Allen Iverson is a hero to an entire generation of NBA fans, a reality which at least somewhat stems from the fact that he refused to “play the part” in terms of the traditional image of a professional athlete. In advance of his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, Iverson spoke with J.A. Adande of ESPN and he opened up on the comparison that every elite NBA player faces.
When referring to himself in comparison with Michael Jordan off the court, Iverson revealed that did not want to mirror the greatest player of all time:
“Now, when it comes to basketball, yes, I wanted to be like Mike. Yes. Didn’t everybody that played basketball, after he arrived? Everybody wanted to be like Mike. But I didn’t want to be him, I didn’t want to talk like him, I didn’t want to dress like him. I felt that it was cool being who my mom loved, who [my coach] loved, who my sister loved, who my girl loved, who my children love. Like, that’s cool to me. Now as a basketball player, I would rather be Michael Jordan status when it comes to basketball. I would trade that part in — you know what it means. If I could have my choice, yeah, I would want to be Michael Jordan, basketball-wise.”
Iverson is famous for being his own person in a way that few athletes have ever been before or since, and he went on to discuss where that type of thinking came from:
“I was always just cool with who I am. Why not? That’s disrespect to my mom and my dad, the people that raised me, for me to have a problem with me, trying to be somebody else that I’m not. I’m cool with the person they raised. I’m cool with that.”
With respect to basketball and culture, Allen Iverson is one of the few NBA players that can be included in the same conversation as someone like Michael Jordan, and it is actually refreshing to hear him indicate that Jordan was not a role model off the court. In an age where athletes are often extremely measured in dealing with the media and personality-driven ventures, Iverson was one of a kind — and not just on the court.
(ESPN)
