Andre Iguodala on Allen Iverson: 'One of the classiest guys I've ever met, with one of the biggest hearts'
Andre Iguodala: "Allen Iverson gets such a bad rep, but he's one of the classiest guys I've ever met, with one of the biggest hearts. He doesn't get the credit he deserves as a person. He was the one who put confidence in me. Everyone needs that person to let them know who they are because sometimes you just don’t know. I was a late bloomer, didn’t even know why agents were calling me. They’d call, saying they wanted to represent me, and I’d be like, 'For what?' That’s how unaware I was. AI let me know I belonged, told me I was just as good as anyone out there. He inspired me to believe in myself and own my potential."
Source: YouTube
More on this storyline
Dwayne Bacon: My top five scores of all time? It’s gotta be Jordan. Michael Jordan number one. Kevin Durant. Kobe Bryant, for sure… That’s tough. I know them three is like the back of my hand, but of all time? Q. Is James Harden up there? DB: Things he was doing in Houston was like never done… To me bro I gotta go with Kyrie Irving. Kyrie is a better scorer than Allen Iverson. And I love AI’s game. -via YouTube / November 5, 2024
Vernon Maxwell: "He kicked me off the team for nothing, though—in the finals. I mean, we was getting to the finals against the Lakers, and I’d been playing the whole damn series. I didn’t get a chance to play in that series because he said I wasn’t… I can’t make Allen Iverson do what Allen Iverson don’t want to do. He’s the franchise player on the team. They brought me in because I’d won two championships, wanted me to show him how to be a leader, and all that. But I can’t tell this little dude what to do. You know, that’s Allen Iverson. You’re talking to a brick wall. Why are you talking to me? He’s not listening to nobody. This dude already carried you to the finals. You don’t tell him what to do." -via YouTube / November 1, 2024
Gilbert Arenas: "If we really want to have this discussion about Jordan’s competition, just look at the top five shooting guards in history. He didn’t play against any of them in their prime. Kobe’s number two, but he had a young Kobe in ’98. Then you have Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, James Harden, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter—Jordan didn’t face these guys. History is showing you who’s who now because time has gone by." -via YouTube / August 28, 2024
Andre Iguodala: "Steph Curry lives exactly the lifestyle he says he’s about. I’m trying to be like Steph, and I fail every single day. It’s hard, man. He’s true to who he says he is, and he has that killer mentality that people don’t even know about. You try to learn his flaws, but they aren’t even real flaws. He can be a class clown sometimes, but he’s just a genuine human being. He’s one of the few people I’d jump in front of a bullet for. I’ve been security for him a few times, telling people, ‘No autographs today. Back up.’ He’s the one who, you make sure nothing happens to him." -via YouTube / November 10, 2024
Andre Iguodala: "LeBron is a gift and a curse, and I say curse jokingly, but every NBA player's entourage now thinks they should be running the player's business. I remind them that LeBron's people did it the right way—they did internships, they worked for Nike for free, they worked for the agency for free, they did market studies. And it’s LeBron James we’re talking about here, so they were vetting deals, getting on-the-job experience because there’s so much deal flow around him. They were getting a network of wealth and knowledge that they could access. People think they can just replicate that, but they don’t realize the work that went in behind the scenes to make it happen." -via YouTube / November 9, 2024
Andre Iguodala: "For LeBron to be the first athlete to become a billionaire while he’s still playing, that’s something. He did it by doing things differently, being more than just endorsements and endorsements checks. He got equity in his deals, and that equity has grown. To see him realize the gains from his deals, that’s unique. A lot of players are following him, seeing how he did it, but LeBron was the one with the foresight to take control of his business and his brand in a way we hadn’t seen before. It’s hard to be the first one, to be the guinea pig, and actually have it work." -via YouTube / November 9, 2024
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Andre Iguodala on Allen Iverson: 'One of the classiest guys I've ever met, with one of the biggest hearts'
