When stepping onto the hardwood court of basketball lore, every player who’s shared the stage with the Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan has etched their own chapter in history. Similarly, Allen Iverson too has a story to tell. When Allen had his first encounter with His Airness, it was more than just a moment.

“Anybody that knows Allen Iverson knows Black Jesus was it for me. I wanted to be like Mike. I remember the first time seeing him; I couldn’t believe it, man. I ain’t never looked at a person in my life,” said Allen. As he went on to add accolades to his long list of accomplishments, little did he know what was following.

A newer generation of basketball lovers is now idolizing Allen as their star and this is something that naturally led to comparisons between Allen and Michael. In a recent episode of “All the Smoke,” Rich Paul sat down with the team to share his thoughts.

A glimpse of the interview was then posted on their official YouTube channel with the title, “Rich Paul Sheds Light On Klutch’s Origins, LeBron’s Future, NBA Business | Ep 230 | ALL THE SMOKE.” As the interview aired, it started making headlines all across the internet, mainly due to Rich Paul’s comments about Allen Iverson.

“What people don’t understand is Allen Iverson, to me, was culture before people even understood what culture was, by far, in every sense of the word. And if you manage that particular person, basketball player, business the right way, this landscape today looks a lot different,” he said in the same interview session. But, the question is: Why is Paul appraising Allen?

Unlocking Allen’s business potential

Unlike Michael, Paul sees Allen Iverson as a business icon, aka a billion-dollar dream. And, this is something that insisted him to call Allen’s name when asked about NBA business icons. “See if I’m only focused on who gonna pay us the most money, and I don’t have an understanding of what type of business I can build and why, and with what brand, this brand and right product, etc., and be able to build that over time,” said Paul.

Interestingly, Allen’s MVP and 11-time NBA All-Star titles have contributed to building a large fan base eagerly awaiting his on-court performance. “He had America,” added Paul, highlighting the incredible feat achieved by Allen over the years. But now, the question is: Is Allen really a million-dollar business dream? What do you think?