Allen Iverson was known for his love of nightlife during his NBA career. He never shied away from embracing the vibrant social scene that came with being basketball superstar. While enjoying the perks of his job, which is perfectly normal, former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Jim O’Brien felt that Iverson’s partying was too much sometimes.
One particular incident remains etched in Iverson’s memory to this day. According to “The Answer,” after learning about his late-night escapade, O’Brien decided to suspend him for the next game.
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“Man, let me tell you what this dude [Coach O’Brien] did to me,” the 2001 league MVP once recalled. “I was out. He told me, I had 50, I think 55 [points] in the game the night before, he called me in his office, he said, ‘My friend said he seen you out at 5:00 in the morning last night. I’m suspending you for the game in Miami. You can’t go to Miami.”
A.I. thought the coach didn’t know what he was doing
The incident between Iverson and Coach O’Brien occurred in the 2004-05 season when the Sixers struggled to reclaim the dominance they experienced a few years back. As much as A.I. understood coach’s point, he couldn’t help but get frustrated by the decision.
For Iverson, he honestly felt that reprimanding him for partying when the team badly needed to win was not the smartest thing to do at the time.
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“I mean, you trying to keep us from winning too, you know what I’m saying?,” Iverson stressed as he looked back at his disappointing moment with his former coach.
Iverson could party hard and work harder
Many coaches failed to fully appreciate that the Philly legend possessed a unique physicality that set him apart from others. Unlike other NBA superstars, A.I. had the ability to party all night and still deliver an outstanding performance the very next day.
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This exceptional trait did not go unnoticed when Iverson joined the Denver Nuggets. Coach George Karl recognized early on that Iverson’s extraordinary resilience and talent allowed him to excel on the court, regardless of the distractions outside of it.
As per Karl, he was dumbfounded to witness Iverson casually score 30 points and even lead the Nuggets to a victory after partying until morning.
“None of us were surprised that our new guard didn’t like to practice — that was common knowledge — and that he liked to drink expensive champagne. But we didn’t know what a nocturnal being Allen was. Sometimes he started a night out at 2 am,” Coach Karl said in his book, “Furious George.”
“We were in L.A. that April to play the Clippers, a game we needed to win to improve our playoff position,” he further recounted. “In the morning, our spy — the brother of our scout, Mark Warkentien — reported that our new, high-priced guard had left the Ritz Carlton at 2 am and returned to our hotel at about 6:30. He and his friends couldn’t find anyone to pour any more Cristal. Our shootaround — NBA-ese for the light practice the day of a game — began at their arena, the Staples Center, at 10:30, so Allen didn’t have much time to sleep. Maybe he got a nap that afternoon. We won the game.”
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It’s safe to say that Iverson was the true definition of a beast during his prime.