“I’d Rather Guard Kobe”: Former NBA Player Picks Allen Iverson as His Toughest Opponent

NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson was a spectacular player. The 6’0″ guard always played with a chip on his shoulder and gave his matchups a run for their money.

Iverson won several accolades in his illustrious career and earned ample respect from his opponents. Recently, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas appeared on the Fubo Sports Podcast and revealed A.I. was the toughest player he ever guarded.

“I always say Allen was like that white boy player in high-school that played balls hard. He is playing 150 miles per hour the whole time. Him getting a steal here to him saving the ball, jumping four rows to the stands. Somehow he gets out of that and made a layup. That was his hustle.”

Emphasizing how much he feared Iverson, Arenas continued, “I would rather guard Kobe than Allen. With Kobe, he is going to go to his spots, and he is playing through the offense. He would get the ball, see if he has a good look, pass it, but Allen, as soon as he got the ball, he wanted to go and try to score.”

“If he didn’t, he would pass the ball, get it back, and then try to score. And don’t have a number 3, and if you wore number 3, he took it personally,” concluded the three-time NBA all-star.

Iverson was an insane player with sadly he couldn’t win an NBA title throughout his career. The closest he came to becoming an NBA champion was back in 2001 against Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers. But Kobe and Shaq were on a mission that year, and Iverson couldn’t stop them.

A look back at the career of Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson was picked first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1996 NBA draft. The team has high hopes for the young star and he lived up to it. Moreover, he carried the team to the Playoffs in just his third season as a pro.

Philly retired the 11-time All-Star’s jersey number #3 for his contributions to the franchise. Furthermore, he also has 4 scoring titles under his belt coupled with 7 All-NBA team selections.

The only thing missing from his resume is an NBA ring. But his career was more than enough to help him a rightful place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.