Allen Iverson continues to defy the odds — this time, not on the basketball court, but in life. The NBA icon recently opened up about one of his most transformative personal victories: getting sober.
“One of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life was to stop drinking,” Iverson told CBS Evening News co-anchor Maurice DuBois.
Iverson appeared on the show to promote his new memoir, Misunderstood, a deeply personal reflection on his childhood in Virginia, his rise to NBA superstardom, and the cultural legacy he helped shape both on and off the court.
The former Philadelphia 76ers star revealed that he has been sober for six months — a milestone that has brought him peace, clarity, and renewed purpose.
Allen Iverson throughout his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, and Memphis Grizzlies; Photo Credit: Getty Images
“When you get drunk, you’re not how you usually are,” Iverson said. “The more and more I see it on other people, the more and more it makes me happy about the decision. And the more and more I see how the people around me appreciate it, I love it.”
According to Brown University Health, sobriety provides a range of benefits, including sharper mental clarity, improved physical health, emotional balance, and a higher overall quality of life — outcomes Iverson says he’s now experiencing firsthand.
For the 11-time NBA All-Star, this new chapter has also inspired personal healing. Sobriety, he shared, has given him space to reflect on past mistakes and reconnect with his longtime love, Tawanna Turner, his high school sweetheart and ex-wife. The couple divorced in 2013 after years of ups and downs.
“It was self-inflicted,” Iverson admitted in an earlier interview with Stephen A. Smith on First Take. “But when Tawanna divorced me, that’s when I knew I hit my lowest point and it was time for some deep, self re-evaluation.”
He added, “You know what I mean? [She’s] my number one. Obviously we’ve been together over, well, 35 years. If you hang in there that long, it takes a lot to want to go.”
In Misunderstood, Iverson promises fans an unfiltered look at his journey — the triumphs, the pain, and the lessons learned. “In this book, you’re hearing it from the horse’s mouth,” he told DuBois. “You think you know, but you have no idea.”
“There’s a lot of things that people have said about me throughout my career. A lot of those things hurt. Calling me a thug, when I know I’m not. Judging me off of a look. I think that was one of the toughest things I really had to deal with,” Iverson highlighted in his new book.
Beyond the memoir, Iverson’s story will continue on screen. He has a new documentary coming to Amazon Prime, set to premiere October 23rd. His documentary, Allen Iv3rson, is produced by NBA stars Stephen Curry and Shaquille O’Neal alongside Erick Peyton, Colin Smeeton, Mike Parris, and One9.
