There will always be arguments for who is the greatest NBA player of all time. Many Los Angeles Lakers legends are sure to come up in those conversations such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but there are plenty of all-time greats who aren’t in that convo who still made a major impact on the NBA and game of basketball as a whole.
There are a handful of players who really changed the game of basketball, be it for how they influenced the generation after them or completely changing the way the game is viewed because of the skillset they possess. And two players stand out in that way for LeBron.
The Lakers superstar dropped the first episode of his new Mind the Game podcast with JJ Redick and when asked who are the most influential players of all-time, James named Hall of Famer Allen Iverson and Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry:
“When it comes to influence, since I’ve been watching the game the most influence on the game, and obviously we know what Mike [Jordan] did for the game, but Steph and Allen Iverson are the two biggest influential guys in our game since I’ve been watching it and covering it. One: They’re 6’3, 6’4, if you wanna look on the back of a basketball card, you’re always a lot taller on the back of the basketball card. Allen Iverson and Steph they were just so relatable and kids felt like they could be them.
“They were guys that were not always counted on, they were small in stature and they just defied the odds. So you got AI who was unbelievable crossover, cornrows, arm sleeve, everyone wears an arm sleeve now because of Allen Iverson. And he’s going in the trenches laying it up over bigs, whatever the case may be. And now you have Steph who’s shooting over the Empire State Building. Those two are the two most influential, when you say the game and how they changed the game and the kids, those are two guys that you just wanted to watch every single night.”
There is no debating the impact and influence both Iverson and Curry had on the game. Iverson was a cultural phenomenon in his heyday and it wasn’t just his relentlessness on the court, but his fashion and style off of it. He didn’t fit the mold of the typical NBA star and was unapologetic about it. As both LeBron and Redick noted, everyone wears arm sleeves because of Iverson.
As far as Curry goes, the greatest shooter ever fundamentally changed the way the game of basketball is played in this era. The rise of the 3-pointer, the spacing that teams play with and how offense must be defended all changed because of Curry’s influence and LeBron himself knows that firsthand.
LeBron isn’t just arguably the best player ever, but he is a true student of the game and most would be hard-pressed to find fault in his choices on this matter.
Exec believes teams will be willing to draft Bronny James in hopes of signing Lakers’ LeBron James
It is getting close to the time where NBA Draft preparation is kicking off and one question is whether or not Bronny James will enter the draft. Bronny had a solid freshman year at USC, but many feel he will look to join the NBA as LeBron has been open about his desire to play with his oldest child.
There have also been rumors that some teams would be willing to draft Bronny just for the chance at signing LeBron away from the Lakers in free agency this summer and one NBA exec still feels that’s the case.
The exec noted that he doesn’t feel it’s likely, but noted that most are preparing for Bronny to enter the draft and believes many teams would be willing to draft him for even the slightest chance that LeBron would join as well.
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