Candis R. McLean
Last week, NBA icon and 76ers legend Allen Iverson sat down with Complex Magazine‘s Speedy Morman to talk about his style, untold stories from the court, his legacy, and more. The interview touched on his love of Philly, his most iconic Kobe Bryant moment, and a time when Michael Jordan cursed at him. Here are a few highlights:
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/18271607/52736684.0.jpg)
On his style:
“I used to wear 4X sweats.”
“People thought that I created that, But it was just me dressing like guys from around here, dressing like my homeboys. It wasn’t a big deal. In my eyes, I never wore a suit to the court.”
“When they banned it, they saw that all the guys were starting to look like me. And all it was is that those guys always wanted to do do that. But they felt uncomfortable doing that because they thought that they would get a reaction from the league. I took the a** whipping for them for them to be able to do what they do now.”
…
On the famous compression sleeves:
“You right-handed? So the right side of my body, whenever I would fall or something, I would fall on the strongest part of my body…my friends used to tease me because I had a big bursa sac on my arm…I used to have to get it drained before every game. They gave me, it wasn’t the sleeve you see now. I was just some cloth that pushed it in. Then they made one for me and my elbow got better. But I got used to it. So I said let me just throw some style on it.”
“I couldn’t believe Kobe did it. But the first time I got excited about it was when I saw ‘Bron with the headband on and the sleeve. That’s my little guy. That’s the guy who wanted to emulate me.”
…
On his new sneaker Iverson Legacy:
“I had input on them like had on all of the others, what 14 pairs? I like the shoe, because its all of my shoes, put together. Reebok we had a relationship where they wanted me to come in raw and you just be you.”
…
On Biggie Smalls:
“Puff introduced us. I went to play in Rucker Park and he was in the studio with Cease. It was like a bucket list moment for me. I was just such a colossal fan of his music. I knew every line. I remember when I was there, fortunate enough to be there when he was recording Life After Death.”
“While he was out in L.A. he was trying to get The Questions (sneaker) from his mom. He came to see me after the game and I asked him, ‘What are you doing here?’ He told me, ‘I came to see you.'”
…
On Michael Jordan:
“I got a lot of flack from my teammates because you’re playing against your guy. You’re not gonna come with it, huh? I was being this tough guy with them. Then I walked out there and saw him and I was a fan.”
“Once they threw that ball in the air, it was like, you’re gonna remember 23 tonight like you always have, but when you leave here you’re gonna remember number 3, too.”
“The first time I ever talked to him was umm… that year playing in the rookie game. I’ll never forget because he looked up and said: “what’s up you little b*tch.” I looked up like…aight man.”
“I went to a Charlotte game and I told him how much he meant to me and how much I rocked with him. He was like “man you don’t really rock with me like that because you wouldn’t have crossed be like that.”
…
On his embarrassing moments:
“One game, we were playing the Lakers and Shaq had it down low. He went up to bang it and I jumped on his back. He took me up too and dunked it. And I” never forget, Kobe looked up at me and said: “Are you trying to die?”
…
On Philly:
” I think I’m the city.”
“I’m approachable, they feel just like I feel about them. I’m you… I go out there and I go hard every night. If you notice anything about Philadelphia, they’re giving you a hard time if you don’t give it all. You can play bad but they can tell when you’re giving it everything you have night in and night out. We just had that bond between each other.
…
Watch the full interview below:
You can follow Candis McLean on Twitter (@CandisRMcLean) and e-mail her at [email protected].
Follow Philly Influencer on Twitter (@PHL_Influencer),Facebook and Instagram.