Every NBA player worth their salt dreams of winning a championship before their career concludes. Unfortunately, the sad reality is that it rarely happens. With 30 teams battling for league supremacy and only one team ultimately coming out on top, the odds are stacked against any individual player achieving this feat.
Allen Iverson was one of the greatest players of his generation, but not even he could overcome these difficult odds.
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Despite his reputation as a fierce competitor, the Answer revealed that no loss in his esteemed basketball career stung more than the 2001 NBA Finals. He described the pain of coming so close to the Larry O’Brien trophy, only to be denied by the Los Angeles Lakers, as a massive disappointment that he carries with him to this day.
In fact, he reckoned that if given the choice, he would have elected not to make it to that level of competition at all rather than fall short.
A tough result
By the 2000-01 season, Iverson had already established himself as not only one of the league’s most prolific scorers, but also one of its toughest. Although he was listed at only 6-feet, he routinely drove to the rack and dared 7-footers to deny him at the rim. The sight of A.I. lying flat on his back after a hard foul became all too familiar, but he never backed down.
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That same relentless attitude carried over to the Finals, where Iverson put up an incredible performance to lead his Philadelphia 76ers against the star-studded Lakers lineup, averaging 35.6 points in 47.8 minutes per game. But in the end, his efforts weren’t enough as the Lakers won the series in five games and hoisted the championship trophy.
For Iverson, this loss was more than just another stain on his record.
It represented years of hard work and determination, coming up short on the grandest stage of basketball. To already be on that level and not win it all was a pain that only a few can understand.
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“Looking back on it and even then with our squad in 2001, people think it’s crazy, but I’d rather not have gotten there,” Iverson relayed. “Than get that feeling of not being able to win it, you know what I mean?”
“I know it sounds crazy but just to be right there and not be able to fulfill your dream,” he furthered. “That was tough on me.”Â
More to his career than an NBA title
Iverson long grappled with that Finals defeat, particularly as he never again contended for a title. Yet, he eventually understood that, despite its pain, that loss did not ultimately define him or his illustrious career.
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As he grew long in the tooth, he realized that just making it to the NBA was more than he could ever dream of.
“You know, look how many things that happened to me in my career. I mean, all I wanted to do was get drafted — a kid from Newport News, Hampton, Virginia. And that was the biggest thing,” he stated. “Like people asked me what was the biggest thing that happened in my career and that was it: just being drafted.”
Any hoop fan knows the rough road A.I. took to get to the big league: a two-sport star in high school who got incarcerated for several months before getting recruited by Georgetown’s John Thompson.
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Once in the NBA, Iverson would become one of the most electrifying and polarizing players in league history. Despite all the tumult, he still managed to author a Hall of Fame career.
“The icing on the cake was all the other things that came. Look at the cultural icon. MVP. Scoring titles. All-Star Games. All-Star MVPs. I mean, known all over the world. I can go anyplace in the world, step off the plane and they know who I am. A household name,” Iverson conveyed.
Iverson, no doubt, still reflects on the championship that eluded him. Yet, he equally savors the victories he did secure — accomplishments all the more distinguished given his humble roots.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.