For those who were lucky enough to witness his career during his playing days, Allen Iverson is a legend of reputable order. For Los Angeles Lakers fans, he’s also the man responsible for the only blemish on an otherwise flawless run to the 2001 NBA championship.
In a full-circle moment, Iverson gave credit where it’s due to the players he’s become rivals with and admirers of over his years as a basketball player and viewer.
Iverson famously led the Philadelphia 76ers to an improbable appearance in the 2001 NBA Finals. Matched up against the unstoppable Lakers, he led the 76ers to an iconic Game 1 win with 48 points, six assists, five rebounds, and five steals—marking the only loss that Los Angeles endured that entire postseason.
In a recent appearance on The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal, Iverson was asked to name his all-time starting five—and included three Lakers on his team.
““Steph [Curry], Kobe [Bryant], Mike [Michael Jordan], LeBron [James], and Diesel [Shaquille O’Neal].””
It’s hard to argue against the starting lineup that Iverson constructed, let alone the fact that three of the players in it have won championships with the Lakers.
For those who weren’t lucky enough to watch Iverson play, he helped transform the game and set the stage for the modern era. At a time when Michael Jordan was more of an exception than a rule to what flew as greatness in a center-dominated field, Iverson proved undersized scorers could excel.
That makes his selection of Stephen Curry even more interesting to see, as there’s a clear case to be made that Iverson helped pave the way for this era of explosive scorers in point guard bodies.
Iverson was also an influence for players who are bigger than him—LeBron James included. James once said that The Answer is, “Pound-for-pound, probably the greatest player who ever played,” and called him his second-favorite player ever behind Michael Jordan.
Jordan, of course, was also included on the list, due in no small part to the fact that Iverson played against him during the Chicago Bulls’ second three-peat.
Rounding out the list are Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, who led the Lakers to the most recent three-peat in NBA history. That includes the aforementioned 2001 series against Iverson and the 76ers, during which the former MVP received a first-hand look at how great they were.
As far as the functionality of Iverson’s starting five, it’s hard to identify a weakness considering how perfectly the skill sets seem to complement one another.
Curry and O’Neal represent the ultimate high-low balance as the best shooter and most physically dominant post player of the modern era, if not all time. Bryant, James, and Jordan were all dominant defenders in their respective primes, as well, with elite offensive skill sets both on and off the ball.
Throw in Iverson as the sixth man and it would be hard to construct a lineup that stands a chance against the team he built.
