A.I.

hough the 10-time All-Star and former league MVP has scored more than 23,000 points in his NBA career, he wasn't a highly sought-after free agent.

The 34-year-old guard heard all the talk that he's lost a step, that last year's dip in offensive production indicated he's on the downside of an All-Star career, maybe even ready for retirement.

Iverson wants to prove those critics wrong, and he'll get his chance in Memphis. He signed a one-year contract Thursday with the Grizzlies -- a team that hasn't reached the playoffs since 2006 and has never won a postseason game. The Grizzlies are coming off a 24-58 season that tied for fifth-worst in the NBA.

"This year for me is so personal," Iverson said.

"It's basically going to be my rookie season again. It hurts, but I turn the TV on, I read the paper, I listen to some of the things people say about me having the season that I had last year and me losing a step, things like that. They're trying to put me in a rocking chair already."