Allen Iverson Changed Basketball Culture

(Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers)

No question, Allen Iverson brought hiphop to basketball, and took a heck of a lashing for it. Iverson ushered in an era in the NBA that did not rub the white-collar executives the right way. Iversons cornrowed hair and countless tattoos brought an aggressive hiphop culture to the game of basketball. His image alone had him labeled as a rebel and an outlaw because at the time, only the suspect dressed the way AI(Allen Iverson) dressed.                                                                

Mind you, This was the style in hiphop at the time

Let's face it, real NBA fans know it, Iverson fans know it, and Iverson himself had said it; Allen Iverson made the cornrows, tattoos, and baggy clothes acceptable. He came along and took the stabs and lashes to make it okay for everyone to dress in a hiphop fashion in peace. Like I said before, prior to Iverson bringing the fashion to basketball, only the rebels, outlaws, convicts, and suspects were expected to dress the way Iverson did. Since Iverson made it okay, not only are the suspects wearing cornrows and tattoos, but now so are the arresting officers. Take a look at the NBA now, you can't even keep count of the amount of players you'll wearing a skin full of ink and hair in braids. In fact, part of the excitement of watching Iverson play was the anticipation of seeing what kind of design he will wear in his braids.

Many people will say, no you're wrong, Bowwow brought braids into hiphop and made it acceptable. Don't take my word for it though, it won't take much research to find that Bowwow admits that Iverson was his favourite player and idol, the reason he has braids, the reason he played basketball, and the reason he chooses number 3 (Seen in image above). Interesting to note, Bowwow was actually the #1 middle school prospect in America in his time.