When Michael Jordan announced his retirement before the beginning of the season, many wondered who would step up to fill His Airness' sneakers. Halfway through this shortened season, a brash, exciting guard with a checkered past and a seemingly limitless future has forced his way into the NBA's consciousness.

Allen Iverson, a 23-year-old shooting guard with the Philadelphia 76ers, has become the league's leading scorer, using an array of ankle-breaking cross-over dribbles, an explosive quickness to the basket and a sweet outside jumper to average better than 28 points a game. More importantly, he has put the surprising 76ers in the middle of the Atlantic Division race -- and put the rest of the league on notice.

Iverson is no MJ. In many ways, his brushes with the law as a high schooler in Virginia, his flashy dress and braided hair and his sometime surly attitude make him the anti-MJ.

But Iverson, in only his third year in the league, has a talent that can't be denied.

Iverson sat down with CNN/Sports Illustrated for a wide-ranging interview covering his image, his game and his family.

Here are some excerpts:

On the criticism he's faced in his career :

That comes with the territory. If I can accept the praise, I can definitely accept the criticism. I know it's gonna come, especially with somebody like me ... I accept that and I understand that and that's what enables me to keep on moving and, you know, keep trying to do my thing.

On his badboy image :

It's tough. I think about that all the time. Regardless of whatever honors I get and how well I play and how well my team plays, people are still gonna be hesitant to deal with me and to market me. But that's something I understand and I'm aware of that so when it doesn't happen ... I mean, why get down when you already knew that it was coming? I'm gonna play every game like it's my last and we'll see what happens.

Maybe God doesn't want that for me right now, or he might not ever want that for me. He just might want me to be effective in this league, just be a good basketball player and people not recognize it. You don't have to write it in the papers or say it on TV or anything, long as you know in your heart that's enough for me.

On the reasons behind his badboy image :

They think I'm some terrible guy because of the way I dress and my hair, and getting in trouble with the law. I made mistakes in my life and I'm gonna continue to make 'em. I feel like a mistake is only a mistake if you do it twice. I just don't want people to think I'm just some bad guy ... I'm not the bad boy of the NBA by far. I just made mistakes in my life. I mean, it's tough being labeled that because you're not that person. But as long as I can look in His eyes and my daughter's and my mom and the rest of my family and friends and they see a good guy, that's enough for me. I can't satisfy everybody, and I understand that.

I said it a billion times there's gonna be a billion people who love Allen Iverson and a billion that hate him. I wanna do everything for the people that love him and be positive for the people that hate him, too. I wanna turn those people's heads, and I feel I will once they start -- once they want to understand me, stop reading the paper and looking at what's going on on TV and just try and understand what's going on. Then maybe you wouldn't look at me so harsh.

On dealing with fame :

It just keeps my life in perspective, it just let's me know how much of a fishbowl that I'm living in, and so many people want me to succeed but it's the same amount who want me to fail. I mean it feels good that my kids get a chance to see me on TV. It's just a great feeling. The best feeling I get is that I have an impact on other people's lives, not just my family and friends [but] other people I don't even know, people not even from this country. It's just a great feeling ... I think it's a tribute to the way my moms raised me and God being on my side.

On Michael Jordan's departure :

It was just sad to me because, to me, that's somebody I've watched all my life. He's the guy that made me wanna play basketball. When I saw him play I said 'That's what I wanna do.' I know it's crazy to even dream about accomplishing all the things he's done in his life, but some of those things -- as far as getting rings and how people fee about you off the court -- I mean all those things you want for yourself. I hope I get the opportunity to even do some of the things that he's done in his career.

On his mark on the game of basketball :

I just want people to mention my name with the greatest basketball players that ever played this game. I know it's gonna take time. I have a long way to go and I accept that I know that, right now, I'm probably not even in Step 1. When I stop playing this game, I just want kids and adults to still talk about Allen Iverson's basketball game.

On whether he's the best guard in the league :

I think so. That's because I believe in my God-given talent. I'm not saying that to be cocky or arrogant or anything. It's just that I believe in my talent and I believe in what God gave me and I just don't want to accept nothing else, nothing less. I just feel like I'm the best player out there.

On how he has improved his game :

I just kept working on every aspect of my game. It's not one thing that I've done to get better. I just try to work on every aspect of my game, 'cause I know there's not one part on my game that I can't get better. I just try to work as hard as I can 'cause I know when I'm not working there's another cat out there that's working and trying to come take what's mine.

On his switch to shooting guard :

Being a 2-guard, I think it's a lot funner [than playing point guard]. I get to run off screens and just get out and run and not worry about pushing the ball. I think playing the 2-guard has been a lot easier than playing the point guard position. It takes a lot more to play the point guard position, 'cause you're the floor general, you're running everything that's going on on the court and I think Eric Snow is doing a great job.

On sensing fear in a defender :

I could just jab at a guy and the way he jumps back, I can tell if a guy fears me or if he just can't handle me. Some guys play good defense. But if they're scared they can't do nothing with you. So sometimes I can see it in guys' eyes or I can see it in their actions.

On the relationship with his coach, Larry Brown :

It was rocky at first, I mean it was real tough. He had already had the reputation of being tough on point guards and I was playing the point guard position, and it was rocky at first. But then, as I got to understand him more and he got to understand me, we kinda see eye to eye now. We became a little closer then we were in the beginning.

But I think it had a lot to do with me just maturing and not trying and take everything he said as a negative all the time and try to use it as a positive. He was just trying to help the organization, help this team win ballgames. It just took me time to understand that. I just had to put the pride aside and just keep playing basketball and listen to him. I mean his record speaks for itself.

On missing practice :

It was just miscommunication. My girl was sick and I got my bodyguard to call, but they felt like they wanted to hear from me and it was just a big mess, man. It was something that we dealt with and we put it behind us -- my teammates, the coaching staff and the whole organization. I got a chance to tell my side of the story and they got a chance to tell how they felt, and both sides were happy at the end of the day and that was the most important thing.

On losing :

From Day 1, I never accepted losing. I mean, I feel like I'm a winner in my life, so I always wanna win. People say it doesn't matter if you win or lose. But to me, it does matter. People get recognized for their talents in this game, but you don't really get the credit you deserve unless you win and that's going to be important for me.

On what his family means to him :

Everything. Family means everything to me. If I could, I'd take care of everybody in my family, whether that's good or bad. I'll deal with the repercussions. I know it's not always good to take care of somebody, because they feel like you're supposed to all the time and they don't want to do something for themselves if they know somebody else is gonna do it. But if my family gets knocked down, I'm picking them up if I can and that's just the way I am. They're the most important thing in my life and I cherish my family.

On his kids :

My bad kids. Man, I got two bad kids, two spoiled kids. But that's the way I want it. I just want them to grow up better than I did, I want them to have the things that I didn't have, but I want them to still have my heart. I want them to be hard as steel, just like I am, and be able to overcome some of the obstacles they're gonna be facing in their lives. And that's some of the things I'm gonna be helping them with. When they grow up and get older, I'll explain it to them: 'Yeah, daddy made this mistake, daddy made that mistake, but this is what daddy did because of that, this is what daddy learned from that,' and I'll explain that to 'em. I'll let them know the mistakes I've made and let them know that I'm not perfect and that I'm human, and they're gonna make mistakes but it's just important that they learn from them and make something positive out of it.

On his message to the world :

For those that support me and cheer me on and accept me -- thank you and I love you for it. And the ones that don't -- I love you, too, because you make me strong and you make me work that much harder. So that's it.