In the cutthroat and competitive world of professional sports, where athletes are pitted in head-to-head combat on the field of battle, it is nice to see that there’s also room for the lighter side of the game.

And at a recent event, amid the din of the crowd and the thudding of giants on the hardwood, there was another kind of show: an ode to lasting friendships, comradeship, and the secret brotherhood that ball can build.

On social media recently, we were blessed with an awesome example of community and how basketball can build long-time friends.

Korver’s Praise and Iverson’s Affection

Kyle Korver, who is renowned in the NBA as a sniper from a distance, took to Instagram to praise his former team-mate, J. R. Smith. In a recent post, Korver described Smith as one of his “favorite teammates of all time,” underscoring both Smith’s basketball prowess and the deep bonds formed among professional athletes within this close-knit community.

Korver and Smith both played alongside each other during their time in Cleveland in the 2016-17 season as teammates on the Cavs.

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With Korver and Smith providing much-needed three-point shooting, the defending champion Cavaliers pushed their way through the post-season bracket all the way to a final meeting with the unstoppable Golden State Warriors.

But the heart-warming tale doesn’t end here. Basketball legend Allen Iverson, famous for his scoring skills and toughness, jumped into the love fest on Instagram. Iverson, who used to play with then-Philadelphia teammate Kyle Korver, said in a comment, “Man, I miss these two, Nothing but LOVE!

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While there wasn’t much in the way of championships in Iverson and Korver’s time together in Philadelphia, it certainly left an impact on both players.

The Unforgettable Bonds of Iverson, Korver, and Smith

During that time, Iverson’s electrifying play and Korver’s shooting made the two an effective pairing, even though the overall team was not quite as dominant as either of them would have liked.

On the NBA side of it, J.R. Smith played with the Sixers in the 2004–05 season, but that came after his tenure with the Denver Nuggets in which he shot the lights out from three. Iverson and Smith spent just a few years together as teammates, but their chemistry was incontrovertible.

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In a world where competition so often holds sway, these tender moments of love and nostalgia are a reminders to us all that the bonds between players on the court stretch far after the last buzzer. It speaks to the timeless nature of sports to create connections between us, and create friends that last a lifetime. Ultimately, it’s clear that it’s all — absolutely all about love…for Iverson, Korver, and Smith.