A day away from his Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2016 induction, Allen Iverson was as real as it gets about giving credit where credit is due.

The 2001 NBA MVP admitted that he will make time during his speech to thank the doubters and haters that pointed the finger at him throughout his career.

”Even the ones that were negative in my career, obviously to try prove them wrong (was a motivation),” he told Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press. ”I had to overcome what they said about me. I had to overcome all that to be wearing this (Hall of Fame) jacket right now. The naysayers, they helped me, too.”

In an era where hip-hop was growing more and more popular, and with it, the sport was growing as big with the return of Michael Jordan, Iverson forayed into the NBA — brash, outspoken, and swagged out before that was even an existing term in society.

“When it came to basketball, obviously I wanted to me like Mike. Doesn't everybody?” Iverson told reporters on Thursday during media availability. ”But I didn't want to talk like him. I felt it was enough being who my mom loved.”

Iverson embodied the modern basketball player — the cornrows, the tattoos, the chains, and the baggy clothes, they were all a reflection of his growing up in the streets of Hampton, Va.

A lot of people think of the 11-time All-Star as the child of basketball and hip-hop culture, to me — he was the priest who married them.

The 41-year-old shooting guard said his induction will be a proud moment for his fans, and ”all the people that are waiting for A.I. to get a chance to say: ‘He did what you never thought he could do.”'

”That's a great feeling for me,” he said. ”For all the barbershop talk, the ones that supported me can always say, ‘This guy was immortalized by being a Hall-of-Famer.”'