Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant are arguably the two best players to come out of the 1996 NBA Draft. That class is one of the most stacked of all time, and even though neither Kobe nor Iverson won the most MVPs in that class (Steve Nash, 2), they are the headliners of this rookie class. Iverson went 1st, and Kobe went 13th, though AI had said before Philadelphia made a mistake by drafting him instead of Kobe.
Over the course of their careers, Kobe and Iverson became rivals on the court and friends off the court. As all players do, the pair used to get into some talking matches on the court. Instead of being aggressive and trying to intimidate the other, the pair were known for indulging in casual banter against each other.
That is emphasized by this clip of Kobe and AI playing against each other during a regular season game when Kobe came up to the 1st pick of his draft class and told him that he bet his cousin that Iverson would fall down on the court at least three times that game. The conversation was picked up as AI was mic’d up for that game.
This clip also features other instances of Iverson giving memorable soundbites, including one towards the end where Iverson simply told a teammate that he hasn’t seen him score in a real game, so he should ‘go get taught’.
Kobe and AI had battled on the court, with the pair having an iconic clash in the 2001 NBA Finals. While Kobe’s Lakers won the series 4-1, that one loss was the only loss that the Lakers had suffered during that postseason run. Iverson was the architect behind that loss and had been named league MVP that season.
Bryant ended his career with more accolades than Iverson, who could never win a championship in his career. Regardless, both players are NBA icons, and Iverson is given the respect of an NBA legend by everyone for his contributions to the game.
