Stephen A. Smith is arguably the biggest sports media personality in America. Before he became who he is today, though – he worked as an NBA insider in Philadelphia.
During that stint, Smith would often cross paths with Allen Iverson.
The pair’s relationship featured many ups and downs.
During a recent appearance on J.J. Redick’s podcast, Smith made a surprising confession regarding Iverson.
“It’s hard to admit this as an objective observer, journalist, commentator, all of this other stuff, but I love Allen Iverson,” Smith said. “He’s like a little brother to me.”
Smith then went on to acknowledge that, at one point, he and Iverson went two years without talking.
“His last stint with the Philadelphia 76ers, we didn’t speak for two years because he was upset that I had written an article about him,” Smith continued.
“He was away from the team, you know, supposedly his kid was sick or whatever. But then they saw him partying. He didn’t know know any of this but one of my editors said ‘I thought you said Allen Iverson was with his family.’ I said ‘he is, that’s what he told me.’”
When presented with imagery that seemed to suggest the opposite, Smith was forced into reporting on it.
“He was incredibly hurt,” Smith admitted. “And we met up. He said ‘I don’t care about the article. It’s that it came from you.’ And when he said that, I felt this small.”
Since then, the pair’s relationship has gotten back on track.
Iverson was a fascinating talent who impacted many of the players he worked alongside. That said, at one point, he did have some demons.
There is a reason he had a trust fund set up to protect him from himself.
Smith, meanwhile, has always been a provocateur. Even these days he makes headlines for his dalliances with his female ESPN coworkers just as much as he does for calling out NBA players.
A warning has been issued.https://t.co/DtmwBqi8oH
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 12, 2022
It would make sense that these two big personalities wouldn’t always get along.
That said – it’s great that they mended fences and are now good friends.
Related: Bill Simmons’ Brutal Kobe Bryant Message to Jayson Tatum
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
