Hall of Fame point guard Allen Iverson has penned an heartbreaking tribute to
the late, basketball great Kobe Bryant.
Sunday was Bryant’s 42nd birthday and many across sports showed their support.
Iverson penned a letter for The Players’ Tribune detailing his feelings about Bryant.
“Me and you, every single time we stepped on that floor, we were going to war,” Iverson said in his letter.
“But it wasn’t an animosity thing. There was never any beef. It was like heavyweight fighters beating the hell out of one another. And then at the bell, it’s nothing but love and respect. Greatness needs company, and we needed each other.”
Iverson then talked about his battles with Bryant on the court, including losing a scoring title despite averaging a career-high 33 points per game and their 2001 NBA Finals showdown.
“You’re probably the only dude in the history of the game where the mystique wasn’t exaggerated,” Iverson said. “The Mamba was no myth, man. It didn’t even do you justice. One, two, three in the morning, we knew where you were.”
NBA legend Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all-time, tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in California on January 26.
The LA Lakers hero was one of nine people to be killed when their helicopter crashed in Calabasas, with 13-year-old daughter Gianni also amongst the victims.
