Allen Iverson Reacts To Allen Iverson Highlights! | The Reel

Alright, I appreciate you coming on the show. We're celebrating the release of Reebok's question amid betrayal at Foot Locker. I saw these

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of yours when he was a kid, so it's great to remember something with you now. I didn't realize you played football and you didn't just play quarterback, you played defensive back, you were a kick returner, what different positions you played, I played, uh, safety kick returner, kicking Turner, a quarterback, you won high school player of the year. for men's basketball and also for football, have you ever thought about going to the NFL, that's what I, that was my, that was my dream, that's what I wanted, that's what I wanted to do, but the circumstances happened when I was in high school, yeah and um?

I was recruited by everyone in the country and then once I found myself in the situation that I got into, no one recruited me anymore and my mom went to Georgetown and talked to Coach Thompson and begged for my life. Yes, are you better at football or basketball? football, you were yeah, how good would you have been, I don't know, you know what I mean, but you know, I always say I was better at football, okay, now, when you broke Antonio Daniels' ankles, did you? What was your way of thinking at that moment? I was just playing basketball, you know what I mean, all these things that happened in my career, I was just playing, man, you know, my whole thing wasn't the glitz, the glamor and the flash, I just wanted to play harder than everyone else. , yeah, you know what I mean, you know, I think the best feeling I had as a basketball player was the fact that my teammates felt that with me on their team we could win every night no matter who.

We're playing with you, you know, we talk about all these super teams and stuff, but I always felt like I was on a super team, yeah, you know what I mean 'cause I was playing with four other pros, yeah, you know what I mean . I never had the luxury of playing with professional guys before I came to the NBA, so I never imagined myself playing with Kobe or Shaq or anything like that to feel like I could win a championship. I felt like the guys that I did. I was playing with them, you know I could win with them now, what about Jordan?

Because you obviously idolized him. Have you ever thought about playing with him? Because that would have been crazy. My dreams have come true in many ways, but I never dreamed that. Yeah, I would have a chance to play with my idol, yeah, but I had a chance to play with him in an all-star game which was cool, so it was a bucket list thing and you get that you had like a slam dunk moment. the chest. Also at the 2003 All-Star Game he had a smile on his face absolutely he, I was um, I'm a young head, so yeah, you know, I probably wasn't ready for that, yeah, you know what I mean, um, but that.

It was a monumental moment in my life. How nervous were you before this game? By the way, are you a nervous guy? I wasn't, I wasn't because, you know, a lot of times people see him as cocky, arrogant. um, but his confidence and um, my whole thing was yeah, everyone knows who black Jesus is, everyone knows who 23 is, but tonight you know you're going to know who number three is, you know what I mean, you're going to remember this. moment also because I'm here and I didn't look at it like I had to have a great game, all I wanted to do was play harder than everyone else, what's your relationship with him like to this day?

I love him, yes. I mean, he could be my hero, he's my inspiration, you know, he's the guy who made me want to become the guy who finally ended up with this ring. Is it true that he said it couldn't have been too much here for You, if you cross me like that, he told me that, you know it was war, yeah, you know what I mean, we were competing, actually, you know, my teammates They basically told me I wasn't going to play my game because I loved it so much. You know a lot what I mean and I said, you know I love it, but I'm a sixer, yeah, you know what I mean and I have to bring it to all of you for the guys in my trenches now when you initially crossed them.

Did you feel pressure to make the shot? I do not remember you. I don't remember what it was until the commotion afterwards. If you know what I mean. He was just playing basketball like he wasn't. You know he wasn't. I wasn't thinking about it, you know what I mean, I was going against the best player to ever play this game and, um, I thought, man, I'm going to try my move against the best, this many years later is just legendary now, people . I always call Jordan the best player to ever play, but people also call Alan Iverson the pound-for-pound best player to ever play in the NBA.

