The Golden Age of Basketball

Barkley’s mockery represents the attitude of a large group of veterans in the circle, many of whom dislike Allen Iverson.

In recent years, the street basketball culture represented by Allen Iverson has swept across All-America, causing intense clashes with traditional college basketball.

The tattoos, gold chains, cornrow hairstyle, hip-hop style clothing, and oversized jerseys and shorts brought by Allen Iverson have spread through the basketball circle like wildfire.

Nowadays, young fans love to put oversized NBA jerseys over their clothes, wear a tilted baseball cap on their heads, hang big gold chains or some medallions around their necks, walk with a swagger, and speak like they’re rapping.

When they see basketball, their first reaction is streetball, crossover, outside isolation play, Black hip-hop; the old shorts and disciplined team basketball have become part of history.

Allen Iverson played a role in fueling this trend, promoting what was originally a Black subculture throughout the basketball community, gradually becoming the mainstream culture of the NBA.

Of course, the old-school players couldn’t stand this new culture; although they were rebellious in their youth and opposed the authority at the time, once they became the authority, their positions changed, and they became the people they once despised.

David Stern used to be an innovative figure, promoting new basketball culture aggressively when he came into office, cutting ties with the past.

Now that the NBA is big and strong, seeing new things blow in, he instead couldn’t sit still, worrying that the violence, gangs, and drugs brought by hip-hop culture might revive the bad things of the ’70s.

So, in the 2004-2005 season, David Stern introduced a dress code, requiring business casual attire in game-related occasions; players not on the active roster because of injury must wear a collared shirt and dress pants, jeans are forbade, sleeveless shirts, crew neck T-shirts, shorts, necklaces, sunglasses, and other hip-hop style clothing are prohibited.

After the dress code was introduced, it faced protests led by Black players like Allen Iverson, who brandished the banner of "racial discrimination," believing that this dress code suppressed Black culture.

But David Stern is known for his toughness, he is impossible to back down, especially since such player protests seem to him weak and flimsy, merely lip service, without any real threat or impact.

Only someone like Ah Gan, who can organize connections, start strikes, stall operations, and negotiate with strong-willed folks, can really make Stern compromise.

Now it happened that Allen Iverson was directly sent to Ah Gan; it’s said that David Stern almost died laughing when receiving the news at the League’s office. For him, watching Allen Iverson being handled by Ah Gan or Ah Gan’s team being messed up by Allen Iverson is entertaining.

Rationality tells David Stern that the probability of Allen Iverson being sorted out by Ah Gan is higher, especially since when Stern came to the League, Ah Gan already entered the league playing, it’s not excessive to say they are of the same generation.

As a players’ representative, Ah Gan both cooperates and contends with Stern, especially after Larry Flesher passed away, Ah Gan often agitates Stern regarding labor negotiations.

Over the years, with Stern getting older while Ah Gan as a player in decline, as an ordinary person, he is at his peak and now Stern is most afraid of Ah Gan becoming a boss after retirement and challenging him at shareholders’ meetings.

Though Ah Gan’s wife is also a tough character, overall she is reasonable and respects Stern, and everyone cooperates well.

Ah Gan has a penchant for toying with people, especially those with power; Stern is his main target for mischief, sometimes Stern feels afraid when he sees him, wanting to avoid him.

This time Allen Iverson was sent to Las Vegas, sending him a jester or a landmine, he has plenty to occupy his mind, temporarily stopping his mischief towards the League.

Thinking of this, Stern can’t help but laugh even in his dreams, so upon receiving the news, he immediately had the office approve it; if there are any issues in salary matching, medical checks during the trade process, the office must fully assist and solve them to ensure a successful completion of the trade!

The trade was indeed successfully completed, the League office issued a notice confirming the trade on the night of the announcement and confirmed the player exchange between parties.

The Philadelphia 76ers called to inform Allen Iverson, who along with his wife and family packed basic living items, drove to the airport, and flew away from Philadelphia where he lived for 10 years, heading to Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to the couple’s plan, they would leave their children in Philadelphia first, the two of them would go to Las Vegas to sort out Allen Iverson’s personal life issues.

Once Allen Iverson settles down, Tawanna would return to Philadelphia to pick up the children to Las Vegas and resolve the children’s schooling and various personal housing and asset issues.

For a superstar like Allen Iverson, changing teams is not merely moving to another place to play, but like a tree, being uprooted completely and transplanted to a new place.

The newly renovated luxury villa needs selling, the children need to transfer schools, the hired nanny and bodyguards at home all need replacing as they are unwilling to follow Allen Iverson to Nevada; upon arriving in Las Vegas, these need rehiring.

Family trust funds and multiple financial accounts must be transferred, new financial and legal advisors need hiring; fortunately, the chef and personal assistant who served the family for many years are willing to come to Las Vegas, which eases a lot of pressure for her.