Allen Iverson has always had a way with words.
"Practice. We're talking about practice," are his most famous words, but Thursday night The Answer delivered another classic response when asked if he had an interest in working in the Sixers' front office.
"To me, I am a basketball genius," Iverson said after the unveiling of the team's new uniforms at the Wells Fargo Center. "I really believe that. In any capacity that I can help this franchise, that is what I am going to do. I will do whatever they ask me to do."
In a Philadelphia Inquirer article earlier this week, Larry Brown was quoted saying he wished the Sixers would consider hiring Iverson in that capacity.
Iverson appreciated the gesture, and he also was not surprised that Brown had his back. Iverson and Brown did not always see eye to eye, but they did have a genuine fondness for each other.
"It wasn't tough love, it was easy love," Iverson said of Brown when he played for him. "I love Coach. It was just, I was a young, immature Allen Iverson. It was a stage in my life where I made mistakes constantly, and he was there trying to help me. As I got older, I realized he was always in my corner."
Iverson is not exactly a fan of college basketball, but he would take to watching games if he were hired to work in the Sixers' front office. In an era in which analytics rules the roost, Iverson's approach to studying talent sounds refreshing.
NBA
"I may not know about physical talent, but I have a sharp mind when it comes to that look," Iverson said. "I can look into somebody's eyes and tell if they are going to be in the foxhole with you tonight or not."
One guy that was in the foxhole with A.I. when he played for the Sixers was a guy Iverson refers to as "little A.I." Yes, Iverson was talking about Andre Iguodala, who is 6-foot-6 and weighs 207 pounds — six inches and 40 pounds more than the original A.I.
Iverson has a bigger personality than Iguodala and is a future Hall of Famer. Iguodala, however, has an item on his basketball résumé that Iverson does not, and No. 3 could not be happier for No. 9 winning the NBA Finals MVP.
"I know so much about basketball that I knew he was going to be it," Iverson said. "He deserved it. Obviously Steph [Curry] is Steph but 'Dre came to play. 'Dre was the X-factor. He got down."
The self-proclaimed basketball genius is eligible for the Hall of Fame next year. Many believe — as I do — that the little guy is a first-ballot selection. Iverson has thought about that honor, but he tries not to dwell on it.
"I think about it like the way I draw it up in my dreams," Iverson said. "I wish it happened, but I would not write a speech or anything. I talk from my heart. If it did happen, God Bless me because it would be an incredible honor. I talk from my heart, and I will give it to you the way I think it went down. That is the only thing I think about, that my speech may be short."
When a Hall of Famer is inducted, he has a presenter who is already in the Hall. Only Larry Brown should be considered to do the honors for Allen Iverson.