Allen Iverson Appreciates LeBron James Showing Him Love

Sports Illustrated

Allen Iverson joined Robin Lundberg of Sports Illustrated to discuss the state of the NBA and his March Madness partnership with Pepsi.

Transcript

00:00 I'm Robin Lundberg, joined now by the great Allen Iverson,

00:02 who's here with us on behalf

00:04 of the Zero Right Bracket Challenge,

00:06 presented by Pepsi Zero Sugar,

00:08 where fans have a chance to win $100,000.

00:11 I like the campaign, the Ask AI,

00:13 of course, you play in the role

00:15 of artificial intelligence on that one.

00:17 And in today's day and age,

00:19 you know, everybody's out there at AI

00:21 and they've got a platform,

00:22 but LeBron James, actually,

00:24 I saw right before this interview,

00:26 really gave you some flowers.

00:27 He said that you and Steph Curry

00:29 are the most influential players he can remember.

00:31 Did you see that?

00:32 And what are your reaction to those comments?

00:34 - I just saw it right before this.

00:40 And I mean, what an honor, man.

00:44 Like the world know how great he is,

00:46 arguably the best that ever played the game,

00:50 but I know him, you know, as a person.

00:52 You know what I mean?

00:53 I love him to death.

00:54 I love his family.

00:55 I'm a lucky dude, man.

00:56 - There you go.

00:58 Let's talk about positive in the current state of the game.

01:01 What do you make of Victor Wembenyama

01:03 and the hype he's gotten in his rookie season?

01:05 - Well-deserved.

01:07 Well-deserved.

01:09 Oh my God, man.

01:11 You know what I mean?

01:12 It's something that we've never seen.

01:15 Something that we've never seen before.

01:17 You know what I mean?

01:18 And it's a blessing for our league.

01:21 You know what I mean?

01:21 We just evolving.

01:23 We just getting better and better.

01:25 You know what I mean?

01:26 It's just more eye-opening, you know what I mean,

01:29 to the world.

01:31 You know what I mean?

01:31 And the progression that we have in our league,

01:36 it's just, it's something else, man.

01:39 You know what I mean?

01:40 Like, just when you think you saw it all,

01:43 no, you didn't.

01:44 Like, this is the NBA.

01:46 It's the real deal.

01:47 - Different type of player,

01:49 but similar sentiments with Anthony Edwards.

01:52 He's got that viral dunk from last night.

01:54 I mean, all the moments in your career,

01:56 I don't know if you ever gambled on something like that.

01:57 - Oh my God, Ant-Man.

01:58 Ant-Man is crazy.

02:02 Ant-Man is crazy.

02:04 He's crazy.

02:05 I mean, it is what it is.

02:07 You know what I mean?

02:08 Like, and he'll tell you who he is.

02:10 And he'll go out on the basketball court and show you.

02:14 - Last one before we get to the bracket challenge.

02:16 Speaking of the brackets,

02:18 the women's side of the bracket

02:19 has gotten so much attention.

02:21 Maybe even more than the men's.

02:24 And we're in the middle of like a little bit

02:25 of a renaissance there.

02:27 What are your thoughts on Kaitlyn Clark and the like,

02:29 and what she's meant for the elevation

02:32 of the ladies' side of the game?

02:34 - Man, she's everything.

02:36 She's everything.

02:38 She's everything that we want in our sport.

02:41 You know what I mean?

02:42 She's the perfect role model for what we want.

02:47 You know what I mean?

02:48 In our sport.

02:49 You know, the hell with if she's a woman or a man

02:52 or anything like that.

02:53 It's just who she is.

02:55 You know, her elevation, who she is.

02:58 I mean, it's just a beauty.

03:01 You know, just to see, you know,

03:04 how she affects so many people

03:07 and how she make so many people feel good.

03:10 You know, just, you know,

03:11 for those minutes to get a chance to watch her

03:14 and see her do her thing

03:16 and then be a class act off the court as well, man.

03:20 It don't get no better.

03:22 - Now tell us about your partnership here

03:24 with the Zero Right Bracket Challenge

03:26 and the chance for fans to win $100,000.

03:29 - I'm AI.

03:30 You know what I mean?

03:31 I think it was the perfect match, you know,

03:33 for us to collaborate and do our thing.

03:38 But, you know, I think the best thing for you to do

03:43 is lose in your bracket.

03:45 (laughs)

03:47 - Whoever can get the lead on that,

03:50 whoever can get the least right, right?

03:52 Like whoever can get, if you can get a zero bracket,

03:54 you win or then it's the closest to it, right?

03:58 - Losing might be a good thing, man.

04:00 - Allen Iverson, appreciate the time.

04:02 Thank you, man.

04:03 - Love, brother.

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