What is your reaction to that? I don't know, I mean, that's for everyone else to debate, you know? I mean, I just played hard every night. You know Philadelphia fans are the best fans in the world. You know what I mean, so it's easy to go out and give them everything you've got when you break a bone or are sick. I'm going through personal situations, you know what I mean during those 48 minutes that were my safe haven, yeah, you know, that's when I had the opportunity to excite the kids and the people of Philadelphia and I took it, you know, I say it because they love me and they respect me and they gave me a chance to be human, you know what I mean, that's what Philadelphia means Philadelphia is the most authentic place in the world right now, when you lost 41 points against the Lakers, Kobe said that . he was obsessed with this game, he used to just sit and watch this game and that you made Kobe Bryant the player he became, I didn't do that, he says that, even though his mom and dad did that and he did that, were you surprised when He told you that like you were the person who pushed it because not really because you know he helped me develop the killer that I was back then, it was just me and him, yeah you know what I mean and um, he.

He helped me mature as a basketball player, yes, when you lost 48 points in the first game of the NBA Finals, I was six years old and I remember right after the game I walked into my mom's sewing room and it was like midnight and I broke. his sewing machine because he was trying to make an

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iris on the arm sleeve and he wanted to use it because he wanted to be like

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was this a special moment this game felt like you went to another one was um we we knew we could win, In the end they had more talent and experience than us, yeah, you know what I mean, because we were in the second game, we could have won the third game, but they were, you know, they were a giant at that time. and you know, as good as kobe is and always will be, we ran into the most dominant player at the time and shaquille o'neal, you know what i mean, and then everyone said dekembe did a great job against him , but if you look at the stats, yeah, it is what it is, you know, I mean, when we were beaten by a better, better team, they were just better than us, were you surprised that the tai lu game became famous?

I'll always talk about it if you were surprised that he blew up, yeah, because it was just at the time that I was playing like he gave me problems, yeah, like he gave me major problems and, um, you know I was always, from what I heard, his favorite player and the You know the same thing with Mike, his teammates were chasing him because he let me do what I wanted and he went out and competed and I hated him in that series, but as a person I love him today, now, at the moment that you cut your hair before. the all-star game when you revealed it, do you remember this moment?

Yes, I think I did it out of anger with my stylist, really, yes, but you were a cultural icon, everyone wanted, like I said, with the arm sleeve, everyone wanted. dress like you were nervous when you cut your hair like oh people might feel alienated from this no no i didn't care about anything except my girl liked it yeah but everyone since it was so iconic . hairstyle everyone look at dwyane wade ray allen dwight howard lebron james everyone is waiting for you to reveal your fresh new cut um I don't think I couldn't believe I did it that's what it was they couldn't believe I did it and then you see the part in the middle, yeah, from all those years of having that line in the middle of my head, I don't know, that was a bad moment for me, what's your reaction when Lebron says he didn't want to? being michael i didn't want to be magical i wanted to be allen

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it's humbling it's an honor just to impact someone's life you know what i'm saying like michael jordan did this for me like he made me believe i could be a cultural icon, i made me think that I could be who I ended up being if you help one person, then I think you did a work of God if you help one person, yeah you know what I mean, just one person, but then when you have an impact on the whole a culture and is able to make people believe that anything is possible if you work at it, that makes me feel good about my mom, my dad, the people who helped raise me, all the coaches, the teammates, Aaron McKee , Eric Snow, all the guys.

That made me believe that I could be anything I wanted to be and impact the world by having people around me telling me what I need to hear instead of what I want to hear, yeah you know what I mean, I love waking up being Alan. iverson I love me, you know what I mean, I love everything that I am, I wish things were better for me, yeah, yeah, you know what I mean, I wish I had more, I wish I had more love, everything everyone we want. but I'm comfortable with myself I love being me I love waking up and looking at my face and seeing that person Yes, when did you realize that you were more than just a basketball player and a cultural icon because Lebron says he wore headbands to the head because of my probably uh arm sleeves younger generation younger yes younger generation they don't judge as much as the older generation yes older generation they want to judge they want to criticize you know what I mean and I'm okay with constructive criticism I'm Okay, I'm fine with that, but most of the time, you know, the older people focus on criticizing and the younger people, I think they idolize them and appreciate the gift I give them with my survival.

Well, this was so much fun, man, I saw it. You when I was a kid, so this was amazing. You have a lot more

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, so we'll do this again someday and until then, uh, we'll just wait, thank you. Seriously, brother.