How NBA basketball legend Allen Iverson rebuilt his fortune: he blew US$200 million on jewellery, nights out, Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Maybachs – but has turned things around thanks to Reebok

May 20 , 2024

Allen Iverson, NBA star and entrepreneur, in his pre-2012 heyday (left) and now. Photos: AP, @theofficialai3/Instagram

Iverson is slowly rebuilding his fortune after blowing millions at the height of his fame; he was known for dropping thousands in strip clubs and supporting a 50-strong entourage

The reformed star said he’s had to ‘learn the hard way’ how to rebuild his fortune off the court, and is now Reebok’s vice-president of basketball alongside Shaquille O’Neal

From riches to rags to finding his way to a new fortune once more, US basketball legend Allen Iverson has done what many NBA players who spent their accumulated fortunes before retirement couldn’t – he made a comeback.

Allen Iverson was one of the NBA’s most successful players in the 2000s. Photo: @theofficialai3/Instagram

With an illustrious career that saw him named MVP (most valuable player) in 2001 and 2005; selected three times as an All-NBA First-Teamer (an honour bestowed on the best players in the league each season); and 11-time NBA All-Star, Iverson was one of the 2000s’ most successful players. He played for four teams – the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers – banking US$200 million throughout his 14 seasons in the NBA, including money from his NBA salary and a lifelong deal with Reebok, according to Fox Sports.

Allen Iverson with Reebok colleague and fellow former All Star Shaquille O’Neal. Photo: @theofficialai3/Instagram

Despite the huge earnings, the basketballer was broke by the time he retired in 2012, according to The Washington Post. The paper revealed that at that time Iverson told his then wife Tawanna Turner during divorce proceedings that he didn’t even have enough money in his bank account for a cheeseburger.

Reebok’s Allen Iverson-edition The Answer IV basketball footwear, launched in April 2022. Photo: @theofficialai3/Instagram

His spending habits were so out of control – dropping mega bucks on everything from fashion and jewellery to dinners and nights out – that even his lifetime deal with Reebok that paid the star US$800,000 a year reportedly did little to help. He also had more than 10 luxury cars in his collection including a Lamborghini Murcielago, a Mercedes Maybach 57S and a Bentley Continental GT.

Allen Iverson would spend US$30-40,000 per night in strip clubs. Photo: @theofficialai3/Instagram

He was famously generous to his friends, giving away one of his Bentleys to teammate Larry Hughes on a whim, and supporting a crew of as many as 50 people at one point, according to Fox Sports.

Teammate Matt Barnes also told Sports Illustrated that Iverson would habitually drop tens of thousands of dollars at strip clubs. “He’d throw US$30,000, US$40,000 every time we went,” Barnes recounted. “I’m like, ‘You realise what I can do with this money?’”

But Iverson’s lifestyle was so extravagant that even he couldn’t keep up with it. In 2012, two years after playing his final season in the NBA with the 76ers, the star filed for bankruptcy after defaulting on a payment of close to a million dollars for some customised jewellery, per Fox.