Allen Iverson admits being reckless with money and explains how bad it got
Allen Iverson admits being reckless with money and explains how bad it got
Allen Iverson earned over $200 million during his NBA career. He also filed for bankruptcy after it ended. The 51-year-old explained in an interview with rapper and actor T.I. exactly how that happened, and the most memorable example involved his mother Ann and a fleet of cars that had no business existing.
“I spoiled my mom,” Iverson said in the clip circulating on social media. “At one point, my mom had like 15 cars. I’m pulling up in a Bentley and she’d say, ‘Son, I love that car. I want one just like it. You gonna get me one?’ I’m like, ‘No, but I’ll go buy one myself. Mom, you got 15 cars. Here, take this one.'”
Iverson was financially supporting 35 different families at various points during his playing career, covering rent, bail, car payments, and basic living expenses for people in his circle, per Yahoo Sports. He bought jewelry when others wanted jewelry. He bought cars when others admired cars.
“I was reckless in the sense of I wanted everybody to be happy,” Iverson said. “When I go to the jewelry store, y’all go to the jewelry store. When I buy a car, y’all get a car.
“It was just that I wanted everybody to be happy. But I was crippling people. The cornerstone of being a man is accountability. I was out of control with it.”
What stopped him and how one Reebok deal became the financial lifeline
The reality check came when his playing days ended earlier than he had planned.
“I thought I was gonna play forever and God put me in check. That money got funny,” Iverson said.
Allen Iverson admits he was so reckless with money he bought his mom 15 cars
“I spoiled my mom. At one point, my mom had like 15 cars. I’m pulling up in a Bentley and she’d say, son, I love that car, I want one just like it. You gonna get me one? I’m like, no, but I’ll go buy… pic.twitter.com/TuvdUGa9GT
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He played 14 seasons across stops in Philadelphia, Denver, Detroit, Memphis, and back to Philadelphia, earning the 2001 MVP award and four scoring titles. He was one of the most culturally influential players in NBA history. His finances did not reflect that by the time he was done.
What rescued him was a single clause buried in his 2001 Reebok deal. The shoe company set up a trust fund that pays out on Iverson’s 55th birthday in 2030, a structure that will significantly increase his net worth in four years regardless of how the preceding decades played out, according to Sportskeeda.
The 15-car story is funny in the retelling, but the bankruptcy that followed is not. Iverson’s willingness to talk about both with the same honesty is the reason the clip keeps finding new audiences every time it resurfaces.
