Allen Iverson is one of the greatest guards to have ever played in the NBA. Pound for pound arguably the greatest scorer the game has ever seen, Iverson averaged 26.7 points for his career, during which he won 4 scoring titles. He is also one of the few greats who actually upped their scoring average in the postseason, as his average of 29.7 points per game ranks 3rd all-time behind Michael Jordan and Luka Doncic.
Despite all that, however, Iverson never won a championship, with the closest he ever got being the 2001 NBA Finals where he lost in 5 games to the Los Angeles Lakers. He also clashed with teammates due to his style of play, and while AI definitely loved the game, he didn’t quite love everything else that came with it, like practice and working out. Dahntay Jones, who played with Iverson on the Denver Nuggets, spoke about why teammates tended to clash with someone like him.
“You find that in the NBA sometimes some guys can just be so gifted they don’t have to love it they don’t have to put work into it, not saying that he (Iverson) didn’t work, I didn’t never saw him work, he always said he was going to work. He probably put so much work in prior to that but at that time of his career, he didn’t have to do anything just to be AI. It just was just him.”
“You get a mix of those things, super talented guys that don’t have to put that much work, guys who just are physically gifted, don’t care about basketball, just do it to support their families. And then you got guys who actually love it and you can actually see that by watching the game. That’s where teammates don’t get along.”
You can see how some players might be put off by the lackluster effort during practice and training camp. Iverson was just a hooper who loved to play, so it’s not fair to question if he loved the game, but he definitely didn’t take care of his body, which is why he didn’t last very long.
Still, Iverson’s story is one of the best in the NBA, with even Michael Jordan saying he cried when he watched his documentary. AI was somewhat of a flawed genius, but when it came to delivering on the court, there is nothing that can be held against him.
