Allen Iverson revealed his biggest regret of his NBA career.
Iverson “Maxed Out!” appeared in the first episode of A new podcast from former teammate Vernon Maxwell on the Bovada Media Network. Iverson was asked about Larry Brown, who coached the Sixers from 1997 to 2003, and said he doesn’t start with many regrets.
“Love him to death,” Iverson said. “I don’t have too many regrets in my life or off the field. I consider a mistake to be just a mistake [if] you do it twice. You will learn many things that will happen in your life. I am very comfortable in my own skin. I am happy with the person I am developing and maturing. You know, if I died today and had the chance to come back, I would want to come back as me. I mean, what’s wrong with being you? All the others were taken away.”
However, Iverson said he wished he had listened to Brown better in the early years of his playing career.
“If I had any regrets about anything in my career, I wouldn’t have wrestled with him early in my career,” Iverson said. “You know, like I said, I didn’t know any better. I was trying to grow as a player and as a man.”
The two had very public ups and downs during that time, but Iverson told Maxwell that the player and the coach had common goals.
“He wanted everything I wanted for myself and our team, and I didn’t take constructive criticism the way I should have – and that’s definitely a lesson for any young guys out there. A great coach like me [listen]”, – continued Iverson.
“Once I started buying everything he was selling, it took me from just a gifted player to a Hall of Fame MVP. “As I grew up, our team got better.”
Iverson and Brown teamed up in the 2001 NBA Finals, losing to the Lakers.
“Shout out to coach — I love you,” Iverson said. “I owe a lot of who I am as a basketball player and as a man to him.”
After leaving the Sixers, Brown won the NBA Championship with the Pistons in his first year in Detroit in 2003-04 – beating the Lakers.
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