We Reminisce: Young Iverson drops 41 points on Young Kobe
March 19, 1999. The lockout year. MJ was gone, the Bulls were dead, and the NBA needed new stars. Enter Allen Iverson. The 23-year-old averaged 26.8 points per game that season, and on this date dropped a cool 41 points and 10 assists on ‘96 draft classmate Kobe Bryant, who was 20 years old at the time. This was Kobe’s first year as a starter in L.A., and while he’d go on to average 19.9 points and set the groundwork for a Hall of Fame career, he wasn’t seeing A.I. this time.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
heartbreaker85 says:
dmn why did ron harper look like bruce bowen in the starting five clip?
ai should win a chip somewhere before he retires, love him or hate him, he played 100% and never dogged it. he hated practice, but come game time, no one played harded than he did, even outshining melo in melo’s own team.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
TJ says:
How about that Travis Knight sighting?
September 19th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
TJ says:
That’s Derek Harper.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
itsakademiks says:
LA as a whole got they ass lit up you got MATT GEIGER out there gettin buckets! wtf????
September 19th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Promoman says:
This game & Kobe’s airballs against the Jazz in the playoffs helped fuel that desire Kobe has to be the best. Kobe wasn’t ready in this game, but now he may be the best best player from the 1996 draft. If he isn’t, he damn sure challenges Iverson for the that title
September 19th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Sam I Am says:
ummm Kobe is the greatest EVER!
September 19th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Kudabeen says:
That behind the back off crossover of the pick was just filthy… Great seeing Kobe and Shaq looking helpless…This was probably the game that lead to Shaq to say Iverson is the “baddest cat in the league”…
September 19th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
dukesman2000 says:
Allen Iverson will still drop 40 on Kobe
September 19th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
T Dubbs says:
Practice… we talkin’ about practice man.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
RENO says:
@Sam I Am….. “ummm Kobe is the greatest EVER!”….
Google MICHAEL JORDAN before you make that claim. or just watch this past NBA Finals… Either way will show you that your wrong about Kobe. He’s great… but not the greatest.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
QuEsT???? says:
wow the memories this is why iverson is my fav player and my hero and to me he is the best player of the 96 draft, he has been a consistent 20+ppg throughout his nba career from the start. and he would still light up kobe.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Dennis Castro says:
Man, great times back then being a Sixer and AI fan and now we’re full circle, hopefully. It was also cool hearing Chick give AI his props.
That behind the back pull up J is pretty difficult to do, but he made it look so easy.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
vinny says:
@sam i am
Michael is the greatest ever.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
QuEsT???? says:
umm no iverson is the greatest ever
September 19th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
ERIC says:
I think the “WE REMINISCE” columns are the best by far. Keep up the great work Austin!
September 19th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
E$ says:
Not a Faker fan, but you gotta luv Chick Herns
September 19th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
ERIC says:
how about a little Kobe scoring 33 pts in the second half in Orlando (shaq’s first game back to Orlando) in 1999. 20 year old kobe was unstoppable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?=jG89T57ZBBc&feature=related
September 19th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
ERIC says:
Sorry gang – this links works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG89T57ZBBc
September 19th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Ian says:
sam i am
damn i have been agreeing with u that jordan isnt the best ever and u come and post that kobe is???? man comon u making me look like a fool
nothing is more beautiful than seeing kobe getting rapped and the funny part of the video is who u see kobe jetting down the floor before the shots of iverson go in so he isnt anywhere near for the cameras lol
quest
iverson me caia malisimo hasta las finales contra los lakers cuando en el primer juego le camino por encima a tyronne lue. a iverson hay que cambiarlo a los spurs para que gane un chip.
September 19th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Ian says:
eric 20 year old kobe was unstoppable reallyyyy
how about u youtube some of the second round series vs the spurs that season
that was some ugly shit they did to kobe
September 19th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Ian says:
@post 13 pleaseeee
September 19th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
MissChick says:
I miss Chick Hearn.
Have you noticed sometimes you can’t tell who Chick is announcing for since his enthuaism goes both ways.
Simple the best! RIP!
September 19th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
QuEsT???? says:
@ ian a la verdad que si, el se merece un championship ring
September 19th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
craig990 says:
im a big A.I fan.. but i’d say Kobe is the best of the 1996 draft.. with Iverson being a very very close 2nd!
2 hall of famers for sure!
Thing is.. A.I got his career goin early serving up dudes in his rookie year, while Kobe spent some time on the bench.
Kobe gradually got better and worked hard.. and now he’s the best in the game.
Well and A.I.. he doesn’t practice..loll
A.I got to his prime a lot earlier than Kobe and is just starting to decline.. although it isn’t that evident.. A.I has lost a half-step. His Jumper isnt as consistent, and he isnt doing much of those OMG.. did you see that crossover? moves anymore.
he still can drop 40 or even 50 here and there but Kobe is at his peak right now.. and it can only get better for him.
Yo! i think A.I will retire will still dropping about 20 points a game. He aint about to do a G.P or Steve Francis type decline. A.I will always be a warrior! How much people have done that dime?
September 19th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
@miss chick…
Great call. He was the GOAT of announcers
September 19th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Three Stacks says:
As good as AI is, he’s not gonna be dropping 40 on Kobe’s head anytime soon, not at this stage of their careers.
This is ONE game from like ten years ago, why are people talking shit about Kobe? Damn people, you really need to find that many reasons to hate on him?
