In an appearance on the “Big Podcast,” 76ers legend Allen Iverson revealed his all-time starting five of hoopers. Starting with Stephen Curry at the point, Iverson revealed his lineup one by one, paying respect to both old-school legends and current active superstars as well.
“Steph, Kobe, Mike, LeBron, Diesel [Shaq].” When asked who he’d take out to replace himself, he hilarious picked Shaq which triggered a response of laughter from the All-Star big man.
As a legendary scorer from a long-past era, Allen Iverson is a Philadelphia icon and a favorite of the fans who grew up watching him. While Iverson’s career may not be as accomplished or impressive as other all-time legends, his story is still one of epic success and the hard work he put in to be so great is still a source of great inspiration for many players coming up.
Recently, during a podcast with Shaq, Iverson was asked to rank the NBA hierarchy of legends and he gave the fans a lot to talk about. During his 14-year career, Iverson played against many basketball greats, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and even Michael Jordan towards the end of his Bulls tenure. Suffice it to say, Iverson knows greatness when he sees it and it’s no surprise that he picked Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan to fill out his all-time roster. Interestingly, he also picked Stephen Curry as his point guard, moving away from Magic Johnson, who was long considered the best at the position.
As the most dominant center in basketball history, Shaquille O’Neal was also an easy inclusion on the list and there were no arguments when his name was mentioned in the top five. All-in-all, it’s a pretty solid list from Allen Iverson and it’s good to finally hear his basketball takes after such a long break from the public eye.
Allen Iverson Says Michael Jordan Is “God’s Gift To Basketball”
From Kobe Bryant to Stephen Curry, Allen Iverson obviously harbors a deep respect and appreciation for the legends he crossed paths with during his career. Arguably the most influential superstar for Allen, however, was Michael Jordan. The Bulls legend was in his prime as Iverson was making the league and the whole world was already completely enchanted with his greatness.
Today, Iverson still claims Michael as the greatest player of all time and that may never change unless LeBron does something ridiculous in the final acts of his career. As a 6x champion, 5x MVP, 14x All-Star, and 11x All-NBA player, there isn’t anything that Michael hasn’t done and his resume is without blemish.
Historically, Iverson hasn’t said too much about the NBA GOAT debate but he’s made it clear enough that Michael Jordan will always come first in his eyes for reasons that should be obvious to everyone.
“He gave me the vision. He made me want to play basketball. He’s my everything,” said Iverson on Michael. “Because he’s Mike to me. He’s my guy. So there’ll never be no one at the top of my list besides Mike….”
Ranking the NBA’s All-Time greats will always be a divisive exercise, but it’s hard to argue with Allen Iverson’s list, especially considering he played (and torched) against many of those guys throughout his career. Love him or hate him, Allen Iverson was (and probably still is) an elite-level competitor and he still holds the respect of countless fans and experts around the world.
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