More often than not, Allen Iverson made doing difficult things on the court look easy. It turns out he felt that way, too. “For me, it was easy,” Iverson told analyst Steve Smith during a sit-down interview that aired as part of NBA TV’s All-Star Game coverage. Iverson was in Toronto for a portion of this past weekend’s festivities, which included Friday’s announcement of the 14 finalists for the 2016 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class. He was named to that group for the first time.GameTime: Smitty Talks With Allen Iverson : NBA.com Iverson’s comments came when asked about his transition from Georgetown to the Sixers. The two-year Hoya said, “It was easy because it was one-on-one. One-on-one basketball, I felt like, and I know, nobody could stop me one-on-one.”
The Sixers made Iverson the number one overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1997, the first of 12 consecutive campaigns in which he generated at least 22 points. Iverson led the league in scoring four times, and finished 14-year career with 24,368 total points. Iverson continued, “For real, Steve, that’s how I thought, going into the NBA. The NBA? Ain’t no box-and-1s [zone defensive scheme]. I get to one-on-one every night? Nobody can stop me one-on-one.”Smith, who spent nearly a decade in a half in the league as a shooting guard, also asked Iverson for his thoughts on being considered a “cultural icon.””I am,” said Iverson. “I know it. I took the whooping from it, for guys to become comfortable in their skin, for guys to live like they live, and obviously dress like they dress.” One of the messages that Iverson sought to impart during his conversation with Smith was:”It’s cool being you. Ain’t nothing wrong with being you. When I die, if I’m fortunate enough to come back in the next lifetime, I want to be A.I. I want to be me. I’m satisfied with who I am. I just want dudes to feel good about being them. Ain’t nothing wrong with it.” The Hall of Fame will reveal its 2016 inductees in Houston on Monday, April 4th, the same day that the city will host NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. To be enshrined, Iverson will need to receive 18 votes from the 24-person Hall of Fame Honors Committee. Sixers Chairman of Basketball Operations Jerry Colangelo also serves as chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
