In a recent interview, Allen Iverson surprised fans by revealing his personal top five greatest basketball players of all time—while notably excluding himself from the list.
“Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Shaquille O’Neal,” Iverson told CBS News when asked to give his opinion on the best NBA players in history.
Though he left his own name off the list, the choice of those five reflects both the legends he admired and the rivals he battled.
Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson #3, Shooting Guard and Point Guard for the Philadelphia 76ers looks on with hands on hips during the NBA Atlantic Division basketball game on against the Washington Wizards on 16th November 1999 at the MCI Center arena in Washington, D.C. United States. The Philadelphia 76ers won the game 95 – 73. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
His placement of Jordan, Bryant, LeBron, Curry, and Shaq evokes the full spectrum of the modern NBA: from Jordan’s mythic dominance to Curry’s revolution in spacing, and from Kobe’s fierce scoring to Shaq’s interior supremacy.
Iverson’s complicated relationship with Michael Jordan ran deep — Jordan was both an idol and the standard. Iverson often compared his own fearlessness to Jordan’s aura, famously crossing up Jordan early in his career as a statement of arrival.
And Kobe Bryant, whom Iverson entered the league alongside as lottery picks in the storied 1996 NBA Draft, represents the next generation: their styles differed, yet both were relentless competitors. Bryant once scored 50 against Iverson’s Sixers in a regular-season duel, illustrating the mutual challenge between them.
Kobe Bryant And Allen Iverson
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Allen Iverson #3 of the Denver Nuggets greet each other before the tip off during NBA action at the Pepsi Center on March 15, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
LeBron James, a generational bridge, appears as one Iverson respects for versatility and longevity. Though their careers never overlapped heavily, Iverson has spoken of LeBron’s capacity to combine scoring, playmaking, and defense in ways few predecessors did.
Steph Curry’s inclusion signals Iverson’s acknowledgement of game-changing evolution: the guard who shattered assumptions about shot range.
Meanwhile, Shaq’s dominance in Iverson’s era cannot be ignored. The big man, who is also close friends with A.I., who towered over most opponents, and whose Lakers defeated Iverson’s Sixers in the 2001 Finals after Iverson dropped 48 in Game 1 — a dramatic reversal by Shaq and Kobe thereafter.
Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson, and Sheryl Swoopes
Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, and Sheryl Swoopes react after the 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Symphony Hall on September 9, 2016 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Jim Rogash/Getty Images
That Finals series is often cited as the pivotal showdown of Iverson’s legacy: one season after winning league MVP in 2001, he led a gritty Philadelphia team to the Finals only to fall to the Lakers led by Shaq and Kobe.
Though he never won a championship, his personal accolades tell a story of greatness: in a 14-season NBA career, Iverson was the 1997 Rookie of the Year, 2001 league MVP, an 11-time NBA All-Star, earned three All-NBA First Team nods, and won four scoring titles and three steals crowns.
Watch Allen Iverson’s CBS interview below.