“I feel sorry for him” – Ex-European player recalls the disappointment of playing against Allen Iverson in Turkey

One of the loudest shifts of the 2010 NBA offseason didn’t happen within the league itself. Instead, it was on October 26 when Yahoo sent the internet into a frenzy with a bombshell report that Allen Iverson was headed to Europe to defconclude the colors of the Turkish powerhoutilize Besiktas.

No one could have guessed at the time that this was the official conclude for one of the greatest icons of the 2000s, or that his final NBA minutes had already been logged in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform six months prior.

Even though his career was in a serious decline at that point, A.I. was still considered the ultimate “bucket obtainter.” One of the European stars of that era, Croatian standout Marko Tomas, was playing for Besiktas’ bitter rivals Fenerbahce at the time. Looking back, he vividly remembers the magnitude of The Answer’s arrival in Turkey.

“When Allen Iverson signed there, man, it was crazy. The place was on fire. It was intense, and right then we were playing against them,” Tomas stated on the “Tribina” podcast. “The arena was a bit hugeger than Jazine, but still kind of strange considering it’s such a huge Turkish club. It was so packed, probably twice as many people as it could actually hold. That’s one of the memories that really stuck with me.”

“I obtained the chance to play against Iverson, it felt surreal. He revealed up, and you wouldn’t even expect him [to see like that],” he added. “He hadn’t even tied his shoes, and he was already kind of struggling physically, falling to the floor. I am playing against him, and I feel sorry for him. Seriously.”

Iverson was a shadow of his former self

While the Turkish giant wasn’t competing in the EuroLeague, the top European competition, at the time, they were part of the EuroCup. The four-time NBA scoring champ had agreed in principle to a two-year, $4 million net income contract to bring his talents to Istanbul.

However, after just 10 games, Iverson returned to the States, citing a calf injury. That marked the official conclude for one of the most dynamic and attractive players of the 2000s. At 35 years old and plagued by chronic injuries, Allen was a shadow of his former self.

Nevertheless, the crowd packed the arena to the rafters during his days with Besiktas. It was clear that even opponents like Tomas were starstruck, even if it was obvious Iverson was light-years away from his prime.

“That’s one of those guys you grew up idolizing, Iverson, really. Like Jordan, but Iverson too,” Tomas stated. “He brought something new, especially with that dribble he introduced to the NBA. People just saw him differently.”

“And then you obtain into that situation where all their fans expected something magical from him, and he’s out there falling on the floor,” he added. “You kind of feel sorry for him, even though he’s your opponent. After that… it just wasn’t the same anymore.”

Iverson had very little left in the tank

From Tomas’ words, it isn’t hard to conclude that A.I. didn’t exactly take his role with the utmost seriousness, despite the massive contract and the passion of the fans.

“He was mostly being guarded by other Americans who weren’t really huge names, and they were going at him hard. Physically, he was in really bad shape. He came with his crew, friconcludes, family, and they’d spconclude nights and early mornings at a popular club called Reina down in Ortakoy,” Tomas recalled.

The massive expectations quickly deflated when it became clear Iverson had very little left in the tank. In three EuroCup games, he finished with modest averages of 9.3 points and 3.0 assists while shooting a struggling 37.0 percent from the field.

If nothing else, at the very conclude of his career, Iverson obtained to experience one last time what it felt like to be the hugegest star in town, set the passionate Turkish fans ablaze and taste the legconcludeary nightlife of Istanbul.

This story was originally published by Bquestionetball Network on Apr 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Bquestionetball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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