Allen Iverson was one of a kind. Even as great a talent as he is in AI, there"s always a “welcome to the big leagues" moment. For Allen Iverson, that moment came when he met Michael Jordan for the first time.
It was an even more powerful moment because Iverson was an avid MJ fan. However, meeting his idol was not what he expected. Michael Jordan called Allen Iverson an asshole.
In an interview with Complex, AI revealed how he first met his childhood idol. When Iverson entered the league as a rookie in 1996, Michael Jordan had already won four rings and was on the verge of winning two more.
"Look man, you don't care nothing about me, because if you did, you wouldn't have crossed me like that" – Allen Iverson on what Michael Jordan said to him, when AI was trying to tell MJ how much he still idolizes him. Catch the full convo on Headliners on Showtime & Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/zjBFHRWa9U
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) January 3, 2024
Allen Iverson remembered that meeting in great detail. Iverson recalled that Michael had an aura around him. But once the game started, Allen Iverson went head-to-head with MJ. He scored 30 points in his debut but did not do well against Chi-Town.
However, AI did not speak to Jordan at that meeting.
"The first time I spoke to him was this year when he played in the rookie game."
These aren"t the words you want to hear from the man you"ve admired for so long. During the interview, Iverson also talked about his epic crossover with GOAT.
AI first talked about how MJ reminded him of the crossover when Iverson told MJ that he was a big fan and that he would always love him.
Iverson:
“I remember going to the Charlotte game and telling him how much he meant to me and how touched I was with him, and he said, ‘You know what? I would do that too, because I didn"t waver."
“Nothing has ever pissed me off that much."
But kudos to Iverson for sparing his idol.
Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson is considered one of the worst players in NBA history. According to the Hall of Famer, his success stemmed from his childhood dream of becoming Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Pop icon Michael Jackson.
Iverson took to Instagram to thank Jordan and Jackson for their longstanding desire to stay at the top of their careers.
“My dream when I was little was to be like these two!"
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1BV-AfsDcX/?
The Bulls legend won six championships, while Iverson didn"t win one in his 14-year career. His breakout game earned him 11 All-Star appearances and the 2001 MVP Award on his way to the Hall of Fame. So, the former MVP said he did everything he could to live up to his childhood photo.
After being selected with the first overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, Allen Iverson quickly caught the attention of Michael Jordan. During the game, the 21-year-old walked up to Jordan and fired a mid-range jumper into Jordan"s face.
Iverson also had all of Jordan"s points. However, according to Iverson, the Bulls coach has never forgotten the point guard of that era. The former MVP talked about visiting Jordan at a Charlotte Hornets game during an appearance on the “Club Shay Shay" podcast in 2021.
"I went to a Charlotte Hornets" game, he had me come in, and we in the back, and me and him just sitting back and drinking and reminiscing or whatever, and I was like, ‘Man, I love you, man.’ And he was like, ‘you don’t love me, you lil bi**h. You wouldn’t have crossed me up like that if you did,’"
Iverson said.
"Everybody in the room just bust out laughing, man. It was crazy."
Iverson may have done his childhood idol dirty with his iconic crossover, but he still ended up earning his respect.
Fans reacted as follows:
I watched this a couple of days ago, it was great!!!
— Daniel Reamer (@DanielReamer3) January 3, 2024
Why did you throw LeBron in there when he specifically said Jordan and Kobe then the rest?
— christiān (@christhecarter_) January 3, 2024
