Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson had plenty of battles with the late Kobe Bryant during his storied NBA career. Iverson's Sixers went head-to-head with Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals, the second title out of three consecutive championships for L.A. at the time.
On Sunday, Iverson paid tribute to Bryant in a heartfelt Instagram post, thanking Kobe for “bringing out the best” of him during his career:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Ef-kGgaL8/?igshid=3wx3whjd7f6t
Much like his peers, Iverson has clearly been broken up by Kobe's death. The former league MVP has been posting memories he shared with Bryant on the floor, and he also released a statement in which he declared his respect for Bryant's dedication to his craft (via Brooke Destra of NBC Sports Philadelphia):
“People will always remember how we competed against each other in the league, but it goes so much deeper than that for me. The story of us being drafted in arguably the deepest class of its kind ever in the NBA can be debated for many years to come. However, his generosity and respect for the game is something that I witnessed first-hand every time we stepped on the dance floor to compete.
Iverson was the No. 1 overall pick in that famous 1996 NBA Draft, which saw Bryant–who made the leap to the NBA straight from high school–get drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the No. 13 overall pick, after which he subsequently engineered a trade to the Lakers.
For his part, Bryant talked at length about how Iverson's instant success in the league served as a personal proving ground to show he belonged in the NBA.
Iverson and Bryant will always be inextricably linked as two of the stars that helped the league transition into the new millennium after Michael Jordan's retirement.
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