Portland Trail Blazers: Allen Iverson dishes ultimate compliment to Damian Lillard in all-time ranking discussion

On “All the Smoke,” Allen Iverson dished Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard the ultimate compliment, when listing the all-time greatest NBA players.

Given his last few seasons, Damian Lillard’s status as an all-time great —even outside of Portland, Oregon — isn’t likely to be questioned any longer. Hall of Fame guard Allen Iverson took the praise a step further when answering questions and discussing hoops on the most recent edition of All the Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

To tell you how highly all-time greats regard Lillard: the question itself was centered around Iverson’s greatest of all-time list with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James … and ended with a Damian Lillard compliment.

"“I just love (Jordan) so much, and Kobe is the closest thing — to me — to Mike. And then LeBron is just, hands down, LeBron James. He’s in a class by himself, you know what I mean?And then, Shaq. And I just … y’all know how I feel about Steph Curry. But that motherf—er Dame ‘Dolla…”"

In the clickbait era, one might assume Iverson just named Damian Lillard as his sixth-best player in NBA history. But anyone who’s ever entertained all-time rankings knows how difficult it can be, crafting these lists in a moment’s notice.

The bigger picture? Lillard, a player ironically renowned for being overlooked by the national media, has ascended to a level of appreciation — consistent appreciation, from those who played the game at the highest level.

It makes sense that Iverson would send so much praise Lillard’s way, given their similarities in playstyle. Iverson, arguably one of the top-three two-guards to ever play, symbolized heart over height, at 6-foot, and paved the way for All-Star, score-first floor generals on-court, and reputable, versatile rappers off of it.

While it isn’t quite Portland Trail Blazers related, anyone who appreciates Lillard would probably enjoy a listen from the rest of the podcast.

They discuss the idea of giving players “roses” and appreciation while they’re still alive, Iverson’s cultural impact on the next generation, and the NBA bubble, among much else. The video is found above, and an additional link can be found here.