Allen Iverson Mourns the Death of His Mentor John Thompson Jr with a Heartfelt Tribute

Former basketball player Allen Iverson joins several others to pay tribute to the legendary basketball coach, John Thompson Jr. who recently passed away.

Following the death of former Georgetown Hoyas basketball coach John Thompson Jr., former professional basketball player Allen Iverson took to Instagram to mourn his friend and mentor's death. Sharing throwback photos of them together, Iverson captioned:

"Thanks For Saving My Life Coach. I'm going to miss you, but I'm sure that you are looking down on us with a big smile."

The heartwarming caption continued, expressing how much the former basketball player wished he could hear his coach's voice one last time and talk about basketball with him.

He hoped that the late Thompson would rest in paradise where there would be neither pain nor suffering. Iverson would always see the late coach's face in his mind and hoped that he would make him proud.

The caption accompanied three photos of Iverson and the late Thompson, all of which showed the coach encouraging the younger man while on the court.

Iverson's touching tribute had his fans emotional, sharing sweet words about the late coach and joining Iverson in mourning the loss.

Iverson's tribute came amid many other tributes from celebrities alike who got the chance to meet with the great coach. Sportscaster Ernie Johnson Jr. made a huge gesture in honor of the late coach.

The late Thompson was known for always having his trademark towel slung over a shoulder while coaching the Hoyas. Johnson gave out towels to his fellow hosts on "Inside the NBA" in honor of the legendary coach. NBA on TNT shared a clip of the co-hosts and their towels on Twitter:

"The Inside guys pay tribute to legendary coach John Thompson."

That episode of the show also dedicated a tribute video to the late coach, mentioning all the great things he did and the characters he had. The video also explained the great impact he had on several people's lives.

The official Twitter account of the Georgetown Hoops first announced the news of Thompson's passing when they released the official statement made by the family of the late basketball coach on August 31.

The touching statement had the coach's fans tearing up in the comments section and offering their best wishes to the family as they mourn their loss.

Thompson passed away at the age of 81 after living an incredible life of purpose and impact. The late legend was Georgetown's coach from 1972 to 1999. In 1976, he was the assistant coach for the country's team.

In 1988, he became the head coach of the basketball team that went on to play in the Seoul Olympics. They came back home with the bronze medal.

Four years before the Seoul Olympics, he made history as the first Black coach ever to snag a national title in college basketball. He brought home the NCAA men's basketball championship, marking a victorious time in history for Black people.

In an interview with ESPN, the coach showed how genuinely humble he was. He said that although he was wildly happy about his win, he was still sad because that reminded him of how much Black people had been held back from a lot of things for so many years.

Coach Thompson was a legendary man, and even though he might not be here to guide younger people to greatness, his legacy lives on his stead, continuing to impact people.