Allen Iverson now spends time with his children in Charlotte, North Carolina where he lives. He makes many media and paid appearances because of his status as a beloved former player. The unique Reebok contract he signed as a player has saved him from potential financial ruin brought on by his hard-living lifestyle.
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Why Did Allen Iverson Retire?
Allen Iverson was an absolute killer in his prime. He was an 11x All Star, made 7 All-NBA teams, and led the NBA in scoring four times.
Iverson’s outlier skill was scoring. He scored 20 or more points per game for an incredible 12 straight seasons. Those amazing scoring years included four years where he scored more than 30 per game.
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I argued in this post that he really was not that great of a defender. I stand by that. Iverson got steals, but he got many of them gambling rather than playing within the structure of his team’s defense.
Even though he was not a good defender, there is no doubt The Answer was a positive force for his Sixers teams. He led a team featuring Eric Snow, George Lynch and Aaron Mckie to the NBA Finals.
No disrespect to those fine players – I dream of playing basketball as well as they did on their worst day. But they are not the kind of names you expect to see starting on a team in the finals.
The 2nd and 3rd best players on NBA Finals teams are often household names for many years. AI’s teammates were a notch below that level for sure.
So how did Iverson lead those teams so far? He did it through scoring. The other players handled the defense and AI filled it up.
But as a 6’0” guard, Iverson was not a traditional big-time NBA scorer. If you never saw him play, you’d probably think Iveson was some kind of dead-eye shooter to be able to score so much at 6’0”.
You’d be wrong. He was a career 31% three-point shooter and 78% free throw shooter. He was a decent shooter but not great by NBA standards.
Allen Iverson scored through insane, otherworldly quickness and athleticism. You could not keep AI in front of you.
Like so many of the greatest NBA players, he was a crazy, outlier, unique athlete.
Iverson became a legend in his first ten seasons in Philly. But at the start of his 11th season, the team traded him to Denver.
After he moved to Denver, Iverson’s athleticism started to slip quickly. AI had one more really big scoring season in Denver where he averaged 26 points per game in 2007-2008.
From there, things changed quickly for The Answer.
The next season, Denver moved on from Iverson as well, shipping him to Detroit. His days as an elite NBA scorer were over at age 33.
It makes sense. AI was a pure scorer and did so not through skill as much as athleticism.
As he aged, that athleticism disappeared quickly and took his ability to score at-will in the NBA with it.
A 7’0” center who ages can make up for the loss of athleticism through size, NBA experience and skill. As a 6’0” guard who was not a great shooter, Iverson could not fall back on other talents or gifts.
Iverson did hang around for one more season where he moved around again, this time from Memphis and then back on to Philly. But that was it.
Allen Iverson went from averaging 26 points per game for the Denver Nuggets at age 32 to out of the league two years later because his game was almost entirely based on athleticism. When he lost that freakish speed and quickness, he had nothing else to fall back on.
Where is Allen Iverson Now?
Allen Iverson lives in the Charlotte, North Carolina area today. Iverson reports spending a lot of his time with his five children. He mostly makes a living by being Allen Iverson.
Financial Situation
Despite spending the great majority of his millions of career earnings on gambling, drinking and various forms of overspending, Iverson is not in as bad of a financial situation as you might guess.
Iverson made over $150 million in basketball salary alone. But he burned through all of it with hard living. Iverson was known for serious gambling and drinking and is reported to have a net worth of around only $1 million.
Despite that, Iverson is still in a somewhat decent financial situation. He and his agents made a brilliant decision to sign a unique contract with Reebok when he was at his peak.
The Reebok contract pays Iverson $800,000 annually. If he had saved every cent and invested wisely, that amount may have been a rounding error.
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But given the way he lived, that annual salary is vital to Iverson’s ability to stay afloat financially.
The Reebok contract also created a $32 million trust fund that AI cannot access until age 55 in 2030.
Iverson’s ex-wife is reported to control ½ of the trust fund, but that still leaves Iverson with a decent lump sum coming to him in addition to the annual salary.
Some reports say that Iverson and his wife reconciled after their divorce, but they are not legally married today.
Work
Iverson mostly seems to work by being Allen Iverson. His incredible Hall of Fame career combined with his personal appeal make Iverson someone who is in-demand for appearances.
The Sixers still fly him up regularly to attend games and make other contracted appearances as a team legend. Iverson also makes many other paid appearances and continues to be a beloved figure in NBA circles.
At the 2022 NBA All-Star Game weekend, Iverson was a total hit appearing with several current star players and getting widespread positive press.
Cannabis Business
In addition to his career as Allen Iverson, AI has linked up with former NBA player Al Harrington to get involved with a cannabis company. Shawn Kemp also recently started a cannabis business as well.
Iverson admits he used to “smoke every goddamn day”. But after a 1997 marijuana arrest, he faced drug tests every two weeks, so he says he stopped using the drug.
Unfortunately, he says he then turned ever more into both drinking and gambling. A recent book actually claims that Iverson was drunk during his infamous “talking about practice” rant.
Working for the Sixers?
In an interview with Taylor Rooks, Iverson claimed to have a desire to take on a more active role in the Sixers organization.
While it’s understandable why Iverson would want to join the team, it sure seems unlikely.
Iverson made life hell for his coaches. And his hard-living days don’t seem completely behind him.
While Iverson seems to have changed to some degree, that change does not seem complete enough to make him a serious candidate for either a coaching or front-office position.
Iverson seems most likely to continue to have a ceremonial or public relations position within the Sixers organization and not an influential basketball position.
Summary: Allen Iverson Now
Allen Iverson now lives in Charlotte and mostly makes his living by being Allen Iverson. He makes many paid appearances for the Sixers organization and for others. His unique Reebok contract has saved him from the worst consequences of his wild spending. Iverson reports spending most of his time with his children.
Featured Image Credit – Adapted from: “File:Allen Iverson 08.jpg” by Keith Allison is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.
I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. I write about games, players and seasons from the past.