Drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers, Allen Iverson had a special connection with the franchise, but was moving on a reliever? It is well-documented that despite being in peak form, Al faced media and fans’ criticism for not winning the championship after a point. However, the major one was for missing the practice sessions. But now Andre Iguodala has revealed it was mostly 76ers fault, for which Iverson got the blame.

Speaking on the same line, the 4x NBA champ has revealed AI was quite relieved on moving to the Nuggets. As per Iguodala, the 76ers never possessed a winning mentality with Iverson ever since coach Larry Brown left. He even stated that for the franchises, the true motive behind the game is business. “I was on a franchise where winning was not the priority,” he remarks.

The situation took a toll on The Answer who had some really good years with Larry Brown, including a 10-game winning streak to start the 2000-01 season that ended with a championship. It also saw AI named the league MVP and Brown, the coach of the year. And when it wasn’t about winning after Brown’s exit, and he received heat for championship drought, Andre adds, “I think that wore him down a little bit and that’s how he kinda got a little sour on the NBA,” on ‘7 PM in Brooklyn‘ Podcast.

Iverson then shifted to the Denver Nuggets in 2006 and interestingly, was surprised to find a practice facility. The 4x NBA champ mentions that the 76ers did not have their own gym back then. In fact, the team used to train in some osteopathic medicine college. No wonder that Allen Iverson showed a lack of interest in practice at Philly. But this changed once he landed with the Nuggets, as claimed by Carmelo Anthony too on the podcast.

Expanding on Iguodala’s perspective, Melo stated, “When he (AI) got to Denver, it was more so of a relief for him of the fact that he didn’t have to deal with the pressures of the media every single day.” Apart from this, Anthony believes this also worked as a chance for Iverson to turn over a new leaf in his NBA career. “And also, he had me there with him to kind of take a lot of that (pressure) off of him where… He could just play ball,” he added.

Perspective about Allen Iverson missing practice sessions changed in the Nuggets

“It switched this whole sh*t up. He was in the gym,” Melo said of the 11x All Star joining the Nuggets. He mentioned although The Answer was not practicing the full time, he was still more active. And so the narratives began to change. Anthony himself recalled people going like Iverson has changed, but the reality was he finally got the means and the resources to change.

As for AI’s own take on moving from 76ers to Nuggets, he stated in an episode of the ‘Knuckleheads’ podcast that the move wasn’t that hard. Iverson recollected losing around 20 games in a row, while he kept trying to get the team to change their approach.

The Answer further recalled talking to the Sixers’ ownership about not wanting to lose more in his 10th season. “My hourglass is running out.’ I’m like, ‘Man, if this is what we gon’ do, y’all might as well let me go,” he told management back then. However, Iverson returned to Sixers for his last season. And his statue also got its place outside the team’s practice facility, among other legends, from the franchise. So it’s evident there are no hard feelings from either side.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.