Tony Parker is officially a Hall of Famer. The 2023 Hall of Fame class is one for the books, as it has the likes of Dwyane Wade, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, and Gregg Popovich in it. During a recent episode of SWEEK, Parker had his celebrity friends Thierry Henry and Matt Pokora on the show, to celebrate his enshrinement.
Advertisement
While on the show, the hosts and the guests touched on a variety of topics, such as success, football, mindset, and even the LeBron-Jordan debate. However, during the interview, Henry made a very pertinent point about the meaning of success.
According to Henry, a player shouldn’t be known only for their accolades but also for their contributions to society and their country. Talking further on it, he said,
” Like Allen Iverson. He has no rings, but he changed the league. Did you change something in your position? Did people say” That’s Tony Parker’s shot”. Today when people go to a playground, they want to copy Tony Parker. To me, that’s something more important than titles.”
Henry does have a point. Though Iverson wasn’t able to collect any significant silverware, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever do it. Not only did he force the league to accept cultures outside, which was previously unaccepted, but he played in a manner that was rebellious as well. Iverson may be one of the first athletes to show the public that he wasn’t perfect and that he was only human.
As for Henry, it’s amazing to know that basketball was his first love. While talking about basketball, Henry admitted that Jordan was his favorite. He even asked the other guests, “Have you seen god”, while referring to Jordan.
Allen Iverson was undeniable
Without Iverson, we wouldn’t have The Black Mamba. Without Iverson, we wouldn’t have the modern cross-over. Without Iverson, we wouldn’t have a strong bond between hip-hop and basketball. Now, to some, these statements may seem absurd, but true die-hards know that Iverson changed the league forever.
Not only did Iverson bring cultural shift, off the court, but he did so even on the hardwood. Iverson ushered in the age of the scoring point guard. He made it normal for the starting point guard to average 30 points while playing a lot of iso-ball. He revolutionized the pick and roll. Not only that, the 2001 NBA MVP even took a half-baked 76ers team to the finals in 2001.
Now, unfortunately for AI, Kobe and the Lakers were too much to overcome in ’01. But that didn’t stop AI from making the conversation of the best two-way guards of all time. AI not only put up stats but also made headlines a lot.
AI taught the youth to embrace their culture and to wear their upbringing proudly no matter who judged them. As a 6-footer in a giants game, AI was the perfect athlete to embody the spirit of “heart over height”.
