LeBron James claims Allen Iverson and Steph Curry are even more ‘influential’ players than him

Who are the greatest players in basketball and who are the most influential are not always the same thing. Although, most of the time amazing athletes are able to influence the game and their fans completely, which is what LeBron James sees in Stephen Curry and Allen Iverson. 

According to the all-time NBA scoring leader, both superstars changed the sport forever and even have been even more influential than he has. The Lakers forward discussed the topic this week on his new podcast with J.J Redick called Mind the Game.

The topic surfaced when Redick said that when he entered the NBA, coaches would take their starters out of the game if there was a 19-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which is something uncommon in today's basketball. LeBron believed he knew the reason why.

"I believe in '08/09, whenever that little light-skinned f***** came in the league, he changed that whole narrative. He single-handedly changed the 'no lead is safe.' It's like Pat Mahomes right now," he said about the Golden State star's arrival to the league.

One of the main reasons why James is convinced that Iverson and Curry have such influence, is due to the fact that they are very relatable. "When it comes to influence since I've been watching the game… Steph and Allen Iverson are the two biggest influential guys in our game since I've been watching and covering it.

"One, they're 6'3″/6'4," [laughter], if you want to look on the back of the basketball card, you know you always a lot taller on the back of the back of the basketball card. Allen Iverson and Steph., they were just so relatable, and kids felt like they could be them," he explained.

According to the 39-year-old, both player's size never prevented them from dominating any player who was in front of them. "They were guys that was not always counted on, they were small in stature, and they just defied the odds," he added.

LeBron and Redick's new podcast was a complete hit as Mind the Game released their first show this week

Watching the oldest athlete in the league go at it with J.J. Redick, one of the most opinionated former players in the NBA world, was everything you'd expect and more. The entire podcast is worth checking out, as both hosts love talking about the game and seem to have fun while at it.

While discussing Steph and Allen's influence, the Lakers star insisted that kids don't necessarily play with their friends in the playground or their driveway and see themselves as LeBron or Kevin Durant. It's like expecting kids to envision themselves as Victor Wembanyama, which seems rather improbable.

He insists that this is the reason why people became obsessed with watching them play every night. "So you got AI, who's like unbelievable crossover, cornrows, arm sleeve — everyone wears an arm sleeve now because Allen Iverson — and he's going into trenches, laying it up over bigs, whatever the case may be. And now you have Steph, who's shooting over the Empire State Building.

"Those two are the two most influential when you play the game, how they changed the game, and the [impact on] kids, those are two guys that you just wanted to watch every single night," he concluded.