Allen Iverson accomplished a lot over the course of his stellar professional basketball career, from landing spots on 11 All-Star teams to winning NBA MVP. The now-50-year-old hall of famer is in rarified air, given he’s considered one of the greatest players of all time. Of course, even a legend can still be a bit starstruck by one of his peers. That’s the case for Iverson when it comes to Michael Jordan and, while Iverson still remains in awe of the legendary Chicago Bull, he was truly enamored when he first saw him in person.
Michael Jordan was and remains revered amongst basketball players, including some of the best to ever play the game. Magic Johnson even called Jordan the “strongest” athlete he’d ever come across due to his seemingly limitless amount of energy. Allen Iverson’s experience is a bit different from Johnson’s, as the Hampton native came of age during Air Jordan’s ascension with the sports world. It’s because of that that AI has such an appreciation for His Airness:
All I wanted to do was watch Mike. I mean, he was my hero, he was my vision. He was the reason why everybody knows who Allen Iverson is today, because of him.
Michael Jordan – a six-time NBA champion, 14-time All-Star and five-time league MVP – is compared to LeBron James and a host of other b-ball phenoms. Yet, to many, MJ is still the GOAT, and that’s honestly an understandable take, given his accomplishments. Iverson clearly admires the man and his influence on his career. While appearing on The Tonight Show (as seen on YouTube), Iverson also told Jimmy Fallon about the first time he laid eyes on Jordan and, based on his description, it was apparently surreal:
I remember the first time, I was just staring at [Mike] and just looking at him like, ‘That’s him.’ I think that was the first time I was really starstruck. But what I actually — what I remember the most is he didn’t look real to me. That was the first time I saw a human that didn’t look real…. I talked about it in my hall of fame speech. It was like he had this aura, this orange force field around him. I remember watching [Chappelle’s Show], and they talked about when Rick James, that whole thing, where it — I saw his aura. He didn’t look real.
Some may laugh at the notion of Allen Iverson using a classic Chappelle’s Show sketch to describe the moment he saw MJ in person. Personally, though, I can’t say I wouldn’t have felt the same when seeing a star I really admired. Of course, Iverson himself is a major celebrity as well, and he still gets asked to sign photos and take selfies. Funny enough, the Philadelphia 76ers legend’s friends apparently have to remind him of his own status once in a while, even when he’s around Jordan:
It’s like that now. It’s so embarrassing when I’m around him. I’m still starstruck, you know what I mean? I’m embarrassing my friends. My friends got to tap me and [be] like, ‘Chuck, OK, man. Calm down. You’re embarrassing us…. You’re a superstar, too.
The perennial NBA 2K cover star certainly is a superstar, and I hope he’s fully aware of it. While Michael Jordan is definitely an icon in his own right, Iverson deserves his flowers for being a GOAT who impacted the game of basketball and pop culture as a whole. So I’d like to think Iverson, like his own hero, has an aura surrounding him that makes him appear unreal as well.
Learn more about the legend that is Allen Iverson by streaming the docuseries ALLEN IV3RSON using a Prime Video subscription. Fans can also get a peek inside the mind of Michael Jordan by grabbing a Netflix subscription and streaming the docuseries The Last Dance.
