Today's NBA would have no answer for the 'Answer'

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Modern NBA defender's would have no answer for the "Answer", Allen Iverson said at HoopsFest in Perth yesterday.

The NBA has changed in the past 25 years to allow more freedom for offensive players and for the Hall of Famer, 2001 MVP, 11-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA Scoring champion it would mean only one thing.

"It would be ugly for defense," Iverson said.

"Not taking anything away from today’s players, every era is hard. But with the way the game is spaced now, big men on the perimeter, if I beat my man, the basket is right there.

"I’ve had debates about this before, so we won’t get into numbers, but I will say it would be ugly. If they played me like that, they’d go back to the old ways. That’s just how it would be."

Iverson, 50, scored 24,368 point (26.7 ppg), pulled down 3,394 rebounds and (3.7 rpg) and dished 5,624 assists (6.2 apg).

He is in Perth as part of the 2026 HoopsFest NBL and WNBL basketball celebration.

Scores of guards have modelled their own games on Iverson's from the moment he stepped onto the floor for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1997.

"It’s an honour," he said.

"It never gets old to hear younger guys talking about the impact that I had on their lives and their games. It’s a blessing.

"I remember when I was that guy and the way I felt about Mike (Michael Jordan), you know what I mean, how I really wanted to be like Mike and what he meant to me and how instrumental he was to my development as a basketball player.

"The world wouldn’t know Allen Iverson if it wasn’t for Michael Jordan giving me that vision of wanting to be a basketball player.

So to hear that somebody took a lot from my game, it’s a blessing. It’s an honour to be able to impact someone’s game that has so much success.

"It makes me feel like I did something right in my career."

Iverson, who has only just arrived, said he hadn't meet any of Australia's NBL or WNBL players but that would change before HoopsFest was over, including five-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton.

"Trust me, by the time I leave here, that’ll change," he said.

"The most important thing for me is the impact I can have. Not just basketball, but the little things I might be able to add from my experiences.

"I’ve been through a lot during my career and a lot after. My experiences can answer a lot of questions guys might have.

"(Cotton) has a lot of confidence in himself. The coaches definitely have a lot of confidence in him to put him in positions to succeed. His teammates have to be extremely great and supportive of everything he does out there because, you know, teamwork makes the dream work.

"So it’s a great thing to see him have that success, and his teammates do everything they can to help him be successful.

"It says a lot about him, says a lot about his support system and the people that believe in him to make him as successful as he’s been.

"Five-time MVP, I don’t care what league you’re in, that’s definitely impressive. I’m definitely looking forward to meeting him and chopping it up with him a little bit."

Iverson also addressed the speculation he was courted by the Sydney Kings.

"That was just rumblings," he said.

"That’s just who I am as a basketball player. I just wanted to play.

"The most important thing in life is feeling wanted. At certain points in my career, that was important to me, for somebody to want me and feel like they needed me."

Iverson is part of the HoopsFest fan experience as well attending games today, tomorrow and Sunday.