He are some of his thoughts on Allen Iverson in the midst of the 2001 NBA Finals:
But if they are what they do is the test, then Iverson passes it handsomely this year. In a nation where too many people have what is now called attitude without talent, or attitude without passion, he has, it seems to me, all three, and ironically the more passion he displays, miraculously the less attitude we see -- as if he has forgotten that in addition to playing so hard he also has to stick his finger in the world's eye...
Much of this, I think, comes from the psyche of Iverson. He seems to me to be lionhearted. He is supremely talented as well. He has not just played hurt, he has played very hurt. So have his teammates.
He has been the invincible man, refusing again and again, when faced with opponents who have superior ability, to lose. He has driven himself and his teammates to a level where they normally would not be. He has helped take a team that is, in a technical sense, not necessarily that talented, and not only lifted it to the Finals, but he has made it competitive with an L.A. team that appeared ready to roll over it just as it had rolled over everyone else lately.
Not only is Halberstam's writing striking in its evocation of that specific time and place--late June 2001, when A.I. polarized basketball fans in every way imaginable while carrying the Sixers through the playoffs on his back--it is remarkable how willing he was to embrace the new.
Instead of exclusively waxing nostalgic about the past and throwing his arms up in indignation at the present, here's a writer who sought out a common thread in the values he admired in athletes. More than anything, he showed us that the merits of sport at any given point in time should not be determined by who is playing the game, but rather how it is played.
In Admiration of Iverson [Page 2]
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