D-Pay's Favorites: Iverson over Lue

Pictured: Allen Iverson emphatically steps over Tyronn Lue during Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals.

This is a new style of posting that I'm introducing to the blog called D-Pay's Favorites. In these segments I will from time to time recount some of my favorite moments in sports history. This allows me to connect to the past and relive some of the cooler things that have happened in sports. It's stuff that has stuck with me. Without further ado, here's the 1st edition of D-Pay's Favorites: Iverson over Lue.

It was the 2001 NBA Finals, Game 1 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers had not lost a playoff game that year and were considered heavy favorites over the 76ers. In Game 1, the 76ers showed up to play behind Allen Iverson. Iverson was far and away the best player on the Sixers and definitely did not have the supporting cast the Lakers had. Lakers coach Phil Jackson assigned Tyronn Lue to guard Iverson for the series. Lue took the assignment further that just basketball, dressing in a mirror image of Iverson, from the corn-rowed hair to the shooting sleeve on his arm. All of this clearly agitated Iverson and perhaps helped to motivate him.

In Game 1 of the Finals, Iverson had 48 points in the 76ers improbable 107-101 overtime victory in Los Angeles. What I still most remember from the series is the image of Iverson knocking down a huge step-back jumper off of a crossover late in the game and then punctuating it with a giant, dramatic step over Lue to let him know who was the real deal. Iverson was an awesome player and didn't take well to someone trying to get in his head. This is just about the ultimate in-your-face moment as far as NBA games go.

It's just an awesome play, from a Hall of Fame player. Unless you've played basketball, you don't know how difficult pulling off a crossover (Iverson was one of the best in NBA history at this move) followed by a deep step-back jumper is, but Iverson made it look easy. One of the best parts of the video is the announcer saying, "He's way too good!" That's one of the better calls of a big shot I've ever heard -- it really enhances the viewing of it. The Lakers won the series 4 games to 1, but the image that still sticks with me is of Iverson stepping over Lue.