ALLEN IVERSON NAMED 2016 BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME FINALIST - ALL-MET ELITE

ALLEN IVERSON

 NAMED

 2016 BASKETBALL

HALL OF FAME

FINALIST

ALL-MET ELITE

 

ALLEN IVERSON

BETHEL HS.

HAMPTON VA.

 

"I mean, it's just an honor," Iverson initially downplayed in an interview with The Vertical last week, before pausing to really take in the magnitude of the moment. "I'd be lying to you, and I might not've said it publicly [along the way], but it's something that you think about as you get better and better. As you start accomplishing so many different things, in your mind, you're thinking, 'Damn, I can be a Rookie of the Year if I work hard.' Or, 'I can make the Olympic team.' Or, 'I can make the All-Star team.' Then, after you accomplish all of those things, after awhile, you know how good you are because of just your production. … I used to say, 'Wouldn't it be crazy, I could be a Hall of Famer?"

 

"God gave me all this, why waste the talent that he gave me?" he said "Why not go full throttle with it all and try to become in the class with the greatest players that ever played the game? That's just a great feeling. Then, you think about all of the guys, teammates and coaches, fans and family members and friends – everybody that helped you get there – because it's a tribute to them too. Once it happens, if it happens, they're going to get all of the credit, because without all of those people that I mentioned, it wouldn't be possible."