Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

In the past two years, Allen Iverson’s done a lot of soul searching. Exiting the NBA weeks after being named an All-Star starter in 2010, a lack of interest in his services the next offseason and subsequently playing in Turkey for part of this past season gave him time and opportunity to reassess his life. That led to him make some stark realizations.

“The best thing that came out of those experiences is that it opened Allen’s eyes to the fact that there’s more important things out there than basketball,” Gary Moore, Iverson’s long-time business manager, mentor and president and founder of Moore Management and Entertainment LLC, says. “Those experiences let him know that one day this is going to end; basketball is going to end.”

Well aware that life after basketball is not too many moons away, Allen Iverson is training hard in Atlanta, working out on a daily basis, doing whatever he needs to do for one last chance to prove his mettle in the NBA. One last chance to go out on his terms. One last chance he’s earned.

Here’s What AI said about wanting to be back in the NBA….

“I want to finish my career out in the NBA, if that’s possible. And that’s in any capacity. I did a lot of things, I made a lot of mistakes as far as my actions and things that I’ve said, and I think that was the reason for me not being in the NBA. My whole thing now in trying to get back is letting any organization know that I’m willing to play any part that they want me to play.

SLAM: You watching any Playoff ball and thinking, “Damn, I should be out there?”

AI: You know what, it’s hard. It’s hard to watch. Like, I try to watch it and then at times you’re watching and you get emotional and I get away from it, have a little moment by myself or to myself, and then I try to get back and watch it. I mean, it’s basketball—what I love. It’s what I was born to do. So it’s hard to watch, but it’s hard not to watch.”

SLAM: The leg injury that you suffered in Turkey, is that all healed up?

Allen Iverson: Yeah, and it didn’t even take that long. It healed faster than I thought it would, actually.

SLAM: Was it just from years of playing, or did something actually happen to it?

AI: I think it happened at the end of one of the first games I played over there. I got kicked in it. Man, it was bothering me the whole first half of the next game. It was bothering me, but the pain wasn’t too difficult to bear, you know what I mean? I was able to still be effective. I think that was one of the first good games I had over there [laughs]. Then once I got to halftime—all throughout my career, I never iced. All my coaches and trainers always told me, “You need to ice after games.” I never liked icing. But during halftime I put heat on it, and, man, it was hurting so bad that I put ice on it. Then, I was like, Damn, I ain’t ever dealt with no pain like this. I remember running up the court and the guy who was guarding me kept asking, “Are you alright? Are you alright?” Because I was running down the court one time and it hurt so bad that tears were coming down my eyes.

I was like, God almighty. Like, I never dealt with anything like that. I called my manager after the game said, Look man, this thing hurt worse than anything I’ve ever had to deal with. We went and got it checked out; they saw what it was, and I came home and had surgery.

WRITTEN by Tzvi Twersky | @ttwersky

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