'One Of The Best Decisions...': NBA Legend Allen Iverson Explains Reason Behind Being Sober For Six Months

Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson has opened up about his journey to sobriety, revealing he has been sober for six months. Speaking on CBS Mornings with Maurice DuBois during a promotional tour for his memoir "Misunderstood," Iverson declared, “One of the best decisions I ever made in my life was to stop drinking.” This revelation of sobriety marks a hopeful new chapter for the iconic player who once rule the basketball court.

Revealing the reason behind the decision to leave drinking, Iverson said, “When you get drunk, you’re not how you usually are. The more and more I see it on other people, the more and more it makes me happy about the decision. And the more and more I see how the people around me appreciate it, I love it.”

Allen Iverson's struggle with alcohol

Iverson's struggles with alcohol were public even before the end of his NBA career. Iverson himself had posted on social media during that turbulent period, saying he was "going through some very tough times," shortly after news broke that his wife had filed for divorce.

Speaking of his famous practice rant, Iverson said that it wasn't funny to him at the time because of personal issues he was going through with.

Allen Iverson's Basketball career

The 50 year old legend played 14 years professionally, including 11 NBA All-Star appearances and winning the 2001 NBA MVP award. The 2009-10 season was Iverson's last in the NBA. He did have a brief stint in Turkey with Besiktas in 2010-11 before officially retiring from professional basketball in January 2013.

He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, and his No 3 jersey was retired by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014. Allen Iverson was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in October 2021, recognizing his status as one of the 75 greatest players in the league's history.