Allen Iverson singlehandedly transformed the culture of the National Basketball Association in a way that no player ever has. While players have certainly transformed the game on the court, or engaged in incredible business practices off of it, A.I. was the one of only players to do it all. From wearing braids and having tattoos and finding every way to duck former NBA commissioner David Stern's dress code, to his infamous practice rant, to his ability to score the basketball, A.I. was, and still is, that dude.
Recently, Iverson was named as an ambassador for Viola, former NBA player Al Harrington's cannabis company, and both A.I. and Harrington sat down with GQ to share a couple weed stories.
Naturally, because it's Allen Iverson, every word of every story he tells feels like the stuff of legend, but the former Sixer told two hilarious tales.
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Prefacing both stories by saying he doesn't smoke weed anymore, Iverson first told the story of how he ended up strolling down the freeway after a bizarre night at Applebee's.
Saying that he had smoked too much and was looking for a Corona to even out the high, A.I. got into the details.
"I start walkin’ up an interstate. A interstate! N***a, I’m on the interstate wit cars flying by just walkin' down the road trine find a bar!," he started, explaining that he was having visions former teammates, his girl, his kids and everybody that he loves. "Bout 10 minutes later, I swear to God, I woke up and I was laying down in a ditch ... I’m in a muhf*ckin’ ditch! I’m lookin around for people who see me gettin’ up off the ground. I sat back in the car and I said, 'This is it, man.' I heard a car burning rubber and then BOOM. I was back. I was myself."
While there are certainly some gray areas within Iverson's story, any smoker will tell you that sometimes, things get out of hand. Sometimes, you start seeing things. Sometimes, you just have to ride out the high, just like Iverson did the next time he smoked.
After saying that he never smoked again following the freeway incident, Iverson did acknowledge that he *had* actually sparked up since.
According to A.I., a couple of "white boys" were smoking that "sh*t from the dispensary," and he couldn't help but take a hit.
"We sat outside (the white boy's) house, smoked that b*tch, and I. Start. Trippin. Man," A.I. told GQ. "I go down to the basement and start running laps in my man cave ... I’m trine sweat and run it out of me! I’m doin’ push ups and sit ups, all kinds of sh*t ... watchin Martin and Sanford & Son. All funny sh*t. And I couldn’t go to sleep. I’m thinkin’ if I fall asleep I’ll wake up and I would’ve shook the sh*t. I woke up the next day and I was like that. I woke up the day after and I was like that. For three days, dog."
While Iverson still maintains that he does not smoke, his tales of the times he has are certifiably hilarious. Unlike most former NBA superstars, A.I. has always maintained an extremely down-to-Earth persona and the idea of passing something around with him is intriguing, to say the least.
What do you think of A.I.'s weed stories? Let us know in the comments.
[Via]