When he was on the court, Allen Iverson quintessentially defined, or rather redefined, a baller. Nobody played with more confidence, and nobody had more swagger. All of it was earned…
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From being the first overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft to crossing up Michael Jordan as a rookie and later dragging the Sixers to the NBA Finals and eventually making the Hall of Fame, Iverson did it all with panache. Even his nickname, ‘The Answer,’ exuded confidence.
Off the court, though, Iverson has always been humble, especially in retirement. He rarely talks himself up and has embraced both the good and the bad of his life in equal measure. For that reason, when he talks, people listen.
Iverson’s words carry weight, and on last week’s appearance on the New Heights podcast, he basically ended the debate about the greatest draft class of all time. When host Travis Kelce said that Iverson’s ’96 draft class had to be the greatest ever, Iverson responded, “Gotta be, gotta be, hands down.”
Kelce suggested that the only one close is the 2003 class that included LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade. But Iverson had a rebuttal locked and loaded.
“When you name that draft class, you’ll say LeBron, and you’ll say Dwyane, and you’ll say Melo. OK. Kobe Bryant went 13 in our draft. Steve Nash, Ray Allen, [Marcus] Camby, [Stephon] Marbury, Peja [Stojakovic],” Iverson reminded viewers.
The 1996 draft was so insanely stacked that there can really be no argument for any other year. Kobe going 13 is unbelievable. And top to bottom, there’s just no comparison.
Kobe, Peja, and Nash went 13-15. Jermaine O’Neal went 17th. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker, and Kerry Kittles all went in the top 10, and they all had really good careers, too. So did Zydrunas Ilguaskas, the 20th pick.
In all, 10 Class of ’96 players became All-Stars. The Class of ’03 had nine, a list that includes Josh Howard, Chris Kaman, Kyle Korver, David West, and Mo Williams. Boris Diaw was also in that class, as was Kendrick Perkins.
There’s no denying the greatness of the top four players from 2003, but the 1996 draft just had too much depth. Iverson is right to feel confident in that, and he certainly held up his end of the bargain as the No. 1 pick.
The 2025 draft class, which features Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe, and Ace Bailey, among others, is one of the more heralded groups to come around in a long time. But that group has a long road ahead to be mentioned in the same breath as either of these other two.
