At the dawn of the 21st century, Allen Iverson sparked a league-wide cultural revolution with his anti-hero persona and unapologetic approach to the game of basketball. Whether it was something simple like an arm sleeve, or a grandiose rant about practice, Iverson seemed to rock the boat with every action. Outside of Kobe Bryant, he was the most polarizing star of his generation.
On May 16, Showtime will premiere IVERSON a documentary exploring the complicated peaks and valleys of Iverson’s time in the NBA.
Iverson has already been featured in a documentary once before. ESPN 30 for 30 documented the story of his court case during his time at Georgetown University. It’ll be interesting to see the comparisons between the two documentaries and the picture they paint of AI.
The analytics era hasn’t been kind to Iverson. His numbers say he was an inefficient gunner who was prone to poor shot selection, but Iverson is much bigger than his numbers. For better or worse, he was an idol to a generation of inner city kids who had never seen a cultural icon in their likeness. This documentary should only add to that legacy.
(H/T The Sports Fan Journal)
