How Valuable is Allen Iverson, anyway?
Bear with me.
Years ago, I worked on a mountain rescue team in the northwest. Yet I hesitate to call it a ‘team’ because it suffered due to the presence of an overwhelmingly charismatic, yet mercurial individual we’ll call James. James had broad shoulders, a square jaw, and a smile like a Cheshire cat.
On one hand, James checked all the boxes: he knew the mountains better than anyone; was well versed in their history; was an excellent climber; a dialed paramedic; could organize and attend any station on a technical raise or lowering; could work as a spotter or short-hauler in any air operation. By one argument, James was perhaps the most valuable and proficient rescue team-member in the organization.
And yet.
Days would go by when you wouldn’t see him. In meetings, he’d wear dark glasses and sit in the back with cronies, muttering sarcastically to himself and those within earshot. He’d greet visiting climbers loudly and enthusiastically, “Hey man. Where ya headed? Oh yeah, great route…watch that loose flake on the third pitch…mind the new cracks on the Emmons - it surged last fall…ok great to see you, bye.” But it was less of a conversation than a hit-and-run handshake. Nicknames became a useful vehicle. Unpredictable mood-swings. And the energy would take up all the air in the room.
In those days, I was often reminded of that story of the Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson. Iverson would rarely pass the ball, instead opting to be a shoot-first player. When called out by Coach Larry Brown, “AI, there’s no ‘I’ in team,” Allen responded on the next beat, “There is in ‘win’, though”. Over his career, Iverson won scoring title after scoring title - even MVP one season - but his team never won it all. One wonders what might have happened had the point/shooting guard also led the league in assists every year.
Which brings us to the question at hand: How valuable is such a talented, yet polarizing individual on a team?
In the end, James was asked to leave. And over the next several years, the team developed into one of those high functioning, highly resilient, high performance teams.
And never looked back.
Sound familiar?
