Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson understands the game is different today. But he would not operate in the same fashion as some of the modern stars in the league.
Iverson commented on the tendency for star players to join forces during an interview with rapper Fat Joe. While AI said he has love for the current crop of stars and respects their individual decisions, he also noted he could never have been driven to form a superteam in his era.
The former league MVP singled out Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in particular, saying it would have been “too easy” playing alongside two other all-time greats:
It should hardly come as a surprise that Allen Iverson, ever the underdog, cannot fathom playing with other All-Stars during his prime.
In fact, Iverson went head-to-head with Kobe and Shaq during the 2001 NBA Finals. Allen Iverson's Philadelphia 76ers even won Game 1 after AI took over in overtime, though the Lakers would respond by winning four consecutive games to close out the series.
Make no mistake, there were superteams in past eras of the NBA. The Lakers had one with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar before Kobe and Shaq dominated at the turn of the millennium. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish held it down in Beantown in the 1980s.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are still among the greatest duos to ever play the game after winning six championships in eight years for the Chicago Bulls.
But most of those players were homegrown. There was not as much moving and shaking in free agency as there is in the modern NBA.
Allen Iverson knows the complexion of the game has changed, but his competitive mindset would not have allowed him to team with the other NBA stars of his age.
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