Allen Iverson has been one of the game’s most unique retired stars in the way that he has embraced the modern game and showed support for superstars of all eras. He has never stooped to criticisms of players like LeBron James and Stephen Curry and has been a great ambassador for the game, similar to Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant in his first few post-retirement years.
One of the ways Iverson has done this is by always giving shoutouts to players from the generation after him when discussing the all-time greats of the game. And in an interview from February with Shaquille O’Neal, he focused almost exclusively on younger players than him.
O’Neal asked Iverson to list his all-time starting five, and the former Philadelphia 76ers star included three Lakers — O’Neal being one of them — alongside three players who played the entirety or majority of their careers after him, via The Big Podcast with Shaq:
“Steph (Curry), Kobe, Mike (Michael Jordan), LeBron (James), and Diesel (O’Neal).”
Iverson includes three Lakers — Bryant, James and O’Neal — on his all-time starting five. These are undeniably three of the game’s all-time greats, and regular features on nearly everyone’s all-time teams. Though, typically, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets the nod over O’Neal.
Iverson also includes both Bryant and Michael Jordan despite the fact that the two play very similar positions. Defensively, a one-two punch of Jordan and Bryant would be a sight to behold. They are arguably the two greatest defenders from the shooting guard position of all time.
James and Curry, meanwhile, just got done showing how incredible the two of them can be when they share a court together at the 2024 Olympics. They were the stars and leaders of the gold medal roster in Paris. And O’Neal’s dominance in the paint would make this an impossible team to score on and a nearly impossible team to stop.
LeBron James credits Kevin Durant as all-time great
The 2024 Paris Olympics were a saving grace to see two legends in Durant and James team up for the last time.
This Olympic run for Team USA was a meaningful one as James, Durant and Curry headlined the roster despite being in their late 30s. But it does not mean that they still cannot put legendary performances as each of those three had their moments during the run.
Ultimately, the United States was able to come out with another gold medal, their fifth consecutive. It is hard to give equal credit due to the amount of star power, but James gave Durant his fair share, calling him one of the greatest players ever.
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