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“Allen Iverson was breathing confidence in me”: Kyle Korver describes how the Sixers legend gave him confidence to be a relentless shooter

Mahendra Pratap Singh
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"Allen Iverson was breathing confidence in me": Kyle Korver describes how the Sixers legend gave him confidence to be a relentless shooter

Kyle Korver expressed his gratitude to Allen Iverson on the JJ Redick pod. Korver was a rookie on the 76ers in 2003 as the 51st overall pick.

Kyle Korver played on the Philadelphia 76ers for 4 seasons. In the 2004-2005 season, Korver led the league in 3-pointers made. In the 2006-07 season, he led the league in free throw percentage.

Later when he played for Atlanta Hawks, He made at least one 3-pointer in his final 73 games of the season, the longest active streak in the NBA at the time, the fourth-longest streak in league history.

Currently, Kyle Korver is ranked fifth all-time in 3-point field goals made and third all-time in 3-point field goal percentage. Most metrics rank him as perhaps the best perimeter shooter of the 2000s.

Also Read – Jimmy Butler just pulled my name out of thin air! Duncan Robinson clears the air about his Heat teammate hilariously calling him dumb in postgame presser.

Kyle Korver expressed his gratitude to Allen Iverson on the JJ Redick podcast

Kyle Korver was worried about his future in NBA since second rounds picks are not guaranteed a 1st year or second-year contract. Since no one else was a good shooter on the 76ers that time, Allen Iverson pushed him to become one.

“What you need more than anything is confidence. A belief that you belong in this court. He would put his arm around me every day telling  me to shoot the ball. Shooters shoot the ball. Just like breathing confidence into me”.

Also Read: “I’ll just shoot it myself”: When Allen Iverson hilariously put down rookie Kyle Korver for missing 3-pointers off his passes for Sixers

At that time Allen Iverson was in his 8th season with the 76ers. He was a reluctant passer since the team lacked quality shooters. But according to Korver “AI was flipping passes behind the back on the break. He was always looking for me in transition”.

Moreover, Kyle mentioned that playing in Philadelphia city and playing for 4 different coaches in 4 years made him mentally prepared to play with any team under any circumstances.

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