Latest news with #Iverson
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Allen Iverson attends Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's youth basketball camp
In the driest part of the NBA calendar, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joins the long list of players who've returned home for the next couple of months. The Oklahoma City Thunder will kick off training camp in two months to defend their NBA championship. It's been quite the year for Gilgeous-Alexander. He won about every individual award imaginable. The 27-year-old captured the MVP, Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP. He also capped off one of the greatest seasons ever with a ring. After Gilgeous-Alexander cemented himself as one of the NBA's top faces, he traveled to Toronto recently to host his annual youth basketball camp. Most players across the league participate in this activity during the offseason in their hometowns. Along with Gilgeous-Alexander, Allen Iverson was also in attendance. The Hall-of-Famer had a huge influence on NBA players who grew up in the 2000s, like Gilgeous-Alexander. At his peak, Iverson was a one-time MVP winner who averaged 30-plus points. He led the Philadelphia 76ers to an NBA Finals appearance. Gilgeous-Alexander has previously talked ad nauseam about his affinity for Iverson. It's easy to see why. Both have similar builds and score in similar ways. What Gilgeous-Alexander means to kids today is what Iverson meant to the previous generation of fans. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander invited Allen Iverson to pull up and speak at his youth camp in Toronto 🙌AI was one of SGA's favorite players growing up 🥲(via @CityNewsTO)
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Sixers legend Allen Iverson ranked No. 4 shooting guard in NBA history
There is no question that Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson is one of the best players to ever play this great game. Standing at just 6-feet tall, Iverson would go toe-to-toe with the giants of the league and put on a dominant display of scoring the basketball. In 12 years with the Sixers, across two separate stints, Iverson averaged 27.6 points and 6.1 assists along with 3.9 rebounds. He won the MVP award in 2001 when he led the Sixers to the finals and was able to throw the franchise on his bony shoulders on numerous occasions. When it comes to the shooting guard position, Iverson ranks near the top. Of course, the great Michael Jordan takes the No. 1 spot followed by the late Kobe Bryant at No. 2 and Dwyane Wade at No. 3, and per HoopsHype's ranking, Iverson comes in ranked No. 4 on the list: A cultural icon as well as one of the best lead guards of his era, Allen Iverson has to be one of the most ridiculously explosive athletes the sport has ever seen, especially out of a player generously listed at 6-feet tall. Iverson's crossover was devastating (just ask Jordan), and his bombastic style as a scorer made for thrilling viewing throughout his prime. Iverson was one of the most influential players ever, both on and off the court was one of the most exciting players to watch and in his prime. He could really score with the best of them in such an unorthodox package. Iverson is one of the best players to ever play this game. One can make an argument for other impactful players at the 2-guard position over him, but Iverson's stamp on the game of basketball cannot be denied as he influenced an entire generation of young players trying to get into the game.
USA Today
22-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Where does Sixers legend Allen Iverson land on all-time greats list?
There is no question that Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson is one of the best players to ever play this great game. Standing at just 6-feet tall, Iverson would go toe-to-toe with the giants of the league and put on a dominant display of scoring the basketball. In 12 years with the Sixers, Iverson averaged 27.6 points and 6.1 assists along with 3.9 rebounds. He won the MVP award in 2001 when he led the Sixers to the finals and was able to throw the franchise on his bony shoulders on numerous occasions. With that being said, one has to wonder where Iverson ranks all-time. Bleacher Report put together a list of their top 100 players in the history of the game and Iverson came in ranked No. 36: Allen Iverson's place in the pantheon of all-time greats is subject to relitigation as people assign more value to efficiency and the ability to work outside heliocentric offenses. But AI isn't frequently billed as the 'pound-for-pound GOAT' strictly because of vibes. Granted, his cultural impact on the game and those who consumed it ferries great meaning. He was defiant and eccentric, both on and off the court, and played like someone who had everything to prove and wanted no help in seeking his validation or accolades. Carrying the 2000-01 Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals looms as his greatest accomplishment. That team's second-best player was 34-year-old Dikembe Mutombo. Although Philly was trucked upon meeting the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals, making the championship round at all was a testament to Iverson's singularity. Iverson is one of the best players to ever play this game so it's good to see him get his acknowledgement. His No. 3 uniform hangs from the rafters at the Wells Fargo Center and the Sixers have honored him with a statue outside of the team's practice facility in Camden, NJ.
