In a tournament that is all about getting buckets, there are few players who would have been better equipped to win the whole thing than Allen Iverson, one of the best players in an isolation-heavy era. Today he starts his run as the No. 1 seed in our all-time Sixers one-on-one bracket, matched up with a former teammate who he would have disposed of rather easily.
As a reminder, here's what the full bracket looks like.
(If you want a direct link to the photo with a better/closer view, you can check out the bracket here.)
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These aren't the "best" 64 players, necessarily, but 64 players from an assortment of eras and categories that I initially was going to divide by playstyles (playmakers, scorers, finishers, and potpourri), before realizing you could put four or five of the greatest players in franchise history into the "scorer" category. I tried to account for some combination of impact, longevity, peak value, etc., with the first goal to split up the players I would consider to be the Sixers' version of Mt. Rushmore — Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Allen Iverson, and Charles Barkley.
Critically, the players were not strictly seeded based on how good they would be in a one-on-one setting. That's the part that I think will make this interesting, because certain lower seeds might have a chance to go on upset runs as a result because they're either too big or too fast for their opponent to deal with. It is like the NCAA Tournament in that styles may tilt the fights.
The rules:
- Players are being judged strictly for who they were/what their game was when they were a member of the 76ers. So in the case of someone like Chris Webber, you get the guy with bad knees, not the athletic force. In the case of Markelle Fultz, you get the player whose jump shot went missing, rather than the resurgent version with the Orlando Magic.
- Games are to 11, scored by ones and twos, and you must win by two.
- Make-it, take-it is in effect.
- There are no rebounds on missed shots, which count as a turnover. All changes of possession require players to check the ball at the top of the arc.
- Players can take a maximum of four dribbles per possession, to avoid gratuitous post-ups or smaller guards dribbling circles around bigs.
- Calling fouls is the responsibility of the defense. You are encouraged to factor in player personality and willingness to bend the rules when considering the impact of this rule.
Other than that, use your best judgment. Good basketball players beat bad basketball players.
Today, we focus on the Allen Iverson region, so cast your ballots below. And if you haven't voted in the Wilt Chamberlain or Charles Barkley regions just yet, you can do so here for Wilt and here for Chuck.
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VOTE: Wilt Region | Barkley Region | Iverson Region | Dr. J Region
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