Guest Blog: Trevor Laicha on Allen Iverson

This guest blog comes to us, again, from younger bro Trevor. 



What Ever Happened to Allen Iverson?

Seriously, what happened to A.I.? Last I heard, he was playing in Turkey but I mean like skill-wise. He used to be filthy. Listed at 6 foot (but I doubt he was even that tall) and the kid still got up for a jam. If he didn’t smoke so much weed in his sketchy high school career and would have grown to like 6’4, he really could have been one of the best players of all time.

In Sixers history, he’s in the top three for greatest players of all time. It’s really a toss up between him Wilt Chamberlain and Dr. J. He was the first overall pick in ’96.  He was the Rookie of the year in ’96, the unanimous MVP in ‘01,  and a 4-time scoring champion, in the ’99, ’01, ’02, and ’05 seasons. He’s an 11 time all-star and a 2 time all-star game MVP. Also, he won state championships in basketball and football as a junior in high school (he played QB). 

He had one of the best if not the best crossover of all time. He could shatter anyone’s ankles, just ask everyone in this video: 

 

Editor's note: Asian subtitles and a Linkin Park soundtrack? Bold choice, Trev.

            The main issue with A.I. was that he was too much of a baller. He almost went to jail when he was 17 for allegedly hitting a women in the head with a chair. When Larry Brown called him out for missing practices, he gave the infamous response, “We talking bout practice”.  He missed a bunch of mandatory meetings and would just accept the fine. He is the reason  players have to where a suit if they aren’t playing.  No Mitchell & Ness brand throwback jerseys, baggy jeans, crooked baseball caps, do-rags, knee-length t-shirts, large items of jewelry, and Timberland boots anymore. So pretty much you can’t have swag. And as we all know (or are about to find out) AI is all about swag:

            I did meet A.I. once though and he wasn’t that bad of a guy. On his 30^th birthday him and his crew rented out the entire 3^rd floor of the D.C. hotel I was staying. I remember him reaching in his convertible to grab autographs and his alarm went off and twelve huge black dudes came running from every angle. The only other thing I remember was a guy in his entourage was smoking and threw a half smoke cigarette on the ground and a lady (possibly homeless) picked it up and started smoking it. The guy from his entourage handed a lady a twenty or a fifty, I can’t remember, but the lady responded with “I’M GOING TO RUBY TUESDAYS!”

            Now, A.I. doesn’t even play! His contract in Turkey ran up after last season and he recently had surgery on his calf. I wouldn’t say so much talent wasted, but so much talent that never even came close to full potential.