So much ink has been spilled about Allen Iverson over the years -- both of the electronic, online variety and of the good old fashioned newspaper kind. Much has been said of his career, his appearance, his controversial cockiness.

Regardless of what opinions were sprouted about The Answer, one thing can not be disputed by anyone: Allen Iverson is a player.

Yes, I mean that in all senses of the word. He played the game to perfection. He played his opponents like puppets. And he played us --he had us hanging on his every move.

Sadly, no longer are we talkin' 'bout practice. Now, the talk is of retirement. No one wanted to see this day -- especially not AI.

Does this sound like the talk of a guy that is ready to walk away from the game?

"I always thought that when I left the game, it would be because I couldn't help my team the way that I was accustomed to. However, that is not the case," Iverson said in a statement released to Stephen A. Smith.

"I still have tremendous love for the game, the desire to play, and a whole lot left in my tank. I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level."

But we knew that. The entire basis of Iverson's split with the Memphis Grizzlies, his latest NBA stop, was a dispute over lack of playing time and a starting spot. The New York Knicks almost made themselves the saviour just days ago, as they publicly considered signing the diminutive star. That fell through and so did Iverson's apparent last shot.

Many believe that we will see AI again -- perhaps with a contender, or perhaps to fill for an injury, as his former Denver coach George Karl believes.

"I think he still has something left to give some team out there. If that's his decision, he'll go down in history, I think, as the greatest little guard ever to play the game of basketball," Karl said.

"I was happy to have him for a couple years and hopefully our paths will cross. But I have a sneaky feeling that somewhere along the way an injury or a circumstance with a team will open that window back up."

What has Iverson's legacy to the game actually been? At a time such as this, when the situation is fresh and the emotions are high, passionate onlookers are wanton to throw the hyperbole out there and possibly exaggerate their real perception of a man.

There's the crossover dribble. Did AI bring the crossover to prominence? Some say it was Tim Hardaway, some say it was others. Either way, there is no doubting that AI, if not being the first to make the crossover uber-cool, was certainly the first to turn it into a league-destroying weapon. You remember him against Michael Jordan as a rookie, don't you? Perhaps fittingly in some odd way, Jordan even played his final game against Iverson and the Sixers.

There were the tattoos and the cornrows. Reputedly, Iverson was the one to bring the game to shame with his "gangsta" style, being the driving force behind Commissioner David Stern enforcing tougher dress codes. The NBA even famously air-brushed AI's tattoos early on.

However, personally, the legacy that AI leaves is one that shows that will conquers size. Desire, talent and sheer excellence can overcome any physical limitations. The Answer gave hope to every little guy out there that they could dominate. You look at a guy who is 180 pounds, wringing wet and lucky to be 6'0" tall and he is carving up the floor in a land of giants. We've seen it for years. And now, AI potentially walks away from the game as the 17th all time scorer in the NBA. Only Shaq and Kobe have more points among active players. His average of 27.0ppg is sixth all time, behind only the NBA royalty of Jordan, Wilt, LeBron, Baylor and Logo.

Much more needs to be said about Iverson and you better believe it will be, particularly as we continue to discover if this retirement is a permanent one. I really hope that it isn't. A contender out there with a need for a scoring punch, such as an injury-plagued Spurs team (as incongruous a fit as that sounds), could surely do with his skills. In all of his years toiling away, the only guy that I thought deserved a title as much as him was Kevin Garnett. Well, the Big Ticket got his ring, now AI deserves his.

Check out this unmissable Iverson slide-show from Skeets at Ball Don't Lie.

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