Lakers News: Kobe Bryant's Fellow 1996 Lottery Pick Recalls The Black Mamba
In the latest edition of former 13-year NBA journeyman guard Vernon Maxwell's Bovada podcast, MaXed Out, longtime Philadelphia 76ers MVP point guard Allen Iverson discussed his relationship with one of the most ferocious guards of his era, late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, a fellow 1996 lottery draftee.
Iverson initially noted that he had "just a colossal amount of respect, admiration" for Bryant throughout their respective careers, adding, "The dude was a monster. I hadn't seen anything like that besides Black Jesus, Michael Jordan. And it was kind of like the spitting image [of MJ] -- and he could do and affect the game just like my hero. Anybody know me, Black Jesus is everything to me. He was the one that gave me the vision, he was the one that made me Allen Iverson on that dance floor. And Kobe was just that same [level of player]."
Bryant, the 2008 league MVP, was picked 13th in the 1996 class, while Iverson, the 2001 MVP, was the top pick. They would square off directly in the postseason only twice: in the 2001 NBA Finals between the Sixers and Lakers, which a dominant L.A. team won in five games, and the first round of the 2008 Western Conference playoffs, during which Bryant swept Iverson and future Laker Carmelo Anthony's Denver Nuggets en route to the 2008 NBA Finals.
Iverson went on to cite two other Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famers with statues outside Crypto.com Arena as being massive influences on him as he built a name for himself within the league.
"The way I created my game, I wanted to jump like Mike, I wanted to rebound like Barkley, be dominant like Shaq. I wanted to pass like Magic, shoot like Bird, [be] fast like Isiah. And implement all of that into one game."
Generously listed at six feet tall, Iverson was probably one of the two best players at his height in league history (the other being Chris Paul), an explosive scoring guard who made 11 All-Star teams and led the league in scoring four times to Bryant's two. For the course of his 14-year career, AI averaged 26.7 points on .425/.313/.780 shooting splits, 6.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds a night.
