Not a Game

April 27, 2015
Babb, a Washington Post writer who profiled Allen Iverson's troubled life after basketball in 2013, extends his work into a sobering biography of the ex-NBA superstar. Iverson (who didn't participate in the book) took to basketball in Hampton, Va., where drugs and familial instability were the norm. He was given a five-year prison sentence for his role in a 1993 bowling alley brawl, but dodged it via gubernatorial clemency. The undersized guard's blinding talent won him special treatment from coaches, superiors, and other authorities, which paved the way for Iverson to live an undisciplined professional and personal life. According to Babb, he abhorred practice and workouts; he neglected his wife, Tawanna, and their kids for a hedonistic lifestyle; and while Iverson's anti-authority stance was a marketer's dream, his ego kept getting in the way. What steers Babb's work away from being a book-length condemnation is that he refuses to simplify Iverson, showing a man devoted to his childhood friends and a player whose passion endeared him to reporters, coaches, and teammates. Relying on research and outside interviews to shape his narrative, Babb delves deep into Iverson's inscrutable soul. This is a sad but fascinating read. Photos not seen by PW.

May 1, 2015

A quibble with Washington Post sportswriter Babb's biography of former basketball great Allen Iverson might lie in its subtitle. Iverson, a high school phenom, star at Georgetown University, and scoring machine for the Philadelphia 76ers (the NBA team with which he is most closely identified) undeniably had an incredible rise. However, his fall could hardly be called "unthinkable." Rather, it seems predestined. Growing up, Iverson saw violence and drugging (as a child he was once dispatched on a drug score by his mother) and while still in high school spent time in prison for his involvement in a bowling alley brawl. Headstrong and self-involved, he was in need of constant stimulation; seeking satiation in alcohol, gambling, and reckless spending. Thus it is hardly any surprise that his story ends in drunkenness, disaffection from his teams, and penury. VERDICT Iverson's is a cautionary tale of what can happen to an athlete who comes from nothing but grows entitled and enabled by those who only see what he can do for them. As such, it should be required reading for aspiring athletes, coaches, team management, and fans.--Jim Burns, formerly with Jacksonville P.L., FL

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