Iverson vowed to 'destroy' Lue in Game 1 of 2001 Finals

You probably remember when Allen Iverson hit Tyronn Lue with a nasty crossover, drilled a jumper over him, then infamously walked over the fallen defender.

New details about his motivation for that incident came to light Friday courtesy of a former teammate.

Aaron McKie played with Iverson for eight years on the Philadelphia 76ers, and was at the Staples Center on the fateful evening of June 6, 2001, when the Sixers took on Lue's Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Ahead of the 11-time All-Star's Hall of Fame induction, McKie, now 43, wrote about his "very good friend" Iverson for The Players' Tribune.

Allen is a student of the game. People don't understand that. Everyone knows Allen would read the newspaper, and that he and Phil Jasner, the Daily News columnist who was usually critical of him, had a special relationship. But Allen also studied the game, too. Allen read the comments - all the comments. He knew going into games which people had said they were going to stop him, and he'd have done his research on how to destroy them. He relished that. If you talked to the press about Allen before a game, that put a target on your back.

Take Game 1 of the Finals in 2001. Allen got all the pregame notes and clips, read how different guys were playing and what they were saying about him. He knew what to prepare for. He knew that the Lakers were going to use Tyronn Lue to try to shut him down. Allen took exception to that sort of thing. He'd say, "You know what? I'm going to destroy this motherfucker."

And boy, did he ever.

Iverson finished with 48 points, six assists, five steals, and five rebounds, carrying his squad to a 107-101 win.

It proved to be Philly's only triumph in the series, however. Lue got the last laugh, winning his only championship as a player. He picked up his first as a coach this past season.