Allen Iverson had a way with his teammates that few other NBA legends had. Kyle Korver narrates one of the hilarious incidents he had as AI’s teammate.
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Drafted by the Brooklyn Nets and traded to the Sixers for a copy machine, Kyle Korver is one of the legendary shooters in NBA history. He’s 5th on the all-time made 3-pointer leaderboard right now. If a team snaps him up before the end of the season, Korver could make it to 2500 3-pointers, becoming only the 4th player to do so.
But before he became a celebrated NBA player, Korver was an end-of-the-bench rookie. He was way down in the pecking order of the Sixers rotation, and had to play himself in. By his second season, however, Korver was in the mix for the starting five. He recorded 57 starts and averaged over 11 points per game.
Kyle Korver and Allen Iverson had a peculiar equation
AI was the de facto leader of the Sixers on and off the court. He was a city legend within his first couple of seasons with his volume scoring. But he was also a great assist maker, driving and kicking to open teammates to devastating effect. The likes of Eric Snow benefited immensely from his aggression.
When Korver initially came into the NBA fold, he didn’t exactly light up the scoring charts. He recorded a paltry 35.2% field goal percentage as a rookie. It must have been frustrating to be a playmaker for him in his first season. Korver recounts how Iverson approached him:
“If you couldn’t make the shot after he passed it to you he would say, ‘Why would I pass it to you again? I’ll just shoot it myself.'”
Soon, however, AI learned to trust Iguodala and Korver and began passing to them. This led to the duo becoming valuable swingmen and fringe All Stars for a number of years.
