Among the four major points guards, Iverson s fame and strength are second only to Kobe, but his career salary is at the bottom.

On May 26, in the history of the NBA, the "Four Big Points" (Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter) is an eternal legendary combination. They jointly define the basketball aesthetics of the early 21st century with their gorgeous style of play, extraordinary personal abilities and unique personal charm. However, when we look back at the careers of the four, we will find a sad fact: as Iverson, who is second only to Kobe's strength and fame among the four, his total salary in his career is the lowest among the four. Behind this phenomenon reflects the complex interweaving of NBA business logic and player fate.

###1. Comparison of the salary of the four major points guards: Iverson's "economic depression"

According to public statistics, the total career salary of the four major points guards is: Kobe 328 million US dollars, McGrady 163 million US dollars, and Carter 183 million US dollars, while Iverson is only 154 million US dollars. This gap was more obvious at its peak. When Kobe's annual salary was as high as $23 million in the 2008-09 season, Iverson's annual salary was only 20.8 million, and his value plummeted due to conflicts with the team. It is worth noting that Iverson entered the league one year earlier than Kobe (1996), but retired six years earlier than Kobe (2013). In theory, he should have a longer salary accumulation period, but the reality is exactly the opposite.

###2. Time limitations: The untimely salary system

The golden period of Iverson's career (1996-2006) coincides with the transformation period of the NBA salary structure. Although the labor-management agreement in 1999 established a maximum salary clause, the basic salary cap was only US$30 million (it increased to 58.67 million in 2013). Its annual salary for the 2001 MVP season was only 9.6 million, which was only 32% of the salary cap that year (compared to 35% of the salary cap in 2013). More importantly, the NBA introduced the "Ross clause" in 2005, allowing young stars to get maximum salary in advance. Iverson was 28 years old when he signed a four-year contract of 76.7 million in 2003, missing the dividends of the surge in salary in the later period.

###33. Mismatching of commercial value: a double-edged sword of rebellious image

Although Iverson's hard strength as an 11 All-Star and 4 Score King is unquestionable, his positioning of "street culture icon" has always been in tension with the mainstream NBA commercial promotion. Although the "Question" series launched by Nike in 2001 is a classic, compared to Kobe's lifetime contract of $15 million in 2003, Iverson did not receive Reebok's lifetime contract until 2005, and included the special terms of "32 million can only be fulfilled after 10 years". After the alliance implemented the dress code in 2005, Iverson's business value was further damaged, while Kobe was completing his business transformation through his "Black Mamba" image.

### IV. Mistakes in management decision-making: The cost of loyalty

The key turning point in Iverson's career occurred in 2006. At that time, the 76ers' management was eager to rebuild and traded him to the Nuggets at the age of 31, who could still average 33 points per game, which directly led to his loss of Bird clause (allowing the parent team to renew their contract with super hats). In the 2008 Pistons transaction, Billups' success contrasted with doubts about the compatibility of the Iverson system, causing its market value to plummetly decline. On the other hand, Kobe won the Lakers' early contract renewal of 53 million yuan after publicly forcing the palace in 2007, highlighting the fault tolerance space of teams in the big market.

###5. The fate of injury and style

1.83 meters tall destined that Iverson would have to bear more consumption than the other three. According to statistics, his total playing time in the regular season + playoffs reached 41,000 minutes, nearly 10,000 minutes more than McGrath. After the cartilage of the left knee was broken in 2007, the style of playing relying on explosive power was unsustainable. Kobe had completed his technical transformation through weight gain before his Achilles tendon ruptured, and Carter transformed into a three-point shooter early. The intergenerational difference in medical concepts is also crucial - the abuse of painkiller injections in the Iverson era (self-reported to have as many as 60 injections in some seasons) accelerated his physical collapse.

###6. The paradox of cultural symbols

Looking back now, Iverson's economic "loss" has instead strengthened its cultural significance. He represents the last purity of the pre-social media era - no load management, refusal to relegate roles, and even when he retired in 2013, he still offered contracts, but chose to leave because of his pride of "not willing to play as a substitute". This determination has made legendary, but it has also become a victim of commercial computing. Under the current NBA salary system, Lillard's five-year and 270 million contract further highlights that if Iverson had been born ten years later, he might have been able to get economic returns that match his influence.

At the level of basketball philosophy, Iverson's experience reveals the cruel dialectics of professional sports: the most dazzling personal heroism often requires the most savvy business rationality to escort. When we revisit his classics of Tyron Lue in the 2001 Finals on a short video platform, the picture is solidified not only the great moment in basketball history, but also an eternal metaphor for the game between genius and the times - he changed the way the NBA views small players, but failed to change the standards for capital evaluating value. This dislocation ultimately created one of the most complex legacies in sports history.