In the recent episode of the "Knuckleheads podcast," Allen Iverson revealed that he feels the zone defense was implemented in the NBA to stop him from scoring. According to "The Answer," the one-on-one defense, which was the primary type of coverage before the zone arrived in the NBA, had no shot at stopping his scoring efficiency.
"I remember me telling my teammates [in college] like yo man, how they gonna stop me in the NBA? Can't run no zone. Can't run no 1-3-1, can't run no box-and-one. In the NBA, they got to play me straight up one-on-one. Now four scoring titles later, I don't understand how the zone came back in the NBA," Iverson said .
The zone era in the NBA
Zone defense was allowed in the NBA from the 2001-2002 season, four years into AI's pro career. By 2001, A.I. had already won two scoring titles and an MVP award, in addition to leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a finals appearance. Iverson averaged 26.2 points and 4.0 assists in his first four years in the league. In the 2000-2001 season, the year before zone defense was implemented, he averaged 31.1 points a game.
"In the history of the NBA, I know why and you know why. In the history of the NBA, they never got zones and they got this 6'1 ft dude winning scoring title after scoring title like aight let's implement the zone," Iverson said.
After the zone was implemented, Iverson's scoring average decreased in the following two seasons. He went from averaging 31.4 points a game to 27.6 and 26.4, respectively. A.I. eventually figured out how to adjust his scoring and strategize against the zone, as his scoring production went back to 30.7 a game after those two years.
How impactful is the zone?
The zone defense was banned in the first place, specifically during the 1940s, because the NBA wanted to highlight man-to-man defensive coverage, which depicted the true essence of the sport. Another reason the zone was not allowed was to allow players to increase their offensive efficiency, which was more attainable with a man-to-man offense instead of a scheme to fully stop it.
Teams utilize the zone to dare their opponents to score outside the paint, and the NBA didn't want this to be the case during a time when scoring in the paint was the biggest source of points.
But Iverson came into the picture, and he felt he changed the game's defense in that regard. Suffice it to say that he embraces not only the fact that he changed the NBA's culture but also how the game is played today.
Related: "It's 11, 12 at night, I'm gonna go out, and he going to the gym" - Allen Iverson recalls his first interaction with Kobe
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