7.27 Allen Iverson: Heart Over Talent

“I’d rather have more heart than talent. You can’t measure heart.” - Allen Iverson

Would you rather have more heart or more talent?

In an ideal world, I would have a lot of both, but heart can take you a lot further than talent alone, especially over time.

Talent may give someone a head start, but heart keeps you in the race when it gets hard. Heart shows up in effort, attitude, resilience, and the willingness to grow. It pushes people to train longer, show up earlier, bounce back after setbacks, and do the small things others overlook.

Allen Iverson was a Hall of Fame basketball player, known for being a small giant in a big man’s game. He once said, “I’d rather have more heart than talent. You can’t measure heart.”

Grit, determination, and passion matter more than natural ability in the long run.

Allen Iverson is saying that while talent is valuable, it’s heart—the internal drive to compete, push through pain, and never give up—that truly defines a player. Talent can be seen in stats or highlights. But heart? That’s invisible. You only see it in the moments when someone keeps going, keeps fighting, when it’s hard.

“You can’t measure heart” means there’s no stat or scout report that can capture how badly someone wants it, and that kind of drive often makes the biggest difference.

It’s a classic underdog mindset.

Of course, talent matters. But talent without heart will keep you stuck, especially when life gets hard.

Question of the Day: How can you grow in both talent and heart so you have the best of both worlds?