Ever since he made it to the NBA, Allen Iverson made a huge impression on people thanks to his offensive skills and the way he approached the game and his personal life. One of the most controversial yet most influential players of all time, AI always drew attention wherever he went.
Although he never won a ring, Iverson is still one of the most talented players to set foot on an NBA court. He shared good relationships with other legends like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Michael Jordan. His Airness was dismantled by Iverson during AI’s rookie year when he pulled off a big crossover over MJ.
Jordan didn’t like that move and called out Iverson for doing that, but after that, they had a solid friendship. MJ became a huge admirer of Iverson and almost everything he did in the league. Even after the Philadelphia 76ers legend retired from the game, he kept making noise around the league, especially when his documentary came out in 2014.
It was so good that Jordan admitted he cried while watching it. This played a huge role in picking Mike Tollin to bring to life the award-winning 10-part docu-series The Last Dance.
The last page of the presentation was a look at the documentaries, movies, and shows Tollin and his company, Mandalay Sports Media, had done.
“So there’s Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], there’s Hank Aaron, there’s ‘Varsity Blues,’ there’s ‘Coach Carter’ and so forth,” Tollin said. “He’s actually looking at them all, and in the bottom right corner is ‘Iverson.’ He goes, ‘You did that?'”
Tollin didn’t answer. Jordan repeated the question.
Tollin wondered if this was going to work for or against him. Like the timing with the Cavaliers’ championship parade that morning, it was impossible to know.
Tollin mumbled a cautious, “Yes.”
Jordan took his glasses off, looked up, and said, “I watched that thing three times. Made me cry. Love that little guy.”
Then he walked around the desk, extended his hand, and said, “Let’s do it.”
The rest, as we all know, is history. MJ put out The Last Dance in April 2020, in the early and strongest times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The documentary was a huge success and made a lot of people realize how hard MJ and the Chicago Bulls had to fight to become six-time champions during the 90s. It also earned MJ a lot of criticism for his behavior around teammates, but that didn’t matter.
As you can see, Iverson and Jordan’s paths have crossed more than once, and not just on the court. These two developed a great friendship that remains strong to this day, and the love and respect they have for each other won’t change anytime soon. Iverson always gave trouble to Jordan, but that only made His Airness appreciate him more.
