Allen Iverson Live

Allen Iverson makes European debut for Besiktas Cola Turka

Former NBA MVP Allen Iverson made his debut for Besiktas Cola Turka in a 94-91 loss against Hemofarm Stada. The ex-NBA MVP produced 15 points, three rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes in Istanbul on Tuesday.

During the game, Turkish fans cheered the 1996-97 NBA Rookie of the Year. At one point, the crowd at the venue cheered, “Allen Iverson, the son of Besiktas Cola Turka.”

Allen Iverson has his first European Win after Beşiktaş Cola Turka beat Trabzonspor 94-85.  Iverson dominated the first half on the offensive end.

Iverson’s line ended up showing 14 points and 8 assists contributed – and all but three of those points came in the first 20 minutes of play. How involved was A.I. in the Beşiktaş offense? In directly contributing to at least 27 Eagles points, the halftime score stood at 41-41.

Next up: The Iverson show travels to France to play Asvel Basket in week three of Eurocup basketball on Tuesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7.30pm CET (1.30pm EST).

Coverage of Allen Iverson is hard to find while he’s in Turkey, but I’m going to try my best to put together the latest coverage and game recaps for Beşiktaş Cola Turka.  In the latest game, and Allen Iverson’s debut in Germany, Beşiktaş Cola Turka took on BG Göttingen in game two of 2010-11 Eurocup play.  Iverson showed he is getting more and more used to the European game: He collected a season-high 18 points in a season-high 31 minutes, shooting 5-of-11 from inside the arc and 1-of-2 from beyond it while knocking down all five of his free throws and collecting one rebound and one assist.  Unfortunately, Iverson’s team lost to BG Göttingen in a thrilling 85-83 game.

Every one of the 4,202 spectators – a Göttingen club record since the game had to be moved to the Volkswagen Arena in nearby Braunschweig – was hoping to catch a glimpse of the old A.I., the former NBA MVP, 11-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA scoring champ.

“It was more than glimpses,” said Göttingen’s American coach John Patrick. “He had 18 points. He didn’t play a whole lot of minutes. But it showed that he’s really dangerous one-on-one. Even though we knew what his tendencies are, somehow he’s able to get his shots off and his balance is so good. Especially when you think that he’s 35 years old and he hasn’t played that much. And he’s still able to do this.”

Here’s a great interview byDavid Hein from Hein News – a one-on-one with the man himself.  Some of the highlights below.

Iverson: I feel great. My whole thing is just to get my rhythm and getting into a game rhythm. Obviously I haven’t been playing games in a while. But physically I am, and I’m gonna knock on wood, physically I’m 100 percent right now when it comes to my body. I’m not dealing with any pains.

It’s great to hear that Allen Iverson is healthy.  He just needs to adjust to a different kind of basketball game in Europe.  Once he finds his stride, his team may be getting more wins in the future.

In the first NBATV televised game of Turkish club Besiktas, Allen Iverson was held to only two points, but he didn’t have much to do with it.   Besiktas Cola Turka lost 74-67 to defending champion Fenerbahce Ulker on Sunday.  Iverson missed three shots in the first quarter and was taken off with less than a minute left. He returned at the beginning of the second half, but did not score until late in the third. He then returned to the bench for the rest of the game.

There’s been a lot of analysis going on around the blogsphere on Allen Iverson’s journey in Turkey.  I’ve seen a couple of stories floating around about how Allen Iverson is only playing in Turkey because he needs to the money.   To which AI’s response was

“It’s not a problem, it’s not a problem – money,” Iverson said at an Oct. 29 news conference in New York. “Obviously if it was about money, I would jump out there and say, ‘You want me to come off the bench? How much money are you paying? It wouldn’t be a big deal. It’s not about money or anything like that.”

Good article from SLAM Online:

His second game with the club—and debut in the Turkish league—is hardly enough to judge him or his basketball future, especially when we know so little about what’s really going on. With that, it seems as if we are once again where we started.

The moment that Allen Iverson fans in the US have been waiting for – NBA TV will televise Allen Iverson and his Turkish team Besiktas Cola Turka this Sunday. Playing the defending Turkish Basketball League champion, Fenerbahce Ulker from Istanbul, we’ll get to see A.I. ballin’ against some legit competition as well.

