Forbes - Perhaps the telltale indicator of Iverson’s divorce from financial reality, however, was an anecdote I received via a former teammate of Iverson’s from his days with the Philadelphia 76ers. This player, raised on a far higher standard of fiduciary responsibility, was amused and stunned by “A.I.’s” money habits. He related how on many road trips Iverson refused to carry baggage, evidently seeking to remain as unencumbered from physical things as he was of basketball defenders. Because of this habit, Iverson would buy a full selection of new clothes, shoes, and other expensive items at each new destination with rolls of cash he carried on his person. Moreover, upon departure, he would leave all those goodies behind in his hotel room or just give them away.
OK, so I can't claim to be a boss like AI, but I have done mini versions of this on business trips. Once, I got back from three weeks in Asia and had a few days at a conference in Seattle. I had timed my clothing perfectly in Asia, leaving nothing left that was clean plus, it was hot as hell in Asia, so it wasn't just that the clothes weren't clean, but they were legit sweaty. Two problems with that strategy. First, I had no clean clothes clothes for Seattle and it was like 40 degrees there. I didn't have a sweater or a jacket. So what did I do? I balled like crazy at Old Navy and bought t-shirts, underwear, socks, khakis, jeans, s sweater, a sweatshirt, and a couple shirts. That sh!t is baller and I am proud of it to this day.
I always wanted to not pack on business trips and just buy stuff when I got there, so when I saw that AI did this on his trips, I instantly liked him even more. And, let's be honest; if you don't like Allen Iverson, you need to move to Communist Russia, because that's just un-American.
-Big Ran
