Allen Iverson was a once-in-a-generation talent who came into the NBA like a storm, shook the league and the legends of the game inside out, and faded off slowly for being the way he was—raw.
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The 6’0 guard was so oozing with greatness since Day 1 in the league that he didn’t even hesitate to make the likes of Michael Jordan his bunny.
It is the reason why despite not winning any championship and reaching the NBA Finals just once in his 15-year career, AI is still one of the greatest to ever do it. And Shaquille O’Neal, whom he faced in that only Finals appearance he made, will tell you why he was as unstoppable as The Diesel himself was.
Shaquille O’Neal thinks Allen Iverson messed up the history of basketball
When Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant went on to win their first championship in 2000, they got hungrier and wanted to prove that they were the best Lakers duo of all time. Especially Shaq, the 7-foot-1 juggernaut wanted the Lakers Nation to forget Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
And for that, the 2000 Finals MVP thought his Lakers would run through every team in West, which they did, and then do the same to whoever reaches the Finals. Allen Iverson stunned them with one of the best individual performances in NBA history.
That’s the reason why Shaq believes AI was a “dawg” and even he “could not punk.”
AI spoilt one was the most amazing Playoffs runs by an NBA team
Not only did Allen Iverson got one of the coldest moments through that game when he crossed over Ty Lue after converting a shot near the Lakers dugout, but he also stole the game under Shaq’s nose with his 48-point (not 51) night.
In those Playoffs, the 11x All-Star averaged 32.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2.4 steals per game playing over 46 minutes a night.
If he had another superstar with him in that Sixers team, let alone the Lakers’ championship with a clean record, there would have been a three-peat.
