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The NBA's Most Valuable Player Award generally goes to the League's best player with one additional expectation. That player's team must win and at least challenge for the NBA Title.

Since Philadelphia barely made the payoffs and the Sixers may get swept in the first round by Detroit, Allen Iverson may see few MVP votes this season. That's a shame, because when you come right down to it, Iverson carried an average Sixers team on his small, but strong shoulders this season. Iverson had arguably his best year ever in the NBA, better than even his MVP season of 2000-2001, the year Philadelphia went to the NBA Finals.

His averages for 2004-2005 are nothing short of phenomenal, 30.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Compare those numbers to his 2000-2001 season of 31.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Iverson became only the fourth player in NBA history to average more than 30 points and 7.5 assists per game in the same season, joining the likes of Oscar Robertson, Nate Archibald and Michael Jordan.

Also, for the first time since tiny Nate Archibald in 1973, an NBA player won the league scoring title while finishing in the top five in the league in assists, making Iverson only the seventh player ever to accomplish the feat. It was Iverson's fourth league scoring title, making him one of only four players to capture four scoring titles or more (Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, and George Gervin). To top off his stellar season, Iverson had a career best 83.5 free throw percentage for 2004-2005.

When Coach Jim O'Brien was hired a year ago he stated he welcomed the opportunity to coach the lightning quick guard. Those comments raised a few eyebrows, after all Iverson's legendary practice habits during the Larry Brown era led to that famous response to television reporters, "Practice? Practice? Were talking about practice, man?"

I am not sure how well he practiced this year under O'Brien, but Iverson clearly showed up to play on game night. His stellar 2004-2005 season does prove the adage that a single player cannot do it all, not in today's NBA.

But Allen Iverson came about as close to single handedly carrying the 76ers as any player in league history has. And because of his outstanding performance he deserves careful consideration for his second Most Valuable Player Award, even if the Sixers are eliminated in the first round.