‘Urban Legend’ – Jamal Crawford Explains Why Allen Iverson Was His Inspiration

Allen Iverson is one of the biggest legends in NBA history. During his peak, he was absolutely unplayable. Fans often look back at Iverson’s career with great fondness and admiration. Perhaps no moment from Iverson’s career is more memorable than his game-one-winning shot in the NBA Finals against the Lakers. Iverson made the shot and then stepped over Tye Lu to make a statement.

AI was an inspiration to several of the under-sized guards in the NBA today. One of the players who Iverson inspired was Jamal Crawford.

Jamal Crawford on Allen Iverson

In an interview with fellow NBA veteran Rex Chapman, Crawford revealed that he had posters and cutouts of Allen Iverson on his wall. Iverson had a direct impact on him and his career. Being an undersized player, the former NBA star was able to do things others just couldn’t. His movement, exhibiting great finesse, is inimitable.

READ MORE: ‘Were All on a Mission’: Ray Allen Reflects on 1996 NBA Draft Class Consisting of Kobe Bryant & Allen Iverson

“To be honest with you, my mom, if she was here, she would tell you, I had 35 pictures of Allen Iverson on my wall. These were cutouts from Slam magazine, hope magazine, whatever it was. I would cut the pictures out and tape them on the wall.

“I feel like out of all the people I watched, he had so much of an effect on me. Because he was one of the first I remember where he would do a move and most of the time you see his crossover, he was making the shot.” 

AI could do things other couldn’t.

Crawford added that Iverson’s movement wasn’t his only tool. Crawford and his colleagues came up during the era of and-ones, where players tried to make difficult shots over fouls in order to get a three or a four-point play. However, the question was always whether that technique could work against the best players in the league.

Iverson brought a street hustle to the league that hadn’t been seen before him.

“He wasn’t just doing the movement. Because we come up in the and-one era where the guys have handles. Can that translate from this to that, can you really pull that stuff off against the best players in the world. And Iverson brought a street, kind of neighborhood feel with it…Iverson was just like a whole different thing.

“To see somebody that small, that creative, and his left to right crossover was killing everybody. And then when he pulled off against MJ, now it’s like urban legend.”

READ MORE: ‘Not Everybody’s Cup of Tea’: Steve Kerr on the Common Aspects of Russell Westbrook & Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson was a historic player, winning an MVP title and multiple All-Star nominations. He was even able to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to an NBA Finals in 2001.