Chick Hearn is a legend. Calling games till the day he died, literally.
September 19th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
jay rich says:
Kobe is the best in the younger generations. Right now u gotta say that if they played now kobe would win. Having said that there is no one who played like A.I. He is the best player under 6″ to play the game. The reason most of u tried crossovers was cuz of him. How about the braids. He played his own game and I think he should go down as one of the top 10
September 19th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
E$ says:
The 1st game I ever heard Chick Hearns call was the opening season of the Lakers/Jazz game (Lakers championshiop rings were giving that night & loss) & I was a fan since….R*I*P
September 19th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
it ain't easy being green says:
I wanna see iverson break jordans ankles, I think it was a game on Easter.
Year?
September 20th, 2008 at 12:09 am
heartbreaker85 says:
if a.i. had a legit big man down low (like a shaq-prime), he’d win rings early in his career too.
the difference between ai and kobe is that ai gets it night in and night out, every minute he’s on the floor.
there’s not a doubt in my mind that if he were in kobe’s place during the finals, he’d still be battling and we’d love him for it even if he lost.
as for kobe, i was expecting AT LEAST three 30 point games better than D WADE.
ai’s a good shooter when he has his feet set. try shooting at a fast pace while being guarded by 6′3+ guys. then we’ll talk about poor shooting.
September 20th, 2008 at 12:16 am
S-SiN says:
@ Three Stacks
he did hit 49 in 3 quarters on Kobe last year in the regular season, most of us know how that went, then the play-offs, but man damn!
AI is a scoring CHAMP. prolific. open that pound for pound discussion anytime.
and then Kobe came with that “he looked like AI of old” stuff, prolly didn’t forget that game afterall, a 20 year old back in his hometown gettin creamed? cmon
and u need to check into an institution if u claim Jordan isn’t the greatest ever.
September 20th, 2008 at 12:27 am
S-SiN says:
I saw this drunk 50ich Irish guy at the bar once who pounded his chest trying to sustain an argument that Mike ain’t shit cuz he “couldn’t hit a damn baseball”
see, it all depens what you go by. well, he couldn’t dance either (unless u count that AI shake, off course)..
THAT STILL DON’T MAKE HIM NOTHING SHORT OF THE BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER WHO EVER LIVED.
this planet is round in shape dammit!
September 20th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Ian says:
jar rich
top ten 10 iversonnnnn
hes top 50 but not even close of the top ten
September 20th, 2008 at 1:08 am
QuEsT???? says:
@ three stacks iverson lit up come for 51 points last season so yea i think that qualifies as still can light up kobe
September 20th, 2008 at 1:19 am
QuEsT???? says:
@ craig ur still a loser and a true iverson fan WOULD NEVER SAY KOBE IS BETTER! A TRUE IVERSON FAN IS AN OFFICIAL KOBE HATER FOR LIFE!
September 20th, 2008 at 1:19 am
QuEsT???? says:
fuck jameer nelson and fuck kobe
September 20th, 2008 at 5:48 am
Jo says:
AI is still outstanding…could do that now too
http://www.squidoo.com/dunklikeAI
September 20th, 2008 at 10:15 am
BigT says:
AI’s jumper is hugely underrated. If his jumper was not an ounce of consistent as it is and has been, he might not even made it to the league. In order to average over 25 ppg in the league as a guard you have to have a reliable jumper.
September 20th, 2008 at 10:24 am
NC says:
Goddamn…
September 20th, 2008 at 11:11 am
jr says:
A.i.burned Kobe that game an plenty more games Kobe had some games where he had it his way but A.i. will always outshine even in kobe’s hometown witch is like Iverson’s city cause even thou he aint here no more we still love him just the same(how do you think kobe feels getting booed in his home city @ the all-star game trust me it hurts)Kobe IS the best all a round player in da L but he still 2nd to A.I.the stats prove it the only one Kobe is better in is the ines he supposed to be better in ie:Rebounds,blocks,an Rings. He played wit Shaq what do u expect. But in points A.i. got he by almost 2k(look it up)I expect more games like this from A.I. young or Old he jus got to want it more I’m from Philly where A.I. is like a GOD an could no wrong…….Tree Stacks do your research before you post A.I. droped 51 in a loss 2 da Lakers this year he can stiil do it an he’ll do it this year 2 just watch!
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 am
Jan says:
How bad was that travelling at approx. 1:45 … I can’t even count that fast.. how many steps does Lynch make there without any dribbling!?!
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:52 am
Rdub4Sho says:
Damn AI was givin Kobe the bizness!! Bet KB had lots of SPLAININ’ to do after this game was final!!
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:53 am
Rdub4Sho says:
Geez AI was givin Kobe the bizness!! Bet KB had lots of SPLAININ’ to do after this game was final!!
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Matt says:
Allen Iverson was practically in his prime in 99.. most of those plays were pick and roll plays so how does it mean it’s Kobe that Iverson drops 40points on? Why not Fisher who was defending him for a good portion of that game? why not Shaq who switched to Iverson a dozen times but was too slow to react?
1on1 even back then Kobe would destroy Iverson.. it’s just that Iverson’s style of play made him look better than he actually was against the slow Lakers team.
I’d like to see Iverson defend Kobe 1on1 instead of hiding from KB and guarding Fisher.. Kobe defends Iverson to even a guy as big as Lebron if he has too.
Kobe>>>> Iverson