Is Allen Iverson Underrated by the Hobby ? Or is it my imagination?

Allen Iverson was a pioneer of Today's NBA
        

    In June of 1997 Slam Magazine asked the basketball world a simple question. "Who's Afraid of Allen Iverson?" At the time Iverson had just came off a Rookie of the Year Campaign after being selected #1 Overall out of Georgetown in 1996. In many ways Iverson started a revolution While Jordan was dressed in Armani, Iverson wore baggy clothes, Jordan was clean cut, Iverson had cornrows. While  Jordan represented Wall Street, Iverson represented Streetball. In fact every playground in my hometown of Lakeland, Florida had kids trying to emulate the AI Crossover. He gave every undersized ball player hope, I will go as far as to say if Iverson did. not succeed the current NBA is never blessed with Chris Paul, Steph Curry and other other small guard who's size was questioned.

    So my question is where is the hobby respect for AI? You seldom see him as a main PC? He is hardly a chase card in high end sets. What Happened? He played big time College basketball, He spent his prime years in the 4th largest media market (Philadelphia), all while winning numerous accolades such as Rookie of the Year (97), MVP (2001), 5 All Star Appearances (10 Overall) 2 All Star Game MVP's (01,05), 3 All NBA First team, 2 All NBA Second Team, 1 3rd All NBA  Team, and 3x NBA Steals leader (01-03). All this before leaving Philadelphia after 10 season in 2006. 

    So why does he seem under-collected, and under appreciated in the hobby? I have a few opinions on why this injustice seems to exist.


1. Wrong Place Wrong Time

    Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, and Reggie Miller all retired without a title because of Michael Jordan and the Bulls 90's Dominance.  Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Chris Webber and Jerry Stackhouse retired ring less in large part due to Kobe Bryant. So what happens to someone who entered in the basketball world , as well as the hobby between these two Icons ? That is where AI falls. Entering the league at the start of the second Bulls 3peat, and the same year as The Black Mamba, Iverson may have had the unfortunate circumstance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pair that with the fact that when Iverson was in his prime (01-04) a young kid out of Akron named Lebron James was arriving on the scene. These all could have contributed to Iverson being seemingly under represented in the Hobby.


2. Off Court Reputation

   It is an open secret that Allen Iverson was not a favorite of the NBA suits. With his tattoos, braids, clothing choices , and infamous rap album (Google it). He was never going to be the face of the NBA no matter how explosive or exciting his game was, and let not forget about his famous "practice" response. Pair that with the legal troubles prior to entering the league as well as while playing in the league and its understandable that he was not ever going to be a media darling or pitchman like many of his contemporaries. Yes he did grace the ESPN basketball video game as well as the NBA 2k Series covers, but video games sell themselves making his presence a non factor.

    So how does that affect his hobby presence? At it's core the hobby was designed for kids, kids have a limited income so they rely on their parents for money. With that being said very few card companies would see it as marketable to put the tattooed and braided Iverson on the box or packs when the All American Kobe Bryant or the extremely marketable basketball prodigy Lebron James is an option. As we all know in any sport if you are out of sight you are out of mind. 

    For 10 years Allen Iverson was one of the top 5 players in the world, yet for collectors he has always seemed like an afterthought. Rarely do you hear someone say they PC Iverson. Yet Kobe, Lebron, and Jordan are constants among the PC list of collectors. His Autographs and memorabilia cards are available. However they are available at a fraction of the price of even some unproven rookies on the market, and you can purchase low numbered autos of him for significantly lower than his aforementioned peers.

    I don't know "The Answer" (pun intended) to this question. Am I missing something? Is there a pocket of Iverson Supercollectors I have misses? Or am I accurate with my assumption that Allen Iverson is grossly under rated and under collected by the hobby? What do you think?


The Big Orristotle


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