Allen Iverson is one of the greatest point guards that the NBA has ever seen. His flashy play style, sharp crossovers, and ‘unbothered’ attitude made him one of the most popular players in the league during his time. However, he always had a bad relationship with the NBA officials and executives for more reasons than one. 

In a recent interview, a former NBA referee shares the story of when he took revenge for his colleague who once received a death threat from Iverson.

Former NBA Referee’s Vendetta

In a recent YouTube interview with “djvlad”, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy talks about how he once, along with other NBA officials, gave Allen Iverson a tough time during a game. He says, “Iverson had some history with Steve Javie and they had some issues going back and forth the last couple of games he had officiated. Last game, Iverson had threatened Javie that he was going to kill him.”

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He further explains, “We as an officiating staff felt like Iverson should have been suspended but they didn’t, they just fined him. So I had the next game he was playing in and the three of us officiated that game and came to the conclusion that we were going to try sticking it to him, by calling palming violations on him, something he did every night but was let go.”

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The retired NBA referee then states how each one of them called a palming violation on Iverson that night. “We went out and each of us called one on him.”

Tim Donaghy then says, “He got the message so he came up to me during a free throw and asked how long ‘it’ was going to last. He knew he was going to have some issues going on but I acted like I didn’t know what he was talking about. And looked at him and laughed and he laughed. He shook his head and was smart enough to know what was going on.”

He also said that they didn’t give him any other calls and just let him get roughed up even when it was a foul.

Allen Iverson’s history with the NBA referees

Allen Iverson was for some time the ‘face’ of the NBA. Many wanted to be like him and he was extremely popular for his nonchalant style off the court as well. He had tattoos, wore expensive jewelry and flashy clothes, and represented the ‘hood’ culture in the most stylish way.

However, the NBA, at the time, was trying to maintain its image as a safe and professional organization, especially after the ‘Malice in the Palace’ fiasco. Even so, Allen Iverson just did not care for the NBA dress code (suit and tie) or any other rules like that. When Iverson was the face of the league, he did what he wanted to. It did not matter what the league said. He did not dance for the camera before games, did not market the NBA, made gangster rap albums, and skipped practice, but always gave it his all, every night he played in the official games.

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What are your thoughts on Tim Donaghy’s revenge story? Let us know in the comments below!