Kevin Durant dropping 60 points in a D.C. playground run earlier this week reminded me of this game from 2005, when Allen Iverson hit up Orlando — featuring Steve Francis when he was still good, Dwight Howard as a rookie, and defensive specialist Doug Christie — for a career-high 60. If you put together an all-time starting five of the greatest pure scorers ever, A.I. cracks the five, right?
21 Responses to “We Reminisce: Allen Iverson Gives Orlando 60 points”
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MITCHELL & NESS PROMO
July 19th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
POINTFWD13 says:
cracks the 5…..there is no question. no question
July 19th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Bruce says:
Christie would gave the the greatest, better than Jordan had his wife ordred him to be the greatest. To bad she didn’t. If she did, he would have.
Christie still the most Whupped Man in America!
July 19th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Dagomar says:
Yeah he’d probably crack the five. Here’s a question: who’s a better scorer, AI or Kobe? I’d say Kobe (more versatile/efficient), but I have friends who disagree.
July 19th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
SayItAintSo says:
Kobe or Iverson? I don’t really think there’s is much of a debate. Kobe is, hands down, a better scorer than AI. It could be primarily because he has the physical tools more so than AI but there is no debate.
I hate using an 81 point performance as a means of validating Kobe as a great player because there is no connection between a great player and scoring an unfathomed number of points. However, there is a direct connection between being an elite scorer and being able to drop 81.
July 19th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
K Dizzle says:
No doubt
all time “Light yo ass up” startin five
pg - A.I.
sg - Mike
sf - Iceman- “Only Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan have won more league scoring championships than Gervin’s four, and he was the first guard ever to win three titles in a row.”
pf - “The Mailman is simply the best low-post scoring power forward ever. And he was a lethal mid-range shooter. The 11-time NBA first-team player is second all-time in NBA scoring. The guy scored 36,928 points. That’s a lot of picks and rolls and post ups. His 25.0 career average is another reason why this two-time MVP was voted onto the NBA’s Top 50 squad”
c - Wilt 50ppg speaks for itself
July 19th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
K Dizzle says:
Damn! I looked at it and thought it was a typo. Did Wilt really AVERAGE 50 a game?
July 19th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Austin Burton says:
I’d probably start Wilt and Kareem at the 4-5. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer has to be in the starting five.
And I might put Elgin Baylor over Iceman.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Marian says:
why kobe. iverson has the 3rd or 4th highest average per game in history!!!! why are people tryin to bring kobe in every discussion
July 19th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
mike c says:
I wouldn’t put Kareem in there.
Yeah, he has the most points all-time but that’s because he played like 20 seasons. His career-high in a game is only 55.
My top 5:
1. Wilt
2. Mike
3. Kobe
4. Elgin
5. AI
Although I put Mike over Kobe, I still think Kobe’s more explosive than Mike. Jordan was just more consistent. I don’t care what anyone says, MJ in his prime wouldn’t have scored 81 in a game or 62 in 3 quarters today. You have to have crazy range to score over the zone in today’s game and that’s the one thing Mike didn’t have.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
doc says:
My top 5 PURE scorers Mike,,Kobe,AI,Bron,Iceman
July 19th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:
AI is defintely top 3. All the AI haters just stay away from posts about him. See him up close and in person and you will respect his game much more. What he does is crazy for someone his size. Heart matters more that size or talent! He has more heart in his pinky that most players in the league do in their whole body.
July 19th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Chuck says:
Top 5 all day
I love iverson because he killed those petty “If I was 6′5 I’d be in the NBA” argument. Dude is 6′0, 175 and killen every opponent every year. he’s not Kobe or Jordan having a 44′ vertical nor Lebron built like a freakin truck.
July 19th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Len Bias says:
You think AI and Kyle Korver would hang out much?
July 19th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Dave says:
I don’t understand Iverson haters. I really don’t. I mean, you can personally dislike a player, but give him his due respect, even if that’s the case.
In the conversation about the best small man (6′1″ and under) to every play the game, there are only three names that I could consider: 1) Isiah; 2)AI; 3) Tiny Archibald. I’d give Isiah the nod because he won championships, but he also played with better teammates than AI. I put Tiny in the group because leading the league in scoring and assists is something that will never be duplicated again.
What other player of AI’s size and weight had the ability to score 60 points in a game? Answer: None.
This guy is having one of the most amazing careers of all time, and all some people can do is carp about his shooting %. Idiocy.
First ballet HOFer - no doubt.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
HUH!!!! says:
SMH at the person who said Kobe is more explosive than Mike!!!!
July 20th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Wanderlei Silva says:
DaJuan Wagner a Earl Boykins could drop 60 points. Granted
July 20th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Dave says:
“DaJuan Wagner a Earl Boykins could drop 60 points.”
Not in the NBA.
July 20th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
AB_40 says:
So no one posts larry legend?
5. Wilt
But since his passing skills will go away since almost no one in cleveland has the hands to catch a ball see anderson varejo, Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace?
4. Bird
3. Bernard King/Elgin Baylor can’t decide
2. MJ
1. LeBron James. Still see him as an oversized PG
And AI is a great scorer but top 5 all time? I don’t know. Top 5 in guards scoring would be real but all time everywhere? nah man sorry
July 20th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
djKianoosh says:
The question originally was a starting five of pure scorers.. so essentially pick the best scorer at every position and try to roll with that…
MJ
AI
Bird
Olajuwon
Wilt
I just like that combination of scorers right there. That’s a quick and crafty front line. and the backcourt is lethal.
Sure almost every position is debatable, but I like the versatility of all the different ways these 5 can score.
if you don’t get at least 2 points every trip down the court with these 5 something’s wrong.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:23 am
cbizzle says:
Top five Scorers in no particular order
1 AI
2 MJ
3 KOBE
4 HAKEEM
5 WILT
July 21st, 2008 at 11:49 am
Kudabeen says:
Wilt - like someone said before 50… He wasn’t just out there dunking, he took short jumpers, had a variety of hook shots and what he called dip-shots. No matter how teams played him he found a way…
MJ - Willed the ball in. He perfected the most effective and most available shot in basketball, the 15-18 footer. That’s the area the true scorers are most effective.
AI - at his size, to be able to get his shot off among the trees is herculean in itself. He is not a 3pt shooter. One of the most gifted athletes to ever play period.
Ice-Man - did he even sweat on the court?
Pistol Pete - one of the most fluid scorers ever. (44ppg in college) Given that he was an effective pg in the league he still averaged an easy 20+ throughout his career. He was known to take many shots from 3 point range, but for the most the league didn’t have a 3pt line.
Honorable Mention: Elgin Baylor,Benard King, Bird, Alex English, Kareem, Malone, Dominique…