The debates between all-time greats have always been raging across NBA talk shows, and media members and old heads love giving their takes on which players are better than others throughout their careers. This gets even more interesting when comparing players across eras because contextualizing their impact becomes even more important in trying to determine which player was better.
Russell Westbrook may be at the receiving end of a lot of criticism over the last few years, being labeled as a player that can’t win and his season with the Los Angeles Lakers has only made that worse. However, it should not be forgotten that Westbrook is a legend, someone that is a former MVP and one of the best players of his generation.
Kendrick Perkins, who played alongside Westbrook during his early days on the Oklahoma City Thunder, has now suggested that he is better than Allen Iverson was, a take that is bound to raise eyebrows.
Playoff appearances — Iverson: 8, Russ: 10
All Star games — Iverson: 11, Russ: 9
MVPs — 1 each
Reached NBA Finals — 1 each
All-NBA — Iverson: 7, Russ: 9
Scoring leader — Iverson: 4, Russ: 2
Total pts — Iverson: 24,368, Russ: 21,605
Triple doubles — Iverson: 1, Russ: 176
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 30, 2021
“With all due respect to the great Allen Iverson, an iconic cultural figure, one of the best little men to play the game, I’m taking Russell Westbrook’s career over Allen Iverson’s. Carry on.”
Perk went on to share a comparison of the two athletes and their career achievements, showcasing that this take is not as sacrilegious as some might say it sounds on the first listen. Fans were mostly in disagreement, reacting strongly to the controversial take.
“There is not one person in the that’s going to say Westbrook can do this ___ better than A.I.”
“Ain’t no way in hell.”
“I need him banned from TV and Twitter and every media outlet for life, I been seeing too much blasphemy around Allen Iverson’s name.”
“Ahhh so this is what kicked it off… every month someone is coming for Allen Iverson with comparisons.”
“Don’t forget AI went to the finals with pure defenders and Russ had two of the greatest scorers of all time when he went. Stop the disrespect.”
“I’m taking AI over Russ any day I’m taking AI over Curry too.”
“Love Russ and is a beast but no, he’s not better than AI.”
“Yeah….this ain’t it.”
“Don’t get all the hate, Perk is right about this.”
“Preach to them, Perk, AI is amazing, but Russ passed him years ago.”
“I just can’t stand Perk’s hot takes, AI did all he could by himself, Russ couldn’t win with other legends.”
While Iverson is revered by many NBA fans and Westbrook is hated quite a bit, even so, ignoring the impact AI had on the entire NBA is a bit is slightly extreme. Both players are among the best of all time though, and in their ways, will leave a lasting and powerful legacy on the NBA and the way it functions.
