While thinking back on this year's class of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Allen Iverson‘s speech might have come up as uncharacteristically long. But if there was one adjective to describe all of those 31 minutes, it has to be “candid”.
The 76ers legend took time to thank the rappers that inspired him, including Method Man, Jadakiss, and his top three: Redman, Tupac Shakur, and Notorious B.I.G.
This might seem utterly unconventional for a Hall of Fame speech, where an inductee usually tracks down his footsteps on his way to that very moment and thanks his family and loved ones at the very end — and it very much is.
But that was the beauty of it. Iverson was a basketball player like we had never seen before: the cornrows, the baggy clothing, the chains, the tattoos, and the ultimate flair in the basketball court.
It felt only fitting for him to have such an unconventional Hall of Fame speech because it was him to his very core — not caring about the public's perception or how much he's defying the norm.
“It was just important,” Iverson told SLAM Magazine at a Reebok party that celebrating the 20th anniversary of his signature shoe, The Question. “It was important to me to acknowledge the people that inspired me. The people that I love. Those guys that I talked about, their every day life inspired me as well, not just their music. Just their hustle and what they had to go through to become who they are. It was important to me.”
The 2001 MVP closed the basketball player chapter of his life last Friday and did it his way. Thanking every friend, mentor, and every rapper that provided the soundtrack to his career was as Allen Iverson as it gets.
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