The Loop
This Allen Iverson story reads like the setup to a great joke: A.I. and D-Wade walk into a casino . . .
Eliot J. Schechter
You've heard it 1,000 times before: A rabbi, a horse, and a fireman walk into a bar. Or was it a priest and Bigfoot? Was it even a bar? Honestly we've lost track. But one thing we won't forget is this iconic Allen Iverson story that Dwayne Wade told The Lefkoe Show this weekend. It begins with a very similar setup: A.I. and D-Wade walk into a casino . . .
What happens next is the stuff of legend.
Here's what D-Wade had to stay about the chance encounter in a Puerto Rico casino when he was just a rookie:
Eddie Jones was like "Yo, young fella, come with me." Eddie Jones was my veteran at the time. So I go with Eddie Jones and we got to one of tables Allen Iverson is sitting at. He knew Allen Iverson was one of my favorite players, so he wanted to introduce me . . . Iverson is gambling and I'm standing right there like this [leans in, stares at the camera] the whole time and he threw me a chip. He threw me a $1,000 chip and was like "yo, go play this young fella." So I played $500 and put the other $500 in my pocket because I ain't have money like that at the time.
A.I. was best know for claiming bodies, like that of Ty Lue . . .
. . . and Antonio Daniels . . .
. . . but it's good to hear stories of him giving NBA futures as well as taking them. As for D-Wade? Well, let's just say he took that $500 and made the most of it.