Allen Iverson never once imagined that Michael Jordan, his idol, would be the cause of his bad reputation as a player. As a No. 1 overall pick, Iverson knew he had a bright future ahead of him and the fans admired both his game and personality. However, all of that changed on a dime after an incident involving MJ.
In a heartfelt piece he wrote back in 1998, Iverson candidly opened up about it. The then-Philadelphia 76ers superstar didn’t only recall how his verbal exchange with Jordan started. Iverson even revealed how he felt at the time.
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More importantly, Iverson enlightened everybody by clarifying the real context of the incident. For A.I., it was far from how the media presented it; from then on, he became a villain in the eyes of many NBA fans.
“That’s when everything started going downhill for me,” Iverson wrote via ESPN. “In November of my rookie year, everybody loved Allen Iverson. No problems. And when that happened with Mike … it’s never been the same. I mean, they were the world champions.”
“Mike tells me, ‘If you all are going to respect anybody, you all are going to respect us.’ And I said, ‘I’m not going to respect anybody.’ But I was talking about on the basketball court. I mean, the battle’s already lost once you over-respect someone like that, and he’s the greatest player in the world. But the media took that as me meaning I don’t respect Jordan — and blew it all out of proportion,” he added.
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The Jordan incident didn’t affect Iverson’s game
Iverson remained unfazed despite being constantly vilified by the media. He never feuded with the great MJ, but instead, he just continued to be himself and refused to change his image or identity to please the fans or gain their sympathy.
Amidst the drama and pressure, Iverson still had a spectacular rookie season. He finished his maiden year in the league with 23.5 points, 7.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 76 games to rightfully win the Rookie of the Year award.
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Iverson then went on to become one of the most explosive guards in the NBA. He remained unfazed and confident about his game. However, as “The Answer” hit his stride, so was his bad rap.
From Iverson’s perspective, people looked at him as this gutsy and brash up-and-comer making his bones and challenging the greatest player of all time. All because of a petty back-and-forth with Jordan.
“Of course I respect Michael Jordan,” he continued. “How can you not respect him? But on the court, I’m trying to beat him, and he’s trying to beat me. And it was just crazy for him to say it to me like that during a game. I mean, that’s the only way I felt I could respond. ‘I don’t respect nobody.'”
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“It was like messing with the king, and I paid for it. And I’m saying to myself, “Michael knows it didn’t go down like that, that I never said I didn’t respect him.” And I’m getting blasted for it. But he never said anything in my defense. That’s when they started tearing me apart. And it’s been like that ever since,” he concluded.
Iverson and Jordan are cool
In retrospect, perhaps, the only positive thing Iverson took from the incident was that it proved that he and Jordan were tougher than most people thought. That’s because Iverson and MJ remained cool despite the media fanning the flames.
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They maintained their admiration and respect for one another both on and off the court. For A.I., what happened between him and Jordan speaks volumes about how impactful and biased the media is in the NBA.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.