On the other hand, the Sixers were fresh off of back-to-back seven match series with the Vince Carter-led Toronto Raptors and Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson-led Milwaukee Bucks. They were also making their first Finals appearance since the team was shepherded by Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Bobby Marks.
Even though it ended up being the game that put an end to Los Angeles’ ideal postseason run, the series wasn’t even a close one as the Lakers handedly won the series, 4-1. So, what made this game so unique?
Well, the only real answer is The Response .
Allen Iverson’s signature step over Tyronn Lue is a play that won’t ever go out of fashion.
Lue, who is the current head coach of this LA Clippers, did not shy away from expressing how the episode put a spotlight on his own livelihood.
“The step over certainly made me famous,” he told The Undefeated in 2017. “The matter with Allen Iverson is, he made me.”
Surprisingly, the aftermath of this type of polarizing arrangement is a real friendship.
“Like, after the Finals, probably four or five years after, we hated each other,” Lue stated in 2016. “But then after the careers went along, we became fairly close and had a fantastic bond. He is a really good buddy of mine.”
Iverson also shared his ideas on the iconic moment and revealed he does not agree with all the negative treatment Lue obtained as a result of it.
“I don’t enjoy it because I love him,” Iverson told Rachel Nichols on The Jump in 2016. “I don’t like folks joking on him and all that, because that’s my man.”
He moved on to compare the notoriety of this event to his additional iconic crossover on Michael Jordan, that had been only one token which cemented his mythical rookie season and ultimately his Hall of Fame career.
“I didn’t even know I did this. I had been in the present time. Just like everyone talks about the Jordan crossover, so I did not keep in mind I was just playing.”
Regardless of Iverson’s unintentional justification for all those two plays, these cases became symbols of his heritage not only in the City of Brotherly love, but across the NBA planet and outside.
