Allen Iverson was brash and outspoken when he was a player, and his life is not one without controversy and issue. However, in reflecting upon his career and life as his Hall of Fame induction approaches, Iverson was emotional and deferential when discussing everybody that helped him get to where he is today.
“That’s the only thing that got me here, my teammates and my coaches,” Iverson said with his eyes tearing up. “That’s the only reason I’m here. All those guys sacrificed their games and sacrificed different things for me to be honored like this. Without them, it wouldn’t have happened.”
As a player, Iverson was known for his ball domination, for taking on opposing defenses by himself. Sure, mostly he was successful, as his career scoring numbers indicate, but you wouldn’t have thought of A.I. as the kind of guy to thank his teammates while he was playing. Indeed, a lot of players had to sacrifice touches for Iverson, so it is nice of him to acknowledge them.
Iverson also thanked a few of his coaches by name. “Without my coaches putting me in a position to succeed — Mike Bailey did it my high school level, Coach [John] Thompson did it at the college level, and Larry Brown molded me into an MVP and a Hall of Fame player. Without those guys…I didn’t do this by myself,” he said.
Iverson changed the game of basketball in many ways, but he is well aware he didn’t do it by himself. He has earned his Hall of Fame induction, and clearly the emotion of the event, and everything he’s been through, has caught up with him.
(Via Bleacher Report)
