able]

Allen Iverson is one of the Best Scorers in the Game; at the present time during those finals they had Mutombo in the Middle; which he is a defensive presence; but he was no match for Shaq and Eric Snow guarding Kobe both pretty good defensively; but once again was overmatched. Allen was doing the best that he could; but against the Lakers it was too much.

[biggirlfromnyc]

hahahaha thats funny you said Eric Snow :P dude couldn't defend a Carebear! I gotta give you your props, you sure set me straight.

Who do you think will make the playoffs this year?

The Cavs will go, (i don't know if they'll win) if the Magic beat them and won the title I wouldn't be too hurt. I LOVE VINCE MUTHAFUCKIN CARTER!!

[playoffexpert1]

Eric Snow was a great defender, and im sorry who missed that shot? mmm?

[biggirlfromnyc]

@playoffexpert1 you don't have to get personal baby lol

So what do you think will happen in the playoffs this year?

[playoffexpert1]

wat? this year: Bobcats will make a good six gamer, if the bucks and celts play eachother 4-5, bucks will win, lakers MAY be def. in the WCF, maybe, Mavs look like theyll have a better chance over the Nuggets, but ultimately i think the Cavs, Magic, or Hawks will win all

oh yeah watch out for the sonics to (i dont call them by that gay name they belong in seattle

[biggirlfromnyc]

@playoffexpert1 Oh yeah, the Magic will win it all :) (i hope, i really really love Vince Carter<33) In the west i see the Mavs taking out the Lakers.

[playoffexpert1]

i hope, but no matter wat the lakers will get to the WCF no problem, whoever wins nuggets mavs HAS to take them down, and as long as the celtics dont miraclly win the east, im satisfied with the playoffs

[biggirlfromnyc]

@playoffexpert1 lol whats wrong with the Celtics? are you hating on KG (i love him, he's so funny and talks a lot of shit!)

[playoffexpert1]

i dont like the celtics, and no im not hating on kg hes my fav out of the 3, i just hate the fact they feel they really won something in 08 when they traded trash for all stars (while other teams were dumb enough to agree to them) bcuz now theyre always injured and the celtics will never win again with this team so it just kills me that they won anything at all with that team, but as a fan of the sixers i obviously dont like them, plus the way the bucks and celtics are playing bucks will win

[biggirlfromnyc]

@playoffexpert1 I guess you told me lol i wish the playoffs were only 3 games long (or maybe NCAA, 1 loss and your out) it would be a 10x better :)

[playoffexpert1]

nah i like the long series' but i will say even tho just for the sake of watching the playoffs the first round is my favorite i did prefer when it was 5-7-7-7

[DetectiveBlacksmith]

I'm a huge laker fan but that moment when Iverson stepped over lue on some gangsta shit was legendary.

[word85208]

Iverson is one in a billion

[omarcossio]

"was" one in a billion, no more

[MrAI3answer]

Well,I think there are two reason:Sixers stop the Lakers winning streak in a final

game;and AI steps over that rubbish Lue

is the second(He sinks a winning jump

shot).

[woutakasinistra]

Because this was probably the greatest individual performance by a man in the NBA Finals, taking on the whole world on his own, and winning the battle. If you don't understand this, you don't understand the essence of basketball. He shocked them on his own.

[thesportsdude09]

The best performance ever was Magic in his rookie year playing all five positions. Not even close. Then MJ and his countless performances are up there.

[PhanatixDDH]

Ok, Iverson's performance was great here, but this isn't even close to the greatest individual performance in the Finals.

[cbaldwinjr]

That's actually the antithesis of basketball. Basketball is the ultimate team sport. MJ is proof of that. Until he was willing to trust his teammates and defer some of that inhuman ability he had to his more mortal teammates, he wasn't a champion. Once he figured that out, he never lost again when playing a full season anywhere near his prime. AI is obviously no MJ, so if it applies to MJ, it should DEFINITELY apply to AI. It was a great single performance, but not deserving to be any higher.

[hannaro85]

Watching Iverson that season was a privilege. As a sports fan, I doubt that I'll ever see a team carried that way again. The team was entirely AI's responsibility, and he'd brought them to the finals on his back, giving every ounce of his body and soul to get there. And then this little nobody, Lue, is following him around, grabbing at his jersey, doing dinky shit like that, and Iverson hits this shot, and steps over him. This was AI's signature moment, a man against the world. A hero.

