YouTube Gold: Allen Iverson’s 1996 NCAA Tournament Highlights

Iverson was one of the most gifted players in NBA history and his brief run at Georgetown was also spectacular.

Allen Iverson is one of the more misunderstood players in basketball history. A superb athlete who was also a potential NFL quarterback in addition to being a Hall of Fame point guard, Iverson was cast in a terrible light in high school. He was falsely accused in a bowling alley brawl and spent time in jail before Georgetown’s John Thompson took a chance on him.

He was brilliant at Georgetown as this highlight video from the 1996 tournament shows, but in the NBA, he became one of the very best small guards to ever play the game. Iverson played with supreme effort and had a brilliant career.

But he was misunderstood there as well. His rant about practice was legendary and Jason Sudeikis even worked it into Ted Lasso, lifting and modifying it for selfish star Jamie Tartt.

What most people don’t realize is that not long before that press conference, Iverson received news that a close friend had been killed. No one ever talks about that part of the story.

Iverson retired in 2010. The game has changed a lot since he retired, but his speed and talent would certainly let him play at a high level today.