Bryce Cotton has finally met his boyhood hero Allen Iverson and the NBA legend had a word of advice for the former Perth Wildcats champion.
Cotton has had this meeting circled in his calendar ever since Iverson was announced as a HoopsFest drawcard, with the 11-time NBA All-Star being his childhood hero.
“I was excited,” he said.
“I didn’t believe it at first. I wanted to wait a few more weeks to be sure he was actually coming.
“Everyone knows how I feel about him, so it’ll be really cool to meet him in person.”
The pair finally met in Perth on Saturday, with Iverson having one piece of advice for Cotton ahead of Adelaide’s game on Sunday.
“It’s a good thing I don’t have to tell you nothing to keep going, the only advice I have for you is to enjoy the moment,” Iverson said.
Camera IconAllen Iverson and Bryce Cotton Credit: Supplied
“Don’t take it for granted because it goes by so fast, I don’t see where that time went.
“The ups and downs all that does is prepare you for the rest of you life in different ways
“To be the five times MVP, I don’t care if your in the YMCA, bruh, you’re making it do what it do.
“Meeting you is everything that I wanted to do with my career; to get a chance to give your stories to people is everything.”
Cotton told Iverson that meeting him is a dream come true, having looked up to him since the fourth grade.
“It’s a full circle moment, to finally meet you, it’s been a long time coming, and I’m definitely grateful for this
“Anything you did we were trying to copy it.”
The former Wildcats star turned 36er also hinted he has not plans of stepping away from the court anytime soon.
“I’m trying to make this ride last as long as possible because when this ball runs out of air I want to have a lot of stories to tell.”