The former Mayor of Sacramento and Democratic Party politician, Kevin Johnson, was also a terrific basketball player who seemingly made the great Allen Iverson cry.
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Making a grown man cry after a game is one thing, and getting him to accept it in front of the world is another. Johnson had to put on a 39-9-9 show against AI and as real as the latter is, he let the world know how he felt after Johnson did something nobody ever did.
But it seems Iverson got his due revenge because Johnson says ‘The Answer’ made him realize when his time was up in the league.
Allen Iverson made Kevin Johnson retire from the NBA
KJ cannot be the only one. The way that 6ft tall point guard went about his business on the court since coming in 1996 as the #1 overall pick for the Philadelphia 76ers, several players had to rethink how to approach defense when Allen Iverson was coming at them with the basketball.
His killer crossovers were nothing like anybody had ever seen before. In fact, they made Johnson realize his time was up in the league. He revealed it during the Hall of Fame nomination in 2016.
“He came down and did that crossover thing, then he laid up, and then he hit me on the b**t running by. I knew it was time to go.” Johnson said.
How good was Kevin Johnson?
KJ played in the league for a little more than 11 years, and mostly for the Phoenix Suns as a point guard. The 6’1 versatile guard averaged around 18 points, 9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game and is respected among the legends of the game.m
His career was cut short due to multiple injuries and an undetected hernia problem, all of which made him retire in 1998, much earlier than he would have otherwise. So, AI didn’t do it, injuries did.
