Allen Ezail Iverson was admired and questioned at the same time. Incredible talent and a man who brought Larry Brown to the brink of madness in Philadelphia. A member of the Hall of Fame and the father of the crossover. Four times leading scorer and 2001 MVP.

Allen Ezail Iverson grew up in Virginia, and his mother was only 15 when she gave birth to her son. As she recalls, as soon as she saw her child for the first time, she knew that he would become a basketball player.

Allen’s childhood was very difficult. His father left him when he was a kid, his stepfather was in prison. His mother had to work multiple jobs to provide food on the table and pay the bills. In the beginning, they lived in their grandmother’s house with relatives, where at one point there were as many as twelve children.

Poverty was not the only problem for Iverson growing up. The troubled area where he grew up resulted in most of the people he was surrounded with ending up in prison or being killed. At the age of eight, he saw the first murder on the street.

Iverson found an escape from all the troubles he faced as a child on the playground. However, despite being one of the best basketball players to step on the NBA floor, his first choice was not basketball. He played American football and baseball. He went to his first basketball practice crying.

Despite the resistance, his basketball talent was immediately noticed. And not just the talent but the huge desire to win.

In high school, he continued to play both football and basketball. In his junior year, he managed to win the national championship with both teams.

Iverson’s popularity was at its peak and everything seemed like there is a bright future ahead of him. However, one event almost turned his entire life upside down.

A fight that took place in the bowling alley on February 14, 1993, in which Iverson also participated, had him and his three friends arrested. Three guys, who had not been previously convicted, were taken to court. Unfortunately, the verdict said: 15 years in prison.

Luckily, after serving only four months, Iverson was pardoned by the governor of Virginia. He was no longer able to play basketball for his high school team but he managed to finish school. No college wanted to give him a chance until his mother went to see John Thompson who gave him a chance at the University of Georgetown.

Despite his great play at Georgetown, the negative publicity followed him. Anyway, Iverson never allowed those stories to disturb him on the basketball court. Coach Thompson himself pointed out how mentally strong his player was to cope with all that pressure and that his game was getting better and better. In his second year of college, he averaged 25 points and at the end of the season, he made the decision that it was time to go to the NBA.

Allen Ezail Iverson was selected as the first pick overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

In his rookie season, Philadelphia had a 22-60 score. Iverson averaged 23.5 points per game, which brought him the Rookie of the year award. In the off-season, Larry Brown was signed as the new Sixers head coach.

Iverson and Brown had a rough start with the coach being known for his discipline and Iverson for being rebellious.

Being late for practice and often even not showing up, along with Iverson’s behavior on and off the court led to frequent conflicts between the two which eventually led to an ultimatum that coach Brown set to the front office – it’s either him or me.

The Sixers GM decided to stick with the coach and Iverson trade to the Pistons was set in place. When Iverson was called to a meeting to hear the team’s plans for him, he asked the GM to let him stay. Iverson promised that he will change his behavior and will work according to Brown’s methods. And right there and then, everything changed. The two worked great together and developed a relationship built on mutual respect which eventually resulted in the Sixers reaching the NBA finals in 2000.

After that run and his famously shot over Tyrone Lue, Iverson became one of the most famous players in the league. He made a huge influence both on and off the court. His style made the league enforce a dress code for the players. He was the one who brought the braids and the shooting sleeves to the league.

Unfortunately, that finals appearance was the only one in his career. He stayed six more years with the Sixers but failed to accomplish anything.

Finally, in 2006 he was traded to the Denver Nuggets where he reached the Western Conference finals but once again couldn’t beat the Lakers. After only two seasons with the Nuggets, he was sent to the Pistons where slowly he started to become only a shadow of the player he once was. The Pistons traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies where he didn’t want to accept to come off the bench and soon after he was out of the NBA.

He was trying for months to get back to the league, and finally, his Sixers gave him another chance. He returned to Philadelphia, the fans warmly welcomed their hero back, but the homecoming didn’t last long. Only a couple of months into the 2009-10 season he realized that he is no longer focused on the game of basketball and decided to retire.

He finished his career with 11 All-Star appearances, one regular-season MVP, 2 All-Star MVPs, and four scoring titles. His stats and awards are impressive but what he really brought to the game is the feeling he gave to the fans. Being only 6 feet tall, he never holds back against anybody. He gave 100% in every single game and no fan that witnessed that will ever forget him.

At the end of the day, the game has seen many greats, but there will be only one “Allen Ezail Iverson”