USA Today
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Former NBA star Baron Davis gives love to Sixers legend Allen Iverson
Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson has had a hand in a lot of fantastic moments in the history of the game. His cultural influence is something that doesn't need any explanation. His crossover is a move that kids try to emulate at the playground. His playstyle is something everybody, even grown men, try to copy. Therefore, it makes no surprise that he was a positive influence on plenty of basketball players such as Baron Davis, for example. A 2-time All-Star and a member of the All-NBA Third Team in 2004, Davis hopped on "Podcast P with Paul George" and gave a lot of love to Iverson: You grow up idolizing somebody and they got a direct effect on you because you like, oh (expletive), he more like me than I ever expected. The way AI came into the league, I thought he represented where I was from. He gave me a chance to be like, oh it's cool to be everything you are right or to figure it out, and at UCLA, we was a Reebok school and I was like, I'm wearing Nikes, you know what I mean? So I used to have to put tape on my shoes and I remember we used to hear it was a club, so we used to always hang out parking lot in college at the club in Westwood. We stayed outside the club and waited for this man. We missed him going in. We waited for him to come outside bro. He came outside, he was like, 'Oh, what's up?' We was like, man, I was like, man, we trying to wear your shoes. He said, 'What? You ain't got my shoes?' He was like, bro, 'You ain't got my shoes.' I was like man, this dude know who I am. He was like, hell yeah man. He sent the whole, we was in Iversons–we was the Reebok school. So for me, Iverson always was like big bro. Davis would go on to have a helluva career--although injuries certainly played a part and held him back a bit. It's obvious that Iverson had an influence on him as he navigated his way through the league.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"Nobody's talking about The Mamba when comparing who's the best," Iverson says The exclusion of Kobe in the GOAT debate is ridiculous45
"Nobody's talking about The Mamba when comparing who's the best," Iverson says The exclusion of Kobe in the GOAT debate is ridiculous45 originally appeared on Basketball Network. The NBA's greatest of all-time debate isn't one that will die out as the rhythm of the conversation has long been set with Michael Jordan at the forefront, his shadow stretching over generations of basketball greatness. Yet, it's not always the mention of a name that ignites controversy. Advertisement Sometimes, the names that are left out send shockwaves through the discourse. Allen Iverson, one of the most influential guards to ever lace up in the NBA, knows the weight of legacy and the repeated exclusion of Kobe Bryant from the GOAT conversation isn't just an oversight. It's a blatant erasure of basketball history. Bryant's case Iverson battled through Bryant's era. Their careers, linked by an era of grit, intensity and uncompromising competitiveness, overlapped in a way that only peers can truly speak on. In his eyes, no debate about greatness is whole without Kobe's name firmly in the mix. Advertisement "Right when you think Mike is the greatest, which he is, but then, Kobe Bryant come along," Iverson said. "Then you got LeBron James. I get kind of upset at times when people talk about the comparison of LeBron and Mike. And I'm like, 'damn.' "People kind of forget [about Bryant]. I would say out of mind is real. Nobody's talking about The Mamba when comparing who's the best that ever played?" Bryant won five NBA championships, claimed two Finals MVP awards, had an 81-point masterpiece against the Toronto Raptors — a performance that remains the second-highest scoring performance in league history — and is an 18-time NBA All-Star. He also claimed two Olympic gold medals and is the only player with two jersey numbers retired, each representing a different phase of greatness. Advertisement Iverson doesn't pretend to crown Bryant above Jordan. His admiration for Jordan remains intact, but he gives Bryant his flowers. That proximity is earned, not gifted. It's forged from 20 seasons of relentless competitiveness, 33,643 career points and an unyielding desire to outwork everyone in the gym. Kobe didn't ask to be compared to Jordan but trained to force the comparison. Related: "We only needed one more guy" - Patrick Beverley says the Clippers lost SGA because Kawhi thought he needed more help Creating the legacy When Bryant entered the league in 1996, he was just a wiry teenager obsessed with greatness. Over the years, that obsession morphed into transformation. He became the closest thing the league had ever seen to the man who ruled Chicago for 13 years. Advertisement "As far as GOAT, it's Michael Jordan all day long, and Kobe Bryant is right on his heels," Iverson said. Iverson and Bryant famously clashed in the 2001 NBA Finals, where the Philadelphia 76ers stole Game 1 in Los Angeles behind Iverson's unforgettable 48-point performance. But it was Bryant who Iverson said scared him most during that series. The Lakers superstar averaged 24.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists during the Finals as his team won the title. Iverson knew Bryant as a competitor, a rival and, ultimately, a brother in the fraternity of greatness. He is always surprised when Bryant is being overlooked in the all-time great debate. The conversation around greatness will never be neat. There are no neat boxes for the messy, generational weight of legends. But Iverson has seen enough to know what should never be left out. Advertisement The GOAT debate isn't only about who finished with the most rings or the best stats. It's also about the impact — the fear a player puts in opponents' hearts, the weight of their presence on the floor and the standard they set for everyone else. And by every one of those measures, Kobe belongs right there. Related: Larry Brown on the biggest difference between Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant: "He was coming back from the club at six o'clock in the morning" This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
