Allen Iverson was one of the most dynamic and exciting players to watch during his career, but when it comes to comparing him to basketball greats like Michael Jordan and LeBron James, there are some key differences to consider.
In terms of their playing styles, Iverson was known for his quickness, agility, and ability to create his own shots. He was a prolific scorer and a fearless competitor, but he also had a tendency to take a lot of shots and sometimes struggled with efficiency.
Jordan, on the other hand, was known for his all-around game, including his scoring, passing, rebounding, and defense. He was a more complete player than Iverson and had a killer instinct that few players could match. Jordan also won six NBA championships and is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time.
LeBron James is another player who is often compared to Jordan, and like Jordan, he is a more complete player than Iverson. LeBron is an excellent scorer, but he also excels at passing, rebounding, and defense, making him a true all-around threat. LeBron has won four NBA championships and has been to the NBA Finals 10 times, which is a testament to his incredible consistency and longevity.
During All-Star weekend, Iverson got to be part of some of the festivities. As someone who has played against both LeBron and MJ, some reporters were wondering how Iverson feels about these two. For instance, Marc J. Spears of Andscape asked Iverson directly who he would take between the two. For Iverson, it was a truly tough call. However, he opted to go with LeBron for the following reason.
“LeBron, I think, to me is the best overall basketball player that we’ll ever see,” Iverson said. “If you look in the dictionary and look up basketball player, there’ll be a picture of LeBron. But for me it’s so different because Mike was everything to me. He gave me the vision. He made me want to play basketball. He’s my everything. I wanted to actually be like him, like the commercial, ‘Be like Mike,’ I really wanted to be him. I’m still starstruck every time I see him. I’m still nervous every time. Because he’s Mike to me. He’s my guy. So there’ll never be no one at the top of my list besides Mike. But LeBron is just everything that you want in a basketball player. He’s a total package. He’s God’s gift to the basketball world.”
Iverson won the MVP award in 2001, led the league in scoring four times, and was an 11-time All-Star, but he never won a championship. Jordan, as mentioned earlier, won six championships, while LeBron has won four championships, four MVP awards, and has been to the All-Star game 17 times.
