Oh please! You're grasping at straws again. You shouldn't comment on players you really haven't seen play. Robert Parish is not an athletic freak. He had good agility for a big man, but he was slow, and possessed a poor vertical He didn't even make 1 all-defensive team in his entire career nor was he an intimidating shot blocker.
Kevin McHale did have long arms, but he was slow; had poor lateral movement, and couldn't jump. He wasn't even a premier shot blocker.What made McHale a great defensive player was his post defense. He was physical, and pushed guys away from their favourite spots on the floor. He guarded the best scoring forward on the other team because Bird was a lousy one-on-one defender.
Really now? Iverson is not a ball-hawk on defense. He gets most of his steals by playing the passing lanes. So arm strength has nothing to do with it.
Maybe Iverson is a great off-the-ball defender because he has quick hands, can telegraph were the ball is going to go, and understands how to play the passing lanes. But he is also a huge gambler on the defensive end.
Allen Iverson has the same off-the-ball instincts as Larry Bird. Bird was alway top 15 in the league in steals despite him being slow, not having length , and not having the lateral quickness, or what you contend arm strength. The same can be said for John Stockton. Those guys made countless all nba defensive teams. Last time I checked Iverson hasn't made any.
The error is that you stated that "athleticism = a good defensive player". Some of us contend that the #1 factor is actually understanding how to play your opponent on the defensive end. I've given you plenty of examples to contest your claim. You took sarcastic shots at my basketball I.Q. Yet you haven't even provided a shread of evidence to dispell my claim, nor have you answered any of my questions. All you've done is rely on your so-called basketball I.Q. without backing it up with any facts.
The greatest defensive player, Bill Russell, was a genetic freak. He had speed, quickness, length, and possessed a phenomenal vertical. However, he was also the most intelligent player to ever play this game. That is why he is the only player in the history of the game that could guard all 5 positions on the court. That is what made him so great. Having physical skills is a tremendous asset, but if you don't know how to play your opponent, then those skills are useless (ie: Dominique Wilkins, Vince Carter, Stromile Swift, Darius Miles...etc)
Here are some examples of Russell's defensive I.Q:
(1) He always tried to take a charge even though he knew that he could block the shot because a charge guarantees you possession of the ball and it gives the opposing player a foul.
(2) He didn't intimidate players from going to the basket. He invited them, then he came from behind to block their shots which ignited the Celtic's fastbreak.
(3) He only attempted to block shots when the ball was just barely out of the opponents hands, because he knew that if he had to jump high to block a shot, he would be out of position for the defensive rebound.
(4) He couldn't handle Wilt Chamberlain one-on-one, so he made Chamberlain work on offense and continuously made him run up-and-down the court. That resulted in Chamberlain being fatigued during crunch time, and that's is where Russell's teams took advantage.