[woutakasinistra]

Couldn't have said it better. He scored 30 in the first half, then went like 4 points in 23 minutes, and scored 7 points in 1:10. It started with 2 free throws, than the 3 in transition. When he got the ball I already was dancing through my house, and then this moment. Daing I love my nigger to death man, I just love him. He has heart.

[darkchocolate132]

a) thats the only game the mighty lakers lost that year, b) iverson dropped 48 to beat them in LA.

[redamethy]

are you kidding me!!?

[JMDJ500K]

i miss the old iverson

[cbaldwinjr]

Actually you miss the young iverson...the old iverson is the one getting benched at the end of games in Memphis.

And again...this is a great performance, but it's properly ranked because ONE game didn't win a series AND unlike MJ's 63, this performance wasn't the national arrival of the GOAT. MJ's 63 is on a whole different level considering how great the '86 Celtics were and that his career literally went into the stratosphere from that point

[cmurph2845]

tyrone lue was the difference

[mister528]

It's all about...

Ownership..

Look at the Sixers now. Battling for 1 round and out..

[mister528]

Tru dat.

[blackcapone187]

AI stepping over that prick lue was a classic.I remember I was a lakers fan (and still am) but after watching AI's performance, he became my favorite ball player.this dude had the heart of an assassin he would strike at anybody and everybody

[raclos234]

they used to call lue 'the answering machine' after his performance against AI. he didnt do too bad for a while but when AI stepped over him...thats the thing everyone remembers the most.

after his stint w/ the lakers he's bounced around quite a few teams and didnt any kind of success after this series.

[astrosfan611]

What is the name of this song?

[mister528]

Nice correleation.

[clownshoe0]

i wish A.I had his ring

i remember watching this series

it was heartbreaking as a A.I and sixers fan

[ElephantRage]

A warrior poet!

[mosdef1204]

Bac then Allen Iverson was on a whole other level from anyone else in the league.

[jaboo82681]

he was playing like a mad man that season

[mister528]

greatest moment EVER.

lol im an AI fan tho ;x

[mister528]

ill be so sad when he retires

[someguynamedaaron]

ah back in the day. if only he could lead the pistons to this situation, but i doubt he will.:x

[OmnipotentCheese]

I believe that Iverson can still lead the Pistons. They're just using him the wrong way. They need to get him involved in the game and run the offense through him instead of just giving him the ball off of screens and such. Iverson still has his explosiveness and he can still put up 20-25 up a night consistently if Detroit uses him correctly.

[someguynamedaaron]

i agree. and they need to put rip back in the starting line up, hes been the top scorer for the pistons for years now. the pistons got the "stuff" they just are having trouble trying to use it. pistons arent use to having a superstar who demands high numbers of shots every game. and ai shoots low % so he needs the ball a LOT to warm up, then when they guard him he can dish to the open man. they need to play that way..

[mister528]

The Lakers went 15-1 in the playoffs that year.

The only loss was to...

The Philadelphia 76ers led by Allen Iverson.

[mister528]

i love that $hit meng

[kahkahboy]

yeah... that sucked that the 76ers lost. oh well.. GO LAKERS!

[ovhargro2]

A.I.!

[Electronicboy1]

if shaq wasn't there he AI would have taken kobe 2 school.

[mor235]

yea if shaq wasn't their 76ers would have won, not saying that cuz i'm a big shaq fan, but its true

[Electronicboy1]

its so motivational too!

[Electronicboy1]

the best ever!! i get chills when this is on.

his determination is absolutely extraordinary!!

[nuggets0388]

greatest playoff moment ever

[nuggets0388]

iverson has the most heart

[dieguiringo]

Sorry...it,s been only 25...my mistake¡¡

[dieguiringo]

Be happy about the Celtics 'cause the Sixers haven't won a title in 27 years...Ridiculous¡¡¡

[dieguiringo]

Winning games 3, 4 and 5 in Philly...totally priceless¡¡¡

[Philliesboy16]

Boston winning game 4 in LA down by 24 points and comes back....PRICELESS ;)

[EssentialClassic]

Walking over lue... priceless

[sen2k]

check out 0:19 how this women pulls AI on his jersey^^

[woutakasinistra]

My favourite game in play-off history, he just screwed the Lakers. I love his behind-the-back in the 1st quarter the most, it looks so natural, as do his 7 straight points in OT. Damn he's way to good

[NBaBall3r26]

A.I. 's best game in his career ....48pts..idk