Sixers

Allen Iverson Almost Ended His NBA Career Over a Game of Tag

By Kyle Pagan

Published: Dec 7th, 2023 · 10:24 AM EST

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Don’t ever try to play tag with Allen Iverson, because you will lose. Gilbert Arenas told the story about the lengths Iverson would go to just to win, on his show Gil’s Arena:

This Allen Iverson story at Team USA camp involving a game of tag is crazy 😂

(via @GilsArenaShow) pic.twitter.com/Nlq0oV2kGm

— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) December 6, 2023

Imagine those Daily News headlines if Iverson goes to Team USA camp and comes back with a shattered ankle because he fell from a balcony. Millions of Philly area households would have their hearts broken by Jim Gardner starting the 6 o’clock news with, “But the big story tonight on Action News –  shattered dreams and shattered ankles tonight for the Sixers’ biggest star!”

Who would’ve thought a couple months after the Sixers just went to the NBA Finals, unbeknownst to us, our MVP was jumping balcony to balcony like he’s on a jungle gym. Now people are going to say this is stupid behavior, to which I say, “Nay.” This just shows how competitive AI was. Stories like this tell you exactly why he is one of the best basketball players of all-time. A 5’11 point guard who would attack the basket with zero fear just like he would a game of tag with Ray Allen. An underdog. Stories like this are why we love him. Few can match this competitiveness.

Honestly, if you ask me, Ray knew what lengths AI would go to tag him. He probably goaded him into jumping from his balcony hoping he’d end up in a full body cast or worse. This is the guy who just beat him in the playoffs. You don’t think he wanted to remove the roadblock?