Allen Iverson is facing some heat from down under.
Iverson was the headliner for HoopsFest, an event organized by the National Basketball League in Perth, Australia from Jan. 15–18. But several current and former Australian professional basketball players claim Iverson was a “difficult” guest.
NBL veteran Jason Cadee called Iverson’s NBL appearance a “shit show,” saying the 11-time NBA All-Star was constantly late to events and didn’t speak much.
“First interview they asked him how Australia was or something and he just laughed, said ‘I haven’t left my room,” Cadee said Monday on his podcast Cut to the Jase. “I just felt it was really disappointing from someone that I really looked up to and I know a lot of people have.”
Two-time NBL MVP Chris Anstey, who played three years in the NBA for the Mavericks and Bulls, said Iverson also no-showed a fan event in Perth filled with children, including some who flew five hours from Sydney.
“Really good-looking event … Kids have flown in from Sydney, come from everywhere. Only one problem: Iverson didn’t turn up. Really really really disappointed for the kids including my young fellow who was reasonably distraught,” Anstey wrote Friday on Instagram.
Andrew Bogut, an Australian basketball legend and former Warriors center also called out the NBL for working with the former NBA MVP. “Hopefully the @NBL learns from jumping on any big name that comes to Australia for a cash grab. This is not the first time,” Bogut wrote.
Cadee said Iverson was already booked to come to Australia, and that the NBL worked to bring him to HoopsFest after getting wind that he was already headed to the country. It’s unclear which organization was the first to coordinate with Iverson. The NBL declined comment.
The NBL has brought other NBA stars to events in recent years. Carmelo Anthony headlined HoopsFest in September 2024, while Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were in attendance for the NBA x NBL Melbourne Series preseason games in October.
Cadee said Anthony went out of his way to talk to him and his NBL teammates during a practice. He said Garnett, and Allen were the “easiest people to approach and say hello to.”
A Reddit user also claimed that Iverson attended another charity event for kids battling cancer in Melbourne, which is about a four-hour flight from Perth, on Jan. 22. The user said Iverson did not speak to the kids or sign any merchandise. He took photos with the children, but kept “his hands in his pockets and did not smile.”
“One of the familys drove 6 and a half hours to meet him, and the kids where so extremely sad in the end. He seemed to think he was better than everyone else, and it was obvious he did not want to have anything to do with a group of sick kids. As parents and siblings of children with life threatening diseases, we are deeply disappointed in Allen Iversons actions and he needs to do better,” the Reddit poster wrote.
Bogut shared the Reddit post on X, calling Iverson an “absolute shit human.”
Challenge, the organizer of the charity event, told Front Office Sports that the organization “was deeply disappointed with the meet and greet involving Allen Iverson. There was nothing further we could have done as an organisation to improve the experience and, despite working diligently on the day to manage a challenging and at times disrespectful approach from his management team, we believe Allen Iverson ultimately let down the children and families who came to meet him.”
