Shaquille O’Neal is many things: a four-time NBA championship-winning basketball player, sports analyst, entrepreneur, DJ, actor, and most recently, a film and television producer. Under his production company Jersey Legends, a division of Authentic Studios, Shaq has been the creative and business powerhouse behind films such as “Shaq,” the Sports Emmy-nominated HBO documentary series and the Oscar-winning short documentary “The Queen of Basketball.” His latest project is the three-part documentary series “Allen Iv3rson,” which will be released on October 23rd on Amazon Prime.
A new doc tells the story of Allen Iverson, an NBA point and shooting guard who played in the league from 1996 to 2010, most prominently with the Philadelphia 76ers and wore the number 3 jersey. He was an 11-time NBA All-Star, four-time NBA leading scorer, and won the league’s MVP award in 2001. In 2016, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Iverson’s story only includes what happened on the court.
Iverson grew up in Hampton, Virginia. He was a star athlete in high school, playing AAU basketball and winning the 17-and-under national championship in 1992. But in 1993, Iverson was accused of starting a fight at a bowling alley in Hampton. He was arrested, tried as an adult, and convicted on the vague charge of “mob assault.” Of the many people involved in the brawl, only Iverson and three other black men were convicted. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, suspended for 10 years, but the conviction was overturned four months later due to insufficient evidence.
After his release, Iverson graduated from high school and was scouted as a basketball player by Georgetown University, where he attended for two years before dropping out as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. Throughout his illustrious career, he made an impact on and off the court. With his unabashed cornrows and tattoos, and his offseason rap music, he became a force for change in basketball culture.
Iverson and Shaq were rivals on the court, but now they are business partners at Authentic. Shaq serves as president of Reebok Basketball, and Iverson serves as vice president. The two starred together in the Jersey Legend Netflix documentary “Power Moves” earlier this year. And now Iverson is taking center stage, sharing his story in his own words with “Allen Iv3rson.”
The series will be directed by One9 (The Iceman, The Time Is Illmatic) and produced by Stephen Curry’s Unanimous and Jersey Legends.
“A core part of Shaquille’s business vision was to build a production company that could create content he was truly passionate about. ‘Iv3rson’ represents that approach, allowing Shaquille to lead the development, production and marketing of projects that are not the primary subject matter,” said Colin Smeaton, president of Authentic Studios. “Shaquille has fully embraced his role as a producer as we expand our development plans for Jersey Legends, and networks and streaming platforms are eager to see what he creates next.”
Shaq spoke to Variety about his relationship with Iverson and the path that led to this latest project.
First of all, when did you first meet Allen Iverson and what was your first impression of him?
I met him in the NBA. I didn’t know much about him in college, but we played against him in a preseason game. He and Nick Van Exel were going back and forth and I knew he had something. I knew he was going to be great. And of course, I followed his career and we happened to meet at the All-Star Game and we just became good friends. He was a fierce competitor who changed the culture. The reason you see people doing certain things today is because he did it and took all the bad press for it. Before we came in, no one had tattoos, no one had braids, and no one wore a lot of jewelry. He did it, took the brunt of what it entailed, and endured it all. And now everyone is doing it.
At what point in your relationship with Iverson did you envision making a documentary about his story?
I wanted to tell a real story. When it comes to celebrity, a lot of people don’t get to tell their stories. In some cases, other people can tell your story or draw what they like. Oftentimes, if you’re famous, someone will tell you an incredible story. So I just had a conversation with him. I said, “Hey, we want to hear from you. We want you to tell your story. We don’t want anyone else to tell it.” He’s a very quiet and mysterious guy, so we needed to have that conversation. And since we were good friends, he believed in me and put me in charge of his production company.
What was it like working with Stephen Curry and his company Unanimous on this project?
Everything was good. There is a saying in our world: “Everyone can eat.” Steph can bring something to the table, his company can bring something, I can bring something too.
What about your director? How did you end up at One9?
I’ve been in this industry for so long that I know who’s who. One9 is edgy and creative, so we didn’t want something boring. We wanted someone to be a part of it and show us something we’ve never seen before.
What role did you play when the project was developed and cameras started rolling?
I’m the president, so my role is to supervise everyone and make sure they do what they’re supposed to do. When you become president, you need to delegate well. The first thing we did was adopt One9. The second thing we did was bring in Steph’s people. The third thing we did was discuss how to proceed. I’m not behind the camera. I don’t do the sound or write the script or anything like that, but my partner and I were able to help each other, delegate, find the right people, and make this the best project ever.
And how did this series end up on Amazon?
In our world, when you have an idea, you go and present it to people, and the people who adopt it adopt it. Now, I’ve been in many meetings where the person you’re proposing to isn’t interested or heading in the same direction. In those cases, you need to do something else. But when we suggested this meeting, they were so impressed that they told us not to attend any other meetings.
What do you want viewers to take away from this documentary? How is Iverson’s story different from other coverage we’ve received in the past?
We just want people to see the real person. People want celebrities to be perfect, but perfection is in the eye of the beholder. Allen Iverson is perfect as Allen Iverson, and that’s all that matters. That’s why he was able to endure all the hardships he went through and still be inducted into the Hall of Fame. You have to be who you are. A lot of times in our industry they want us to do things a certain way, but Allen has always stood out. He’s going to do it his way.
