“I don’t even have money for a cheeseburger.” – Allen Iverson
Iverson said this during his divorce case in 2012 and we all shook our heads in dismay. Has it come to this? Iverson, who according to a February 2012 Forbes article made over $200 million in his career, couldn’t even afford a cheeseburger?
Was this the same guy who was the 2007 Rookie of the Year, an 11 time All-Star, a two time NBA All-Star MVP and the 2001 NBA MVP? Do you remember A.I. in 2001? 2001 was a fine year for Iverson and him stepping over Tyron Lue in Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals will always be ingrained in my memory.
Despite his character flaws, I will always have love for A.I. and The Starting Five phenomenally summarizes why like me, so many love him:
His humble beginnings are something that many of us can relate to in some form or another. Just coming up with the deck stacked against him the way it was is enough to garner respect from anyone…It didn’t matter if he came in at six in the morning, missed practice and arrived just before tip-off, if Iverson was in uniform he gave us all he had, all the time. Never dogging it, and after his antics got old, we were still willing to live with it because we knew he was worth it.
When it comes to basketball, Iverson will be remembered for his crossover on Michael Jordan and this step over. Sure Jordan is Jordan, but this step over is simply amazing as it was during the NBA Finals and Iverson had an unbelievably game – 48 point, 6 assist, 5 rebound and 5 steals. A game and a move that will always bring a smile to my face.