The game will air on NBA TV beginning at 3:30pm EST.

In his debut on Nov. 16, Iverson scored 15 points during Eurocup competition, eventually falling 94-91 to KK Hemofarm Stada in Istanbul. Perhaps the best part about the game this Sunday? Iverson’s former teammate Chris Webber will be calling the game alongside Rick Kamla.

In his highly anticipated debut game in Turkey, Allen Iverson scored 15 points but failed to grab the victory for his team.   Hemofarm Stada defeated Besiktas 94-91 in a European Cup game on Tuesday in Istanbul. Turkish fans shouted “Allen Iverson, the son of Besiktas Cola Turka” during the match.

Besiktas Cola Turka faced Serbian A-league team Hemofarm Stada in a European Cut game in Istanbul, Turkey. According to stats provided by EuroBasket.com, Iverson scored 15 points, grabbed three rebounds, dished out two assists and committed two turnovers in 23 minutes of action.

According to wire reports, “Turkish fans shouted ‘Allen Iverson, the son of Besiktas Cola Turka’ during the match.”

Around the three minute mark of the video, Iverson converts a 4-point play.

The pictures and video are pretty surreal, and not only because Iverson has traded in his familiar No. 3 jersey for a Besiktas No. 4. It’s really him out there, but it sure doesn’t feel like it given the surroundings.

It seems we may have to wait for a bit longer to see Allen Iverson play his first game in Turkey. The former N.B.A. All-Star Allen Iverson’s debut with the Turkish basketball league team Besiktas has been postponed. Murat Murtezaoglu, the team manager, said Iverson “did not feel ready” to play Friday and instead watched from the stands as his new team beat Oyak Renault, 87-81. Murtezaoglu said he expected Iverson to make his debut at Besiktas’s European Cup home game on Tuesday.

In an amazing spectacle, Allen Iverson is announced into the Turkish team Beşiktaş. Allen Iverson talks about his first practice in Turkey.

This is remarkable.  Allen Iverson hasn’t played a game yet, but still managed to have 32,000 fans chant his name at a soccer match.

Iverson stands up to receive a ridiculously warm welcome from the crowd that reportedly numbered more than 30,000. Eventually, the group breaks into a loud, repeated chant of his name. The reception is legitimately goosebump-inducing and Iverson takes in the cheers with a huge smile, donning a team scarf as he shakes hands and meanders through the crowd.

All of a sudden, Iverson’s Turkish travels feels a lot more adventurous, and a lot less desperate. The Answer has always danced to the beat of his own drum, and it’s nice to see, even in Turkey, that fans are happy to dance and sing along to that beat, at least for now.

Allen Iverson’s arrival in Turkey is making huge waves around the world.  What was almost another failed deal (a la the China Basketball team), the Turkey deal ended up coming to life.  Who would have thought that Allen Iverson, former NBA MVP and future hall-of-famer would end up in Turkey?  Well, you better believe it.  All I can say is that it’s better to see AI in action – playing the game he loves – than sitting and waiting for an NBA Team to sign up.

News around the world:

Allen Iverson assumes Historic Role.

Iverson admits he may not have all the answers.

“I want to thank you fans for welcoming me and embracing me the way you have… I can’t promise you that we will win every basket-ball game.

“But one thing I can promise you is that we will play hard, we will play together and we’ll give everything that we have on the basket ball court night in and night out.

Iverson faces whole new ballgame playing in Turkey

Signed, sealed and soon to be delivered, future NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson has officially inked a $4 million, two-year contract with Turkish club Besiktas.

At a press conference for the signing on Friday, The Answer met with team owners and unveiled his team jersey.

He also spoke about his decision saying,

“A lot of people probably feel like I’m losing sleep because I’m not playing in the NBA, but I’m playing basketball and that’s the most important thing.”

Iverson continued,

“I had a great time playing in the NBA. Who knows if I ever will again? But I wanted to show everybody I can play at a high level, not just the NBA.”

Links: Allen Iverson and the top 6 basketball players outside the NBA