Allen Iverson receives support from Shaquille O’Neal over Brian Windhorst comments

In the world of social media, hot takes sell at a rapid pace. Many sports analysts use this tactic to influence the masses by providing bizarre opinions. Brian Windhorst recently did the same when he targetted Allen Iverson.

While Windhorst has a reputation for providing acceptable takes, his opinion on NBA legend Allen Iverson has drawn universal criticism. Now Al’s documentary collaborator, Shaquille O’Neal, has joined the conversation to show his unwavering support for the Sixers icon.

Allen Iverson receives Shaquille O’Neal support over Windhorst criticism

The ever-vocal Shaquille O’Neal has extended his support to Allen Iverson like many others over Brian Windhorst’s comment belittling the 11-time NBA All-Star. The Big Diesel shared a post, defending Iverson, on his Instagram story that stated the former NBA point guard Jason Williams’ take on Windhorst’s comment.

The image quoted, “Like how can anybody say anything negative about Allen Iverson, of all people, or just anyone in general, with a neck like that? that’s all I’m gonna say. He said Allen Iverson was shooting like 41 percent in the league today, looks like he ate 41 doughnuts.”

On his appearance in an episode of “The Big Podcast,” Iverson claimed that he would have averaged 43 points if he were to play in this era of offense-heavy lineups where players are putting up massive numbers on the scoreboard. ESPN’s sportswriter Windhorst begged to differ with his claim.

“If AI played today, he’d be heavily criticized… He played a lot of minutes and just chucked a lot of shots… That would not fly in today’s game,” stated Windy after pointing out AI’s 41% shooting accuracy which could not match the modern era shooters.

In Iverson’s defense, it can be easily stated that the analyst was comparing his numbers in an era where the Black Mamba Kobe Bryant won the scoring title by averaging around 35 points (2005-2006 season), which was only 2 more than AI’s 33.0 PPG.

Allen Iverson responds to Windhorst comments

With his claim of averaging 43 points had he been playing in this generation, Allen Iverson opened doors for criticism. The first one to publicly disagree with it was ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. After days of the topic swirling around, Iverson finally responded to the ESPN veteran’s comment.

Handling the matter very maturely, the former MVP showed no signs of anger. On the flipside he said, “God bless him.” Iverson further added that he was not going to “bash him or be mad at him or criticize him for the way he thinks.” The guard’s positive response on the matter showcases the great personality and influence he is.

There is no certainty of knowing whether or not Iverson could reach the target he had set for himself as there is no way that the 48-year-old is coming back to the league to prove Windy wrong. He is rather busy with his documentary that got a green signal from Amazon Prime to soak in the positiveness of his appreciative fans.