Allen Iverson was not just a superstar basketball player but was also a cultural icon. He became an inspiration for future generations and the incoming basketball players in the league. AI was the player to bring killer crossover into fashion in the league. However, despite his stardom, Iverson, unlike other superstars, was barely favored by the referees. Fans from his former teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets still believe that AI was officiated badly. So bad that, Iverson was once fined $25,000 for his tussle with the officials. Shaquille O’Neal recently shared a video of AI being poorly officiated in the game, despite his constant requests.
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Tim Donaghy, a former NBA referee, once revealed that because of bad officiating, Iverson was triggered by the officials. During 2006-2007, when AI was fined $25,000, and not suspended for his incident, refs decided to teach him a lesson. Donaghy accepted that the crew deliberately looked past a few plays where The Answer was obviously fouled.
Shaquille O’Neal shares Allen Iverson vs. NBA referees video
The extent of bad officiating was so bad again for Iverson that one of the referees in the video called a foul on Allen because he went from one place to another, which brought the crowd down. In another video, he asked the referee if there was contact or if he had made his opponent fall down. All AI got in the answer was, “that’s what I thought.”
Perhaps the most frustrating thing to watch in the video was when the ref, rather than answering, tried to passively threaten AI and throw him out. Here is a segment of the video that O’Neal shared.
Rather than giving him an answer, the ref said, “Are you finished? If I missed it, I missed it.”
Missed or bad calls against The Answer and a superstar of his caliber are not surprising. However, the refs usually make their decisions in favor of the star player. Such things are usually for fans’ entertainment. However, what was surprising in the video was the treatment of a superstar player.
Shaquille O’Neal says AI ruined Lakers perfect season all by himself
If you are punked by Shaquille O’Neal in the basketball game, think that it was inevitable. But there are some players in history who are better and different. Iverson was one of those players. He didn’t shy away from making Michael Jordan look like a fool, making him grab air like a blind person. He was a scoring machine and an absolute fighter when it came to basketball. Recalling the 2001 NBA Finals, Shaq explained why the 11-time All-Star was a cultural name in the league.
“He was a dog. He is probably the only guy I couldn’t punk. Like if I block a shot, like most guys, won’t come back, but he come in every time. I am upset at him, because he messed up history.”
Shaq explained that the year he wanted to go 16-0 was 2001. It was the same year that the Lakers were seen as a dominant force in the league. So far, they were 14-1 and O’Neal wanted to show that they were the best Lakers team ever, even better than the Showtime Lakers. The Big Aristotle said that in the first game of the NBA Finals, the Lakers underestimated Iverson, who went for 48 points. In the series, AI averaged 32.9 points and 2.4 steals per game.
