Allen Iverson in his 14-year NBA career has cemented himself as one of the best scorers to ever grace the hardboard. The 6’0″ guard went up against some of the biggest and meanest defenses of the league and came out on top, showing his impeccable ball-handling skills and shooting.
Now at the age of 48, the old guard of the game has opened up about the NBA of today. While assessing the escalating trend of a mammoth scoring glut, the Hall of Famer has pointed out a special talent for whom he has some high praises.
Allen Iverson’s unique take on Luka Doncic
During a discussion with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and Producer Adam Lefkoe on “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” Allen Iverson called Luka Doncic’s style of play identical to that of a black athlete. When Iverson was asked on the podcast who among the current crop of NBA players reminded him of himself, he named Doncic. The 48-year-old showered praise on the Mavs guard.
Describing Luca’s style of play Iverson said, “His style is kind of like a mix of streetball… I don’t want nobody to take this the wrong way but… The way he plays, he plays like a Black guy.” Though Iverson clarified that he did not mean it in a wrong way Shaq was quick to modify his comment and replace the sentimental words with “swag”.
Luka Doncic might not have the pace according to many but he knows how to control a game and has one of the best numbers since his initial days. Scoring a career-high 73 points against the Hawks (on Jan. 26.), Doncic has left NBA greats like LeBron James (61) and Stephen Curry (62) behind.
Astonishingly, Luka has dropped seven 50s so far in his brief career and has already surpassed another Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki with the most 35-point games in the franchise’s history. This season he has averaged 34.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.6 assists.
The Mavericks won their seventh game in a row thanks to their supreme scorer and will be facing the Pacers next on Feb. 25, who, like them, are in the same position (6) but in the Eastern Conference table.
Allen Iverson’s 43-point claim
While talking to Shaq, Iverson spoke about the time when Kobe had won the scoring title by averaging 2 points more than his 33.0 points in the 2005-06 season.
The 2001 NBA MPV then claimed, “If I were to play in this era, where it’s wide open. If I could average 33 in a season [back then], I’m just going to take it up to 43. I know 10 points more,” which raises a finger at the defensive abilities of the players in the current generation. Much like Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce echoed the same mindset.
Most of the teams in this era have offense-heavy lineups which results in players scoring higher points compared to the previous era Iverson is talking about.
