“That’s why I love him, that’s why he’ll always be in my top 5 in the best players to ever play the game”.
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O’Neal also pointedly joked about his departure after winning three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. Add in Iverson’s blockbuster performance, and Game 1 didn’t sit well with him. He won the scoring title four times, crossed over Jordan, stepped over Ty Lue, and reached 11 All-Star Games. Think of the different directions that Iverson’s being pulled in this single presser: he has to affirm his commitment to the team, the city, and especially to his coach.
The Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2016 will be enshrined in Springfield this evening.
Former Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who retired from the National Basketball Association in April after playing 20 seasons, took to Instagram on Thursday night to congratulate O’Neal, calling him the most dominate big of all time. “We wanted to be the best National Basketball Association team ever assembled to win a championship”.
O’Neal has an huge level of respect for the fiery point guard who spoiled his postseason intentions.
Watch O’Neal’s interview below. Over the years, O’Neal realized no matter how hard he fouled him, Iverson was going to continue driving the lane. Iverson himself, along with others such as Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, dabbled in rap during the late 1990s and 2000s. Whenever there was a lull in the moment, the crowd cheered him to thank him for this moment and every moment he provided them. “He showed me he wasn’t afraid of the contact, showed me had heart, and it showed me he wasn’t scared”.
For those sneakerheads in the audience, this clip of Iverson besting Jordan is important. “The ones that support me can always say, ‘This guy was immortalized by being a Hall of Famer'”. He noted, “I love you, Pat”.
O’Neal used the words “fierce”, “monster” and “beast” to describe Iverson.
Iverson played with unique flair.
The Peninsula, of course, also is where a racially charged 1993 fight at a bowling alley landed Iverson, then a minor, in jail on trumped-up felony charges that an appeals court later set aside.
“I imagined this for a long time”, said Yao, the Chinese giant who became the tallest player in Hall of Fame history at 7-foot-6 (2.29m).
“It’s OK to have a one-two punch, but when you’ve got a one-two punch that can knock you out with either hand”. You can tell Iverson expresses some regret about the incident, saying his kids make fun of him about it and things happen like “I can go outside today and go to a restaurant or wherever and somebody will come up to me and say, “Practice?”.
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For another, from the moment he appeared to great cheers from the fans lining the downtown concert hall’s steep steps until his halting but heartfelt acceptance speech concluded to thunderous applause, he seemed on the verge of tears.
