Allen Iverson Live

Here’s Allen Iverson’s latest tweet on his injury situation – screencap included:

An MRI has revealed a lesion that is in my right leg and pressing against the bone. I am coming home for further examinations and possibly surgery. I have never said anything about retirement nor have I said goodbye to the game of basketball. I love this game! That is why I went all the way to Turkey to continue playing and once I get past this, my plan is to continue playing at the highest level possible. So don’t put me in my rocking chair just yet. Hold on, I’ll be back! Stay tuned.

People around the web have been analyzing his tweet, specifically on his mention of playing “at the highest level possible”.  Surely, that would be the NBA.  Does he mean to return to the NBA after his surgery?  At this point, this is just speculation. This author thinks that he should return to Sixers.

This is sad news coming out of Turkey: Allen Iverson plans to have a lesion removed from his right leg in the United States and intends to rejoin his Turkish team in time for the playoffs.  This after speculation from Turkish media that Allen Iverson was set to retire.  Gary Moore, Iverson’s longtime manager, said Iverson told him Wednesday that he doesn’t plan to retire because of the painful condition.

Moore said Iverson has a lesion that is pressing up against the bones of his leg and requires surgery in the U.S.

“It has to be removed and tested to see if it’s benign or not,” Moore said by phone. “Once that’s removed, Allen is going to look to rehabilitate his leg because the doctors tell him he’ll be out four to six weeks, He’s hoping to be able to play in the playoffs.”

Besiktas spokesman Kursat Kaplan said Wednesday the team would assess Iverson’s future after another MRI this week.

Moore had no timetable for Iverson’s surgery, only that that it was “soon.”

“People need to know that Allen is and always has been a fighter,” Moore said. “He’s got a battle ahead of him.”

Moore said Iverson “totally disputes” reports out of Turkey that he was set to retire.

The 11-time NBA All-Star has said he’s happy with his new career in Turkey, though his start has been mixed since playing his first game in November.

Iverson, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2001, agreed to a $4 million, two-year deal with Besiktas after no NBA team offered him a contract. Moore said Iverson last played Saturday.

“This is the most pain he’s ever felt from any injury he’s had,” Moore said. “He’s been in tremendous agony.”

This is sad news for AI Fans – Let’s hope that AI’s operation is successful and he can return to action soon.

In the latest Beşiktaş Cola Turka match, Allen Iverson posted 11 points and 5 rebounds but narrowly came up short against Galatasaray. With seven seconds left, Beşiktaş got the ball inbounds from the far end of the court and A.I. ran it up, driving right through the lane as he had earlier in the period to beat a four-on-one situation in the lane. Iverson then fed Michael Ignerski for the jam with a second to play … but the big man bounced it off the rim instead. (See video below for some Iverson highlights and Beşiktaş’ sad ending.)

Allen Iverson rare interview about life in Turkey so far.

Two days ago, Allen Iverson finally broke his silence from the media in Turkey.  It was Philadelphia Magazine that cracked Iverson’s no-media embargo.  He was asked about many topics ranging from whether he was playing in Turkey because he is broke from gambling debts and bad investments to why he thought he was not in the NBA.

Here’s some quotes from the man himself:

“Everybody is making a big deal out of the money and making $2 million — what do people want me to do? Sit at home and just watch basketball, or play at the Y.M.C.A.?” Iverson said. “I had to do what I had to do to continue playing basketball.”

It’s true, for the fans it’s a lot better to have A.I. playing than not.  He did what he had to do to continue his career.

He blamed rumors about his gambling for leading to his exit from the Detroit Pistons in 2009. The Detroit News ran a blog post charging that Iverson had been banned from Detroit’s three casinos, then removed it from its site and archives.

Iverson said he thought the word was put out in the N.B.A., through the Pistons’ front office, that he was trouble.

“I think that situation basically destroyed my N.B.A. career,” he said. “I honestly believe that.”

Gambling and drinking rumors have followed Iverson, and he said he did not know why.

“You find out when dealing with people that doesn’t have nowhere near as much money as you, that a lot of people who don’t have that money and can’t fathom it, would never understand,” Iverson said. “If I had that much to lose and I know it, then it’s not a problem for me.”

Iverson continued: “I don’t remember getting any D.U.I.s or going to jail for getting drunk in public. I’ve never been reprimanded or anything, with any team or anything like that, because of any drinking.”

Iverson’s family, which includes five children and wife, Tawanna, which whom he has recently reconciled, is expected to move to Istanbul soon. Tawanna had filed for divorce last spring, but Iverson said the couple was trying to save their marriage.

Allen Iverson’s old teammate Eric Snow says he knows Iverson wants to get back to the NBA. But Iverson says no. He’s done that, had his career there. He’s in a new place now, a city and country that have embraced him. There are millions more fans out there, all over Europe, that he can play for. And that’s what he intends to do, because the truth is, Allen Iverson has nowhere else to go.