The debate over who the greatest players in NBA history are has dominated basketball conversations for years, and it doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Rich Paul, however, believes that when it comes to Allen Iverson, the discussion extends beyond who was the better player.

“Do you know the effect Allen Iverson had…you know my love for him…If you’re saying Shaq and Kobe is one item, and then the second guy is Allen Iverson, I would give you that,” Paul said in a conversation with Max Kellerman and Bill Simmons. “But it’s very hard to put anybody in front of Allen Iverson. And these guys will say it. Let me tell you why. Cornrows, tattoos, jewelry, hip-hop, style, Allen Iverson brought all these things to the NBA. You think people wanted to dress like who? Name one person that they wanted to dress like outside of Allen Iverson. Name one person outside of Michael Jordan whose name was mentioned…he had white America wearing cornrows and head masks.”

When Iverson arrived as the first overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1996 NBA draft, adjusting to the city wasn’t easy for him. It had nothing to do with the City of Brotherly Love. In fact, it was about the style and hip-hop culture that he brought. Think of do-rags, oversized T-shirts, large jewelry, and baggy clothing.

It won’t be wrong to say that then-NBA commissioner David Stern had to implement the NBA’s controversial dress code, considering Iverson’s influence. The league banned items associated with hip-hop culture, and when many protested against it, Iverson found himself at the center of the attack. Iverson, however, felt that he didn’t trigger the NBA’s response.

“David Stern and the rest of the NBA were like, ‘No,’ because it was all right when I was doing it,” he said. “But then everybody else said, ‘OK, if he can do that, we can do this.’ You see Kobe coming in with diamond chains and baggy clothes, and everyone started doing it. Then the league was like, ‘Hold on, we’ve got to do something about that.'”

That’s exactly what Rich Paul was referring to. While Max Kellerman and Bill Simmons pushed back against his argument, noting that Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were the faces of the league, Paul didn’t budge. His reasoning, however, was simple: he believes Allen Iverson’s impact extended far beyond basketball and into the culture surrounding the sport. At least, O’Neal would agree with that.

“One thing I always loved about [Iverson], he did it his way. He kept it real,” O’Neal said last year. “We all work for certain companies where we’re not allowed to do certain things, but if the line was right here, he was right up on the line. And sometimes he said, ‘I’m not going to do it.'”

That’s what Allen Iverson did when it came to his tattoos, braids, and hip-hop style. Still, the debates around the legacies of players like Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal aren’t going anywhere, whether it’s about being the best players or making a cultural impact.