Synopses & Reviews
Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson was once one of America’s most famous athletes: a trendsetter who transcended race, celebrity, and pop culture, and emerged from a troubled past to become one of the most successful and highly compensated athletes in the world. Now, his life and career comes vividly to light in this hard-hitting biography that examines what drove his successes and failures.
Through extensive research and interviews with those closest to Iverson, acclaimed Washington Post sportswriter Kent Babb gets behind the familiar, sanitized, and heroic version of Iverson—the hard-charging, hard-partying athlete who played every game as if it were his last. Babb brings to life a private, loyal, and often generous Allen Iverson who rarely made the headlines, revealing the back story behind some of Iverson’s most memorable moments, such as his infamous “Practice” rant, delving even deeper to discover where Iverson’s demons lurked. He drank too much, stayed out too late, spent more money than most people could spend in a dozen lifetimes—blowing more than $150 million of his NBA earnings alone. His then wife Tawanna, seen often as the mild-mannered woman who tamed the bad boy, tried to keep her husband and family on the rails. But she was no match, as so many others learned on basketball courts, for the force of nature that Iverson was—jealousy, meanness, and a restlessness eventually wearing down even his biggest fan, teammate, and, eventually, his most formidable opponent.
Over time, Iverson himself had come to believe his own hype: that he lived in a world where celebrity is eternal and riches are everlasting. He was about that life even when he was no longer the fastest man on the court, as endorsement deals and long-term contracts became a thing of the past. Some in his inner circle saw the writing on the wall and encouraged Iverson to embrace life beyond basketball. But instead, he remained in denial.
Not a Game is an impeccably researched, sometimes uncomfortable look at the factors that led to the rise and fall of a basketball superstar. In doing so, it illuminates the dark side of our modern day, multi-billion dollar sports and entertainment culture in which talented players are disposable and all too often success and tragedy wear the same number.
Review
"A searingly honest and intimate portrait of a captivating icon, but also a cautionary tale for any young star. Kent Babb captures the complexity of Allen Iverson from all angles in a fascinating must-read for all sports fans."
Review
“Babb’s thorough storytelling empathetically ebbs and flows between Iverson’s trials and triumphs, connecting the dots while taking the reader on an emotional truth-seeking ride of nostalgia, hope, and exasperation . . . . Not a Game is engrossing and definitely to be read and discussed.”
Review
“Allen Iverson’s is a life unfathomable to most. With Not a Game, Kent Babb questions the enigma that is The Answer, taking readers into a world most don’t know — and, quite frankly, most don’t want to know — exists in America.”
Review
"For better or worse, Allen Iverson has the uncompromising "my way" persona. Kent Babb eloquently, and at times poignantly, captures Iverson's swagger—raw and flawed, regal yet real."
Review
“Allen Iverson was impossible to ignore, a one man hurricane, on the court and off; equal parts dynamic and depressing. With Not a Game Kent Babb brilliantly tells his story and it's a tour de force like AI himself.”
Review
“This is more than just great sports writing, this is writing at its best. Babb strips away the public persona of iconic superstar Allen Iverson to tell a stunning story of triumph, tribulation and ultimate tragedy. It’s a must-read about a complex hero who had it all for too short a time.”
Synopsis
Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson—one of basketball’s most controversial and enigmatic figures—comes vividly to light in this hard-hitting biography that examines what drove his successes and failures.
Nothing could stop Allen Iverson’s rise—not trends or rules. The only thing that could stop him was himself.
Not a Game is not a sanitized, skim-the-surface version of the Iverson story. This fascinating biography doesn’t ignore his flaws, or the reality that if a sports hero is good at his job, no one pays much attention to warning signs off the court. Not a Game truthfully looks at the things that made Allen Iverson great—but also made him difficult to like and impossible to ignore.
Through extensive research and interviews, Washington Post sports writer Kent Babb shows a rarely seen side of one of America’s most famous athletes. From his high school years through the present day, first-hand accounts reveal Iverson’s true character from those who know him best: the people who played basketball with him, who coached him, who signed him to monster contracts—all the while ignoring signs of deeper problems. They are the people who saw him daily, ignoring his hangovers and staying quiet about how late he’d been out the night before, how much money he’d spent, or what he had said or done to Tawanna, his ex-wife and the mother of his children. And throughout this fascinating biography, Babb explores not only Iverson but a nation so enraptured with sports that it regards deeply flawed superstars as heroes.
Not a Game shines a spotlight on the factors that led to Iverson’s spectacular rise as a professional basketball player and the troubling circumstances that plagued him throughout his career and after. But above all, it examines Allen Iverson as the man who had a heart and drive so powerful, he kept us mesmerized and cheering for him no matter what.
About the Author
Kent Babb is a Sports Enterprise Writer at The Washington Post, which he joined in October 2012. His work was included in the 2013 edition of The Best American Sports Writing, and his long-form journalism has been honored eight times by the Associated Press Sports Editors, including first place in feature writing in 2005 and 2010.