It wasn’t just his love and fondness for football that brought Allen Iverson to the recent HBCU game. He arrived right on time to watch his hometown Hampton team battle longtime rivals Morgan State. Throughout his basketball career, Iverson received tremendous support from his hometown. This appearance might have been his way of reciprocating that love.

The official X page of Hampton shared a snap of the NBA legend with the followers. It was captioned, “VA’s finest, NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, was in the building on Saturday.”

While the team had the blessings of the former quarterback for Bethel High School’s football team, who led them to Virginia state championships, the Pirates weren’t fortunate. They were handed a 30-28 defeat by Morgan State, which had an impressive offensive game. 

Iverson was of course a part of the Bethel High School’s basketball team. Apart from his football triumphs, AI had also led the program to a championship victory as well. Born, raised, and excelled in Hampton, the former shooting guard shares a connection with the people. 

But not all were good memories. The 11x NBA All-Star has experienced some tough times here as well. In 1993, he got involved in a bowling alley altercation which was followed by his arrest as well as 4 months in prison. He was just 17 at the time. But the people of his hometown never left his side. 

Allen Iverson keeps showing love to Hampton, Virginia

Hampton native director Steve James who is famous for ‘Hoop Dreams,’ also made the documentary ‘No Crossover.’ The documentary explored the town’s admiration for the athlete and the incident that saw the people of the town stand in his support. 

The Philadelphia 76ers legend did not participate in the ESPN documentary. But he has remained connected to his hometown. For the 8th edition of the Roundball Classic, Iverson brought the event to Bethel High School, where Iverson’s passion for the sport first took root.

Speaking of the long-awaited that event finally happened this year, the Philadelphia 76ers legend said, “To be able to have the opportunity to help, you know. It’s something for my community. To do as much as I can to help, like my community did for me.”

The opening day featured big names like Darrius Miles, Stephen Jackson, Tim Thomas, and more. Iverson’s former high school teammate, Joe Smith, also made a surprise appearance. After all these years, Hampton’s admiration for Iverson remains unshakable.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.