Allen Iverson is arguably one of the most influential players of all time and his impact on the game of basketball continues to be relevant to this day. AI’s influence on basketball is not limited to the way he prompted people to walk, dress, or style their hair, as many people think. Iverson influenced millions to take up basketball as a career option with his silky smooth moves. During a recent conversation with Leigh Ellis, Giannis Antetokounmpo talked about the impact of AI in his life and how he tried to copy his hero in his younger days.
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Giannis’ story of growing up in Athens, Greece with a dream to become a basketball player, was narrated by Ellis in the clip he uploaded on Instagram. He revealed that he had visited the basketball court where Giannis used to play in his childhood days, which now has the Bucks superstar’s giant mural painted on it.
Ellis asked Antetokounmpo during the interview, what it was like for him to play there in his younger days. The Greek Freak said that it was him and his brothers lacing up every day to play two-on-two on the court. After that, the two-time NBA MVP recounted how his introduction to the sport was inspired by the savvy moves of the great Allen Iverson.
Giannis said, “I had this fake Denver Nuggets Allen Iverson jersey, and I had like this band, and I had like a little longer hair that I had my mom do like the cornrows and just pretend all day like I was Allen Iverson.” The 2021 NBA Champ then added that he used to imitate Iverson’s crossover moves on the court because he wanted to be like him.
However, the Antetokounmpo brothers were running low on time every day as the lights used to go off at 9:35, and if they didn’t make their way back home by 9:45, they’d get the good old butt whooping from their father.
The Allen Iverson influence
In no particular order, AI, MJ, Stephen Curry, and the late great Kobe Bryant, are on the Mt. Rushmore of the most influential figures to come out of the NBA. However, you might see Iverson’s name mentioned on most people’s lists, even above MJ and Kobe. A few weeks ago, LeBron James said on his podcast, “Steph and Allen Iverson are the two biggest influential guys in our game since I’ve been watching and covering it…Allen Iverson and Steph, they were just so relatable, and kids felt like they could be them.”
Later, Gilbert Arenas also argued for AI on his podcast by saying that the 11-time All-Star changed the way people moved back in the day. Another NBA veteran Jeff Teague also added his two cents to the debate by saying, “Once you went from being like Mike, everybody in the world [wanted to be like Allen Iverson]. We have white people getting braids. Everybody in the world wore an arm sleeve, [got] tattoos.” Teague also credited AI for bringing in a revolution in terms of fashion in the NBA because everyone was dressing up in “weak a*s big clothes” because of him.
