Any time a current or former NBA player lists out their greatest players or an all-time starting five, it is bound to cause plenty of debate amongst basketball fans. With that being said though, these lists often feature many of the same faces such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James and any number of Los Angeles Lakers legends like Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal, amongst many others.
The latest to give their all-time starting five is Hall of Famer and cultural icon Allen Iverson, who was the most popular player in the NBA for a very long time and faced off against many of the greats this league has seen. And he included both Bryant and O’Neal in his group that he revealed on his Instagram page:
It’s no coincidence that Iverson’s list is full of players that he faced off against during his illustrious career. Of course, he famously led the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001 where they took on Bryant, O’Neal and the Lakers with his Game 1 performance in that series still holding up as one of the greatest in NBA Finals history, and the lone loss for L.A.’s legendary playoff run.
Michael Jordan is almost a guarantee for anyone making an all-time starting five and Iverson’s first major highlight as a rookie came at the expense of him when he fooled the legend with his iconic crossover and knocked down a jumper.
James being on Iverson’s list is also something to be expected as he is a pick of most players and the two shared the court in plenty of battles over the years.
Stephen Curry being Iverson’s final choice is a bit interesting as the latter’s final NBA season was the former’s rookie year. The two did face each other, but Curry was not close to becoming the all-time great that he would eventually turn into while Iverson was at the tail end. Even still, the Hall of Famer clearly has so much respect for what Curry became and his impact on the league that he made sure to include him, and deservedly so.
Richard Sherman discusses his relationship with Lakers legend Kobe Bryant
Iverson has been one of the most outspoken players about the greatness of Bryant and making sure his legend remains in the forefront of basketball history. But Bryant had excellent relationships with a number of athletes across all sports and one of those is former NFL All-Pro Richard Sherman, who recently opened up about his relationship with the Lakers icon.
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