As a promotional tool for their upcoming sneaker collaboration, Reebok released a video Monday of Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson chatting with Houston Rockets superstar James Harden.
The new sneaker is a crossover involving Adidas, which has an endorsement deal with Harden, and Reebok, long represented by Iverson.
Harden, who leads the NBA in scoring for a third straight season, thanked Iverson for helping him play through criticism of his unique style.
Among Harden’s comments to Iverson:
I feel like everything I’m going through right now is what you went through, just a newer version. Criticism, negative energy, negativity. ‘Why does he do this? ‘Why does he do that?’ Like, nobody understands. And I’m cool with that.
“Those are my flowers, why I’m still here,” replied Iverson, who played the most of his storied career with the Philadelphia 76ers. “When I get them from killers like you, those are my flowers, right there.”
In the call, Harden also said this to his fellow MVP guard:
I’m not here to explain myself or try to get people to understand where I come from, or what I do, or why I do it. I’m a killer, I work my ass off. Y’all are going to figure it out. Maybe when I’m retired, maybe when I’m done and gone, it’ll catch up to you.
“Right now, I don’t have time to explain myself,” Harden concluded in his comments to Iverson. “I feel like you, it’s like a carbon copy. I wanted to say I appreciate you, bro, for paving the way and leading that example, and getting [people] like me to follow it and to try and be even better, at being themselves. Because that’s all I can be. So, I appreciate you.”
This January, in an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Iverson went out of his way to defend Harden and his unique style of play.
Iverson, an 11-time All-Star and four-time NBA scoring champion, was asked if he thought criticisms of Harden’s style were warranted.
Now 45 years old, the 2001 MVP responded:
No way. No way. That man has so much talent. He’s so great. He deserves all the praise that he gets. There’s always going to be a critic out here. There’s always going to be somebody out there saying he could do something else better than what he’s doing. I think he just keeps his foot to the pedal. … Because I know his teammates love having him in that foxhole and rocking with him night in and night out. So, James, keep doing your thing, man.
Harden currently leads the Rockets and the NBA with a 34.3 points per game scoring average, which represents just the third time in over 30 years that a player has averaged at least 34 points in a season. (The other two were Harden’s 36.1 last season and Kobe Bryant’s 35.4 in 2005-06.)
Known best as “The Beard,” Harden is an eight-time NBA All-Star and the league’s 2018 MVP. Now 30 years old, he’s already a virtual lock to join Iverson in the Hall of Fame whenever his career concludes.
[lawrence-related id=33489,22887]
[vertical-gallery id=34286]