Over the weekend, NBA legend Allen Iverson was surprised by a poster of him on the court with the late Kobe Bryant that a young fan wanted him to sign.
Instagram user @kkcameron shared video of the emotional moment that left A.I. momentarily speechless. It took place during an autograph session in Pasadena, Texas.
“This is yours?” Iverson asked the fan during the video.
“Yeah, you don’t remember?” responded an adult, who Iverson identified later as the father of the boy requesting the autograph.
Last week, Kobe’s fans and friends joined his widow, Vanessa Bryant, in commemorating the two-year anniversary of her husband and daughter Gianna Bryant‘s tragic deaths during a helicopter accident in Los Angeles.
News of the fatal crash shocked the world on Jan. 26, 2020, including Iverson, who penned a tribute letter to Bryant, calling him “a kindred spirit.”
In the letter, which was published by the Players’ Tribune in August 2020, Iverson recalled the first time he watched Bryant play against Michael Jordan, who he referred to as “Black Jesus.”
“We might have grown up in different circumstances, but when I saw you on the court, and how hard you were going, I knew we were raised with the same mentality,” Iverson wrote. “You were trying to be the best that ever did it. Everybody says they want to be that. But not everybody is willing to sacrifice what it really takes to do it.”
Iverson was one of the first people to greet Kobe on the court at the Staples Center in Los Angeles when his #8 and #24 Lakers jerseys were retired.
“Who the hell is so cold for so long that they get TWO different numbers up in the rafters?” Iverson wrote in his tribute letter. “When I finally got onto the floor and I gave you a hug, and you were holding your baby girl in your arms … that was a moment that I’ll never forget. I was just happy to be there. I was happy to be a part of the legacy that is Kobe Bean Bryant.”
Staring at the fan’s poster of him and Kobe last week, Iverson shook his head.
“Where you want me to sign this at? You got another one?” he replied before autographing the image and giving the young fan a fist bump while dispensing some life advice.
“I love you, my man,” Iverson said.
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