Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson has affected the game in so many ways. From his scoring flair to his fashion style and his never back down attitude that earned him the respect of his peers around the league.
Iverson faced off against the Orlando Magic in the 1999 playoffs in his third season in the league and he led his team to a 3-1 series win over a veteran-laden Magic team. Despite losing Shaquille O’Neal in 1996, Orlando was still a very good team led by star Penny Hardaway so they were the favorites to win the series.
Instead, Iverson put on a show and led Philadelphia to the win. He earned the respect of Hardaway and he joined the All The Smoke Podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson to discuss Iverson and the 1999 playoffs:
AI was different because he still was 6-foot, but he had like 7-foot arms and then he had that ball on a string and he can take and make tough shots. He was atheltic enough, he was fast enough, he was tough enough, and he was a tough shot taker, tough shot maker, and his attitude was on a million. Like had that little man complex so hard like ‘You can’t tell me nothing. You’re not about to stop me. I don’t care who you put in front of me.’ and watching that live while I was already going through my thing, I was like ‘aw, AI is coming and he’s here to stay for a while.’
Hardaway was one of the best players in the league back in the ’90s era of basketball and his time was unfortunately cut short due to injuries. He was one of the more dynamic players in the game and he used his size to his advantage. He could score, rebound, and he had great vision for a guy his size. He and Iverson definitely had their battles in that playoff series in 1999. [lawrence-related id=30999,30993,30978]