He had a Hall of Fame career himself, but Allen Iverson couldn’t help but rave about getting to play with San Antonio Spurs great Tim Duncan recently. In an interview with Matt Barnes and former San Antonio Spurs guard Stephen Jackson, the superstar opened up about his time playing alongside the Big Fundamental in the 2004 Olympics.
Many of the biggest stars in the game didn’t participate for the U.S. men’s basketball team that year, leaving Duncan and Iverson as the anchors of the squad. In that time, the two bonded, and Duncan left a lasting impression on Iverson.
“Tim was one of the greatest teammates I ever had,” said Iverson on the Showtime show All the Smoke. “[The team] had a hard time. I remember Tim telling me, ‘play like you. Play like the pest you were to us.’ I just remember him being such a great teammate.”
A.I. went on to share a hilarious story about a time Tim ratted out a teammate for playing a prank on him, which you can hear in the clip below.
Allen Iverson led the 2004 U.S. men with 13.8 points and 2.5 assists per game. Duncan, meanwhile, was second in scoring at 12.9 points per game and led the team in rebounds with 9.1.
While the team ultimately fell short to international teams with much more on-court chemistry, it still gave the world a chance to see two legends playing in opposite sides of the country join forces.
Manu Ginobili and Team Argentina went on to take home the gold that year in what was one of the greatest accomplishments of his basketball career.
