Why Allen Iverson ranks ahead of Steve Nash in ’96 draft class
“Ready or not, here I come, you can’t hide (echo).” — Lauryn Hill on “Ready or Not” from Fugees’ 1996 release, “The Score.”
That song replayed in my head while watching NBA TV’s “Ready or Not: The ‘96 Draft.”
So appropriate for a year in which the first seven players chosen were underclassmen.
Man. Some serious ballers were in that class.
Kobe Bryant. Allen Iverson. Ray Allen. Steve Nash.
Hall of Famers.
Stephon Marbury. Ben Wallace. Antoine Walker.
Jermaine O’Neal. Peja Stojakovic. Derek Fisher.
Turns out Fisher had an inner beef with Nash going into the draft.
“I think in each draft, there’s always guys that you have circled that’s like they got drafted higher or lower than you or there’s like a competitive thing between you and that other person,” Fisher said.
“And in that draft, like Steve Nash was that guy for me.”
Phoenix drafted Nash 15th overall out of Santa Clara while the Los Angeles Lakers chose Fisher nine picks (24th overall) later from Arkansas-Little Rock.
Fisher said he brought that “competitive thing” to the court when the Lakers and Suns met in the playoffs a decade later.
Man. That’s how personal the draft is, but they all say the ‘96 class was the best ever.
The deepest, yes, but not quite the best.
I’m still rolling with 1984 class led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, the greatest of all time, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and John Stockton.
Got Alvin Robertson, Otis Thorpe, Kevin Willis and Jerome Kersey, too. The 2003 class is right up there, too. LeBron James. Dwyane Wade. Carmelo Anthony. Chris Bosh. Future Hall of Famers.
Josh Howard. David West. Kyle Korver. Boris Diaw.
Even Suns General Manager James Jones and assistant coach Willie Green were in the 2003 class, but 1996 had ballers.
Then that SLAM cover? Classic, but like Marbury said, “Yo, where’s A.I. at?”
Twenty-five years later, Iverson thanked NBA TV for giving him a platform to clear up what happened, but then he really didn’t clear it up.
“I don’t know where I was,” he said smiling. “I don’t know how I missed it. I don’t remember.”
Huh?
“Being that young and not as mature as am now or should have been, I might have blew it off,” said a still smiling Iverson. “I don’t know.”
Now that’s classic.
Nash was there. So was Shareef Abdur-Rahim .
I covered him when he was at Wheeler High in Marietta, Ga.
Dude was a beast.
I remember a game against Walton and its fans chanting “A-C-T,” or “S-A-T” because Abdur-Rahim hadn’t qualified yet.
Wheeler fans responded with “NB-A!”
After a one-and-done All-American season at Cal, Abdur-Rahim became the third overall pick in the “N-B-A” draft.
So this special brought back some memories – and got me thinking.
Who are the top five players in the 1996 class?
Think Bryant is unequivocal No. 1. Five chips. Fourth all-time scorer. Ultimate competitor.
Keep resting in power, Kobe.
But first, pick an eight-man rotation from that draft?
PG: Steve Nash. Need someone to get all these great scorers the ball. Who better than the two-time MVP who is third all-time in the NBA in assists (10,335)?
SG: Allen Iverson: True warrior. Relentless scoring machine. Picture him with the ball, getting doubled and finding Nash for open shots.
SF: Kobe Bryant: This is just so unfair. Who do you double? Iverson or Bryant?
PF: Antoine Walker: Versatile four. Handles. Post up. Could hit 3s. He’d be even more lethal in today’s game.
C: Ben Wallace: Undrafted. Fourtime NBA defensive player of the year. Physical. Ran the floor. Rim protector. Intimidating. Screen-and-roll with Nash? Scary.
First three off bench
Ray Allen: Threes all day. Pair him with Nash, Bryant or Iverson? Even scarier.
Stephon Marbury: Green light to go get his like Lou Williams.
Jermaine O’Neal: Could score with his back to the basket as well as face up. Solid defender, too.
Now back to ranking the best of the best in that class.
1. Kobe Bryant
Seeing how then-Lakers GM Jerry West pulled off the trade in terms of convincing Charlotte that Vlade Divac wasn’t retiring and hearing why teams passed on the high schooler was crazy.
Then Bryant proceeded to have a 20year HOF career. The closest thing to Jordan. Definitely in NBA Mount Rushmore conversation.
2. Allen Iverson
Tough call putting him ahead of Nash considering Nash won league MVP twice while Iverson received the award once.
However, Iverson carried the farless-talented Philadelphia 76ers to the finals while Nash came up short of that with better rosters in Dallas and Phoenix.
Iverson’s just better. Period.
3. Steve Nash
He’s one of the greatest point guards. Ever.
Being a career 42.8% 3-point shooter, Nash would be even better today because he’d be asked to shoot more, but his ability to control tempo and pace was special.
Nash made others better.
4. Ray Allen
The best to ever do it from 3 not named Stephen Curry.
Allen has the all-time NBA record for most 3s made, for now, with 2,973, but how he went from being an athletic guard who could get to the rim to becoming an assassin from 3 and winning two titles shows how special of a player he was.
Jesus Shuttlesworth. Best jump shot ever. Clutch.
T5. Ben Wallace/Stephon Marbury
Marbury didn’t have the crossover of Iverson or the size and athleticism of Bryant, but he was as tough a cover as anyone in his prime years.
Quick. Explosive. Handles. Could shoot. Pass. Complete offensive player. As for Wallace, he was just a defensive nightmare for those 2000s Detroit teams. Averaged less than six points for his NBA career, but his defense and rebounding more than made up for that. So what the hell was M.L. Carr thinking when asking Wallace to work out with the guards at a camp with the Boston Celtics?
Come on, man.