“Never meet your idol,” many still believe this idea. You never quite know how the first encounter will be with your idol. It was the same thought that bothered former NBA Sixth Man of the Year when he was about to meet Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson for the first time. Following his dreams, Lou Williams was finally at the peak of his career when an injury took a turn. Fortunately, that injury also orchestrated his opportunity to play with his idol, Iverson. But before that, it was about him meeting Iverson for the first time.

In the latest episode of the Club 520 podcast, Williams shared that he was “terrified” to meet Iverson. His fear is understandable given Iverson’s aura while playing in the game. However, he was surprised when Iverson welcomed him with open arms. 

“Homie embraced me man and I remember the first thing he said to me I was at a celebrity basketball game he walked in and we made eye contact and he beat line towards me my heart start beating fast I’m like oh like he got a big entourage with him and AI walks up to me and he said you the little motherf****r they drafted to replace me,” Williams said.

He added, “That was the first thing AI said to me damn but he said it while he was bear hugging me though he was like welcome bro anything you need I got you and that started my experience in Philadelphia like once he embraced me that whole city embraced me after that.”

Then 2 years later in 2009, he sustained an injury and the Philadelphia 76ers decided to bring The Answer back. Williams says that he might have lost millions because of the injury but that helped him grow into one of the best players in the league. 

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Lou Williams had to make the tough decision

Previously, in an episode of Paul George’s Podcast P, Williams shared that during his recovery process, he got a call from the team about bringing Iverson back. However, the coach wanted the 11x NBA All-Star to be the starter. That meant Williams had to sacrifice his position. 

He had just started to gain attention with his performance. While it was tough for him to swallow the decision, Williams was happy to get a chance to play alongside him. Iverson has always used his role to inspire and influence other players. And as he expected, Williams was able to carve a special place for himself. He won his first Sixth Man of the Year award in 2015, then in 2018, and again in 2019. Williams was the best bench player. He also holds the record for carrying more points off the bench with 13,396 points, and 2117 points more than Jamal Crawfords’ record, with whom he tied the record. What is your take on this? Let us know in the comments section below.

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