After Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA Legend Reveals Allen Iverson Trait He Copied During Career

“The only star that I used to be like man, it was Allen Iverson. Like he had tattoos, he had braids; he had big a– earrings, and tall tees like he just had neighborhood swag about him. So I felt that I could relate to him.” Last year, Bucks star Damian Lillard openly expressed that he admired Allen Iverson growing up. But the love for Bubba Chuck doesn’t stop with one Bucks star. Apart from Dame, even Giannis Antetokounmpo shared the same respect for AI. Recently, another player from the 2021 champions team spoke about his love for Iverson.

The 36-year-old said, “Iverson my GOAT too; I had braids because of AI.” On his podcast, Jeff Teague gave his guest some of the 76ers legend’s merch. The former Bucks star spoke about the influence of AI previously on his podcast close to a year ago. He said, “Once you went from being like Mike, everybody in the world [wanted to be like Allen Iverson]. We have white people getting braids. Everybody in the world wore an arm sleeve, [got] tattoos. He made it acceptable to be yourself.”

Not just American guards in Jeff Teague and Damian Lillard, The Answer‘s reach was overseas as well. Giannis Antetokounmpo, another Bucks star and member of the NBA 75 team alongside Allen Iverson, admired the former 76ers as well. The 30-year-old said, “I had this fake Denver Nuggets Allen Iverson jersey, and I had like this band, and I had like a little longer hair that I had my mom do like the cornrows and just pretend all day like I was Allen Iverson.”

Even LeBron James once recalled Stephen Curry and Iverson as the two NBA stars with whom the young kids resonated the most. LeBron’s agent and founder of Klutch Sports Group called Allen Iverson “culture before people even understood what culture was.” Rich Paul also insisted that he wanted to work with the 2001 MVP, as he saw him as the million-dollar business dream. 

Other superstars who hailed Allen Iverson as their influence

If you think the 11x All-Star’s impact was a thing of the past, then you are certainly wrong. Recently. Grammy-nominated artist Post Malone collaborated with the 76ers legend to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of his song ‘White Iverson.’ The name of the song is based on Bubba Chuck because Post Malone reportedly after completing the song, had his braided look made him a look-alike of Allen Iverson. Additionally, two of the three things up for sale, sold out within a couple of hours.

Back to basketball stars who credit the 49-year-old as their influence. Jamal Crawford, another guard, stated: “There aren’t a lot of people that have had a bigger influence in my life than AI.” He later added having no less than 35 pictures of cutouts of Allen Iverson from Slam Magazine on his wall. Current Knicks captain, Jalen Brunson, revealed he used to go to her mom’s sock drawer and cut her socks to wear them as arm sleeves.

You will find similar stories from more stars as they credit the 76ers legend for his braids, tattoos, and arm sleeve. Despite being just 6 feet tall, his reach inside and outside the court of basketball was remarkable.