Answer Me This

I've heard it said, by people who would know better than me, that Allen Iverson -- all 6-foot, 165 lbs. of him -- is one of the ultimate competitors in the NBA.

For 12 seasons, he has put his body on the line against players taller and wider than himself. Towards the end of last season, after he'd been traded to his third team in three years, the daily beatings took their toll and his back began to act up.

Things aren't as easy when you're playing with teammates who were born in a different decade than you. The paint seems to close up a little quicker when those defenders grew up watching you star at Georgetown or cross up MJ as a rookie.

When you're in your mid-30s in the NBA and were playing with a style predicated on quickness and toughness, things are bound to catch up with you. Kobe Bryant -- who was never the highest leaper or quickest player in the NBA, just the most lethal -- has already realized this, even at age 31, and has begun to make changes to his game. He spent time with center Hakeem Olajuwon during the offseason to help develop his post-up game. He knew that in this league, only the proactive survive.

Iverson seems shocked to be forced to react to his current reality: he's no longer viable as a starter. He may be one of the most competitive players of this era, but when age is your opponent, it's not a matter of winning or losing. It's a matter of minimizing your losses.

He has gone on record as saying he'll never come off the bench. He'd rather retire than be a long-term reserve. After a long offseason, in which many teams were interested in Iverson -- just not enough to sign him for the money for which he was asking -- Allen signed with the Memphis Grizzlies for a one-year deal. Presumably, it would give them a year of bolstered attendance and him a chance to plug in the respirator to his ailing career.

Instead, it may be the end.

The Grizzlies never guaranteed him a starting spot and, sure enough, he started the season on the bench after getting injured during the preseason. Now he's requested to take a leave of absence from the team for "personal reasons." Who knows what's behind those personal reasons. It could be something benign. It could have nothing to do with his immense disappointment in the fact that he's stuck coming off the bench on a team with one win.

For his sake, I hope it has nothing to do with that. But if it is about that, then we may have seen one of the most shocking moments of the season:

The day one of the most competitive men in the NBA quit.