You could be sure that Allen Iverson didn't want to miss this.

With 13-time All-Star and 3-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade preparing to be immortalized in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night, the NBA icon took to the red carpet in a Wade-inspired suit that mirrored the back of Flash's distinguished Miami Heat jersey.

Iverson, an 11-time All-Star, 1997 Rookie of the Year, and 2001 NBA MVP, also donned the no. 10 jersey throughout his playing career. One of the most popular players of all-time, Wade has cited Iverson as one of his two major influences growing up. NBA legend Michael Jordan, a player whose success was so great it would take all hours to write it out, played for Wade's hometown Chicago Bulls from 1984 to 1998.

In the case of Jordan, one can see the influence in Wade's midrange mastery as well as the intensity with which he played on both ends of the floor. Even his movements, sometimes described as cat-like because of his agility, grace, and even how low he positioned his body to the ground on the defensive end, mirrored the six-time NBA champions.

In the case of Iverson, it isn't just the familiar arm sleeve that Wade donned. As his two-way intensity and mastery as a combo guard often put him in the argument for the best player in the NBA, the influence here is clearly seen as well.

Why D-Wade picked A.I.

The reason that Dwyane Wade chose Allen Iverson to present him at his Hall of Fame enshrinement — rather than Michael Jordan (who probably would have obliged) or even LeBron James — is because what A.I. means to the culture (per Andscape's Marc J. Spears):

“It was important to me that I touched the culture when I did this,” Wade said. “And Allen Iverson is somebody who gets forgotten for what he means to this game and what he means to a community and to a culture. And so, I want to bring that back to the front in the forefront and give him his flowers like he deserved and just tell him how important he was, man, to not only me, but to all the little boys that looked like me and look like him.”

To paraphrase, Iverson is a major influence on the game of basketball, the culture of the NBA, and the African-American community that grew up watching him and the pioneers that came before him; the youth dreaming of one day reaching those heights. A player once maligned for how he dressed and how he spoke, one of the finer points of Iverson's legacy is what he means to those that look a lot like him.

With that said, on what's already a special night for the kid from Chicago, Iverson's homage will only make the moment that much sweeter.

For him and for the basketball world as a whole.