May 19th, 2015 
Matt Anders 
Film: Iverson
Directed by: Zatella Beatty
Genre: Documentary
Showtime’s new documentary from first-time filmmaker Zatella Beatty, Iverson, which premiered Saturday night, seems more like a documentary that Allen Iverson wanted for himself than one that we wanted for Iverson; it’s a side of whipped mashed potatoes to the complexity of Randy Moss’ meaty story told in ESPN’s Rand University – yet another storytelling of a professional athlete misunderstood by the eyes of the media.
Much like Moss’ story, Iverson could have chosen to be a professional basketball or football player – he was that great of an athlete. Like Moss, too, he was controversially arrested and sentenced to serve time in prison following a racially motivated fight during high school in a largely racist state. Also like Moss, Iverson’s potential greatness – even after winning an MVP award and making it to an NBA Championship – was never quite reached.
In the early 21st century, Iverson was as fun (or more) to watch as his superstar NBA counterparts Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter, scoring at a near Jordan-like rate and willing an undermanned 76ers squad all the way to the 2001 NBA Finals. His electric crossover, blazing speed and relentless “Me Against The World” approach made him the league’s most exciting player, but his often-heralded off-the-court issues made him even more unpredictable and newsworthy.
What’s most interesting about Iverson is the fact that Showtime promotes this documentary as a telling of a story about a great athlete who blurred the lines of basketball and hip-hop, yet not once does it ever bother mentioning the obvious “Me Against The World” mentality popularized by 2Pac and wholly embraced by Allen Iverson once he spent a few years in the national spotlight.
There is mention of Iverson’s weak rap album, Misunderstood, which was never commercially released (although it certainly would have sold, perhaps as much as his jerseys), as well as Iverson’s seemingly innovative, hip-hop-inspired tattoos, cornrows, and general attire, but not much mention of where hip-hop was when Iverson started playing basketball and where hip-hop was when Iverson’s career abruptly – prematurely – ended where it started in Philadelphia in 2010.
Iverson came into the national spotlight as the feud between 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. was coming into the national spotlight, and his career ended when softer, less aggressive rappers like Drake were making up much of the Top 25. In the late 1990s, much of the world sympathized with his personality because 2Pac was still relevant, but the same wasn’t true in 2010 because hip-hop, and basketball, had changed so much.
The other thing that Iverson doesn’t bother mentioning is the importance of the 2004 Pacers-Pistons brawl in David Stern’s ‘reforming’ of the NBA’s dress code, which helped reform the NBA as a whole. In short, Iverson tries to make Allen Iverson out to be a martyr for the rise and fall of streetball in the National Basketball Association while attempting to take the blame away from him for his wrongdoings by labeling him a product of his environment.
There is no mentioning of Iverson’s reported alcohol and gambling issues, both of which could certainly serve as supporting points to emphasize his many misfortunes, like how his father was arrested in front of his own eyes when he was just a kid. The majority of the documentary is comprised of interviews of Iverson himself (or people extremely close to him), telling the story in his own words and seemingly trying to sell himself out for forgiveness from basketball fans for being self-centered.
There’s only one interviewee – a close friend of Iverson – who describes him as someone who thought he was “larger than life,” who “didn’t give a shit about his obligations,” which included upholding obligations he made to his sponsors and going to ‘practice’ for coach Larry Brown’s Philadelphia 76ers. Every other talking head drowns out any potential emotional connection to Iverson with overuses of the words “respectful” and “not disrespectful” in describing him, giving up the vibe that they’re only trying to put on a show for the camera.
Allen Iverson was certainly controversial. Misunderstood, yes, but mostly controversial. During his famous ‘Practice!’ interview, Allen was genuinely trying to get the point across that, instead of talking about practice, they should be talking about how the 76ers needed to improve so they wouldn’t be eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, or how Iverson’s life was seemingly falling apart after that loss and the death of his close friend. But he still failed to acknowledge the importance of skipping practice, just as Iverson fails to acknowledge the importance of taking responsibility for your own actions.
GRADE: C-
Review written by: Matthew Anders
- MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Iverson’ Falls Short Of Glory - May 19, 2015
- UTG INTERVIEW: Director Ned Benson Discusses ‘The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby’ - September 19, 2014
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“””they should be talking about how the 76ers needed to improve so they
wouldn’t be eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, or how
Iverson’s life was seemingly falling apart after that loss and the death
of his close friend. But he still failed to acknowledge the importance
of skipping practice, just as Iverson fails to acknowledge the importance of taking responsibility for your own actions”””.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Actually, this is factual incorrect. The original press conference that aired (I know because I still have it recorded on VHS tape..yes VHS) he mentioned at least once where he says “come’on, I know practice is important, I know it is. You can’t become a better team without practice.” He said that maybe twice in the interview right before he talked about how silly it was for someone to ask him about practice in a time like that.
Also, some reporter asks him why he doesn’t lift weights. And Iverson responds by saying that if he lifts weights and becomes big and muscular, how does that help him become a better player? He won the MVP, dragged a horrible philly team to the finals, led the league in scoring and was 1st team all defense without having to lift weights regularly and making it to practice on time. He also mentions and coach brown confirmed that he only missed 5 or 6 practices out of 30+.
The doc doesn’t mention that because it was mentioned on the ESPN doc a few years back during the 30 for 30. None of this is anything new to anyone that knows anything about the NBA from 1992-2006