Allen Iverson said if he played in today’s NBA, said he would definitely have a higher scoring average.
Iverson, the original A.I. before it was attributed to artificial intelligence, recently appeared on Shaquille O’Neal’s The Big Podcast with Shaq. When asked how much he thought he would average with the pace of today’s game, he responded, “10 more points” per game.
“If I averaged… I lost the scoring title to Kobe (Bryant) the year he averaged 35. I averaged 33,” Iverson said. “And I’m just thinking like if I was to play in this era, where it’s wide open. If I can average 33 in a season, I’m a just take it up to 43. I know 10 points more.”
“I agree with that,” Shaq said.
Iverson scored 30 points a game four times in his 14-year NBA career, and won the scoring title four times. The three-point shot is used much more than Iverson’s prime. If he were to thrive in today’s game, he’d need to improve that. He shot a mediocre 31 percent from downtown during his career.
Iverson, who played for the Philadelphia 76ers for most of his career, went back to the City of Brotherly Love last year to introduce a cannabis strain under former NBA player Al Harrington’s Viola brand. The Iverson ’01 references the season the Hampton, Virginia, native won his MVP (Most Valuable Player) Award.
That was the same season he led the 76ers to their last NBA Finals appearance. Although they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers team with the Hall of Fame duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, the first game the 76ers won was the only defeat the Lakers suffered in that playoff season.