Allen Iverson’s spending spree to squander $200 million

A flashy player on and off the court, Allen Iverson burned life at both ends during his time in the NBA. It is no coincidence that, despite a fortune of 200 million at his peak, the small leader lost everything thereafter. A dizzying fall, to be attributed to a simply… crazy lifestyle. Explanations.

If anyone is asked to define the NBA of the 2000s, it’s almost impossible to forget Allen Iverson. A true icon of the decade, a cultural troublemaker who democratized hip-hop and tattoos within the league, “The Answer” had a lasting impact in the league. Ja Morant and Derrick Rose, to name but a few, proudly claim their heritage. But once the curtain fell, the return to earth was brutal for the legend of the Sixers…

Because if the players’ union and the NBA today have programs to prevent post-career bankruptcies, it’s partly because of Iverson. With 155 million in career earnings, including several juicy contracts signed in Philadelphia, Iverson had everything to protect his family over 10 generations. In place ? He blew it all up. And not just a little.

Allen Iverson’s crazy lifestyle revealed

In the evening, the leader was truly limitless. Matt Barnes says it was common for AI to drop $30,000 to $40,000 at strip clubs, so much so that Barnes himself would pick up some jubilation on the floor. TMZ adds that Iverson spent $10,000 on clothes, $10,000 on restaurants, and more than $125,000 on miscellaneous loans each month.

How to accumulate so many credits? Beyond his infernal lifestyle, « The Answer » is also a pure product of difficult neighborhoods, with a value set up as a key word, above all: sharing. Surrounded by 10, 20, 30 or even 50 friends, some well-intentioned and others not, the native of Virginia entertained everyone without counting. A laudable generosity, but which cost him several tens of millions of dollars, and precipitated his downfall.

For example, Larry Hughes says that when AI showed him the new Bentley he had just bought for $200,000, he told him: “Yo, it’s amazing…I need one”. Neither one nor two, Iverson, answered him without hesitation:

No worries brother, take mine.

By living like this on a daily basis for years and years, we understand better how Iverson was able to wipe out the colossal fortune he had amassed. In 2012, barely 2 years after the end of his career, AI declared bankruptcy when he found himself unable to repay a debt of 900,000 dollars to a jeweler. Fortunately, the Hall of Famer was saved by an incredible clause in his contract with Reebok, which allowed him to avoid the worst…

Symbol of these players who too often lived without thinking about the next day when huge sums of money began to flow into the NBA, Allen Iverson paid a high price for this totally crazy lifestyle. Thankfully, legend stories about The Answer can now be told with a smile, as AI has escaped bankruptcy. But all the same…