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Allen Iverson - Stephon Marbury Hate
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There's no real easy way to stare a pissed off Stephon Marbury in the face and ask him: "So Steph, is it true that you hate Allen Iverson?" It's a legit question. They're the two best guards in the Eastern Conference, living and scrapping in the same Atlantic Division. But it goes much deeper than that. The real rivalry that exists between Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury, is one that hasn't been touched by anyone. It's never been approached, talked about or explored on any level, yet it sits there simmering - at least on one side, since the 1996 draft when Iverson was taken #1. It's not easy to ask Stephon that question, even on his best day, let alone on a night when the Nets have just been smoked by the 76ers - without an injured Iverson. It's touchy subject, and one that Coney Island's Finest isn't exactly itching to talk about. "Stephon, were you disappointed when you found out that Allen wasn't playing tonight?" is dropped amidst the circus that is the locker room post-game. For the first time since the post-game camera lights flicked on, Steph is looking up from buttoning his shirt, glaring. "Next question," Marbury says. A few minutes later, after he's fielded a note page worth of softballs from the beat writers, Steph is asked straight up about his rivalry with Iverson. This time there isn't even a response, as he blows past the remaining stragglers of the media on his way to the Nets team bus. Theoretically, they should be at each other's throat every time they match up. They're practically a mirror image of one another in their games and their attitudes. Explosive, stubborn, tenacious and tough, they would both rather lose a limb than give an inch to anybody. Statistically though, when you line the two up side by side, it's no contest. Iverson's NBA accolade rap-sheet is unparalleled, by Stephon or anybody else. Allen was the Rookie of the Year in '96. He was the NBA's scoring champ in '98-'99. He was elected to the All-Star game first. Allen's Sixers have improved every year since his arrival, to the point where they now have the best record in basketball. Iverson's been to the playoffs twice, and won two series. Stephon made it to the first round in his rookie year with the Timberwolves, but hasn't come close since. Iverson was second team All-NBA last season, while Marbury garnered third team honors. Iverson has his own wildly popular sneaker line. Allen has his own clothing line and stores can't keep his #3 jersey on the shelves. This is not to slight Marbury in the least bit. Everyone knows Steph's nasty, but it's asking a lot for anyone to go head-to-head with Allen Iverson in any way. Iverson, for his part, is much more willing to talk about Marbury and their relationship than Stephon was to even acknowledge a question about Allen. "We've always drawn it up (playing against each other) like a playoff game or something," says Iverson., "where a lot of people can enjoy his talent as well as mine." The Answer's comments come on the same day that Stephon is named to his first All-Star game. "I'm so happy for him because I thought Stephon would have made the All-Star team last year. He is one of the best point guards in the NBA," continues Iverson. "But he hasn't been given the credit for how he's been playing." It's easy for Iverson to be gracious. From his end, he doesn't see any rivalry. To Iverson, Marbury is an opponent, not a rival. So far Iverson's beaten Marbury in everything, so there's no reason for him to think twice about Stephon. Sneakers and stats aside, there's one truth, that above all others that makes their relationship an issue: In the 1996 draft, Allen Iverson was taken #1. That fact is what makes this non-rivalry a point of bitter contention for Stephon. Two acquaintances of Marbury, who didn't want to be identified, acknowledged that Stephon "can't stand" Iverson because Allen scores more, Allen wins more and because Allen will always have the "#1 pick in the '96 draft" title next to his name. Whatever rivalry or animosity exists between the two, it stems from the moment David Stern introduced Allen Iverson. For someone as competitive as Stephon Marbury is, this fact drives him up a wall. "Before the draft, obviously they both wanted to be #1," says Brad Greenberg, former 76ers GM and the man ultimately responsible for selecting Iverson with the first pick. "We had them both in for interviews and multiple workouts to really see what they could do and to get a feel for them as people too." "Marbury was much more packaged and polished," says Greenberg. "He was there with his agent, Eric Fleischer, and you could tell Stephon had been told what to say. He was obviously more aware than Iverson of the NBA world and of NBA marketing. "Iverson on the other hand was there by himself," continues Greenberg. "He came across as himself, you know, what you see is what you get." "Here were two guys alike in so many ways. They're both so competitive and so talented, but they were also very different," says Greenberg. "One of them was a New York City playground legend. He was preschool legend. Then he was a junior high legend. Then he was a high school legend. This was his destiny. Everything in his life had been geared to get him to the NBA. "Then here's the other guy. He's from the small, southern town of Hampton, Virginia. He grew up in terrible poverty and now here he was, fighting to be the #1 pick in the NBA draft. It was a real competition " Greenberg tells a story of Stephon's individual workout with the Sixers. Steph was pushing himself so hard in the drills, at one point he stopped mid-drill, walked to the sideline and vomited on the floor. Marbury wiped his mouth and jumped right back in the drill. He wanted to be # 1 badly. "In the end though we felt that Iverson would just be harder to guard than Marbury," says Greenberg. " And we just got the sense that Iverson was a little tougher on the inside too." It's a little more understandable now why Stephon doesn't want to talk about Iverson. On draft day, Allen snatched destiny from Marbury's clutches, and Steph's been fighting for piece of mind ever since. Never in his life had there been anyone deemed better than him and the first time it happened, it was in front of the entire world. On the surface, it's all good between them. When the Sixers come calling in the Meadowlands a few weeks after the drubbing at the First Union Center, things look fine. While the Nets are warming up pre-game, The Answer leads his team from the locker room to the floor for layup lines. As he skips around the top of the key, he spots Stephon stretching at half-court and makes a beeline for him. They greet each other with pounds, smiles and an embrace at mid-court. For a second you'd even think they were boys. Then with a slap on the ass and good luck wishes, Iverson bounces away to rejoin his Sixers - Stephon eyeing him the whole way, like a lion sizes up a gazelle before pouncing. Marbury comes out playing with a purpose, maybe out of desire to one-up his nemesis, maybe out of fear of being shown up by Iverson on his home court. Whatever the motivation, Marbury plays like a man possessed and this time, he gets the better of Allen Iverson. Marbury hangs 34 to Iverson's 32, but Stephon carves up Philly's vaunted D, slashing to the hole seemingly at will and Jersey pulls off a late come from behind win to steal one from Philly. Chalk one up in the win column in Stephon's mind. The W and the performance in Jersey are undoubtedly little pieces of satisfaction for Stephon as he continually tries to cut the gap between himself and Iverson. Outplaying Iverson in head-to-head comp and All-Star berths have to be therapeutic for Marbury, who in his mind will always be competing with Iverson. Ironicallyt though, the All-Star game summed up their existence perfectly. The East came roaring back from a massive deficit in the 4th on the shoulders of their Iverson-Marbury super-charged backcourt. Dow n the stretch, it was Marbury who drilled two impossible threeballs from another area code to keep the East on top in the face of a late Kobe Bryant barrage. Iverson and Marbury dominated the fourth quarter, but it was Iverson who walked away with the All-Star game MVP hardware, leaving Marbury as an also-ran. It was typical of their existence over the past five years, Steph was great, but it just wasn't enough to outshine Iverson. It started 5 years ago on David Stern's stage, and Marbury's been playing catch-up ever since. |
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