Allen Iverson Names His Point Guard Mount Rushmore, Dishes On ‘Redeem Team’

Former Philadelphia 76ers great Allen Iverson revealed his point guard Mount Rushmore and spoke about his Olympics experience and his cultural impact on the NBA during a wide-ranging interview with Kevin Hart on the latest episode of Cold as Balls on the LOL Network.

When Hart asked Iverson who he’d have on his personal point guard Mount Rushmore, Iverson first clarified that he looked at himself “not even as a guard, but a killer. Certified. Serial Killer.” He then revealed that he’d pick Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson, Detroit Pistons great Isiah Thomas, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and “Point God” Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns as his top four.

Hart also asked Iverson whether he saw himself in Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, who is a one-man #LeaguePassAlert thanks to his flashy style of play. Iverson was quick to shower the Murray State product with praise, even if the two aren’t carbon copies of one another.

“I might not see it in the actual style of play, but the speed, the attitude, the bounce,” he said. “Ja is 6’3″ and can fly. Ja is the real deal.”

Iverson also spoke about his experience on the 2004 U.S. Men’s Basketball Team, which won the bronze medal at the Athens Games. It remains the only U.S. men’s team not to win a gold medal at the Olympics since NBA players were allowed to compete beginning in 1992.

“Obviously, you think you put together a bunch of pros, we supposed to beat any team you put out there on the floor,” Iverson said. “But that wasn’t the case, obviously.”

He added that he wanted a shot at redemption in 2008, but that didn’t end up happening.

“Me and Tim Duncan were the only ones that agreed to go [in 2008],” he said. “I wanted to go. But I wasn’t invited. And then they put together obviously the team that ended up winning.

“It was out of my control. You know what I mean? And I definitely didn’t want to make a big deal about it out of respect of the guys that they did choose. Those were my guys, you know what I mean? And I rooted for them to the end. But deep down, it bothered me. It hurt.”

While Iverson’s career with the national team didn’t pan out as hoped, he had a Hall of Fame-worthy tenure in the NBA. He led the league in scoring four times, was the 1996-97 Rookie of the Year, won Most Valuable Player in 2000-01, and was an 11-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA selection. He also guided the undermanned Philadelphia 76ers to the 2001 NBA Finals, where he even took a game off the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers.

One of Iverson’s most iconic performances was in Game 1 of the Finals that year. He finished with 48 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals to lead the Sixers to an overtime upset over the Lakers, who had swept their way to the Finals. He also stepped over Lakers guard Ty Lue after drilling a step-back jumper in his face.

When Hart asked Iverson about that moment, Iverson demurred.

“I was so embarrassed, man,” he said. “That s—t was terrible. That’s my guy, man.”

Hart also asked Iverson about his iconic “practice” press conference:

“My thing was, if anybody has any type of sense, a’ight, look at him as a player,” Iverson said. “How could you become everything I am as a basketball player if you didn’t practice?

“My best friend had just got killed. They don’t know what we go through off the court.”

Iverson also spoke about when he became aware of the business aspects of the NBA.

“Probably when they were getting ready to trade me the first time,” he said. “That’s when I knew it wasn’t just about what I was doing on the basketball court. That’s when I realized it was a business, and they had to do what was best for the organization. And me putting a black cloud over it wasn’t helping.”

Iverson wasn’t just a trailblazer on the court, though. His fashion sense helped revolutionize the NBA off the court, too.

“I was just being me,” Iverson told Hart. “As far as the dress code and everything, I dressed like the guys in my neighborhood. It was just different once I got to the NBA, I could afford the stuff that we wanted growing up.”

“I just felt like after the game, I was going to [TGI] Friday’s and I’m going to the club, something like that. I mean, where am I going after the game with a suit on?

The NBA eventually instituted a dress code in 2005, which Iverson felt was retaliation against him. Players were “expected to wear business casual attire whenever they participate in team or league activities,” and they were no longer allowed to wear sleeveless shirts, shorts, T-shirts or chains, pendants or medallions over their clothes. (That policy drew criticism for being racist.)

“The only reason I felt like the dress code came in was because once they saw that I was wearing what I wanted to wear and I was getting away with it, then other guys were like, ‘S—t, well, if he can do it, then I can do it too,'” Iverson told Hart. “Then everyone in the league started doing it, and that’s when [former NBA Commissioner] David Stern said no.”

In recent years, NBA stars such as James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Dwyane Wade have made waves with their pre- and postgame sartorial choices. The 76ers even have a “Drip Cam” as part of their in-game entertainment during breaks in action.

Iverson helped pave the way for all of that.