Seattle ? As a younger man, Allen Iverson saw gun violence claim the life of one of his best friends. Even today, as a millionaire NBA player, he is aware of the chilling effect of guns on the city of Philadelphia.

Which is why once he read the story of Kevin Johnson, a southwest Philadelphia man who was shot in 2003 and left a quadriplegic by an assailant who demanded that he give up the Iverson jersey he was wearing, he felt he had to do something.

Iverson will pay for the funeral of Johnson, 22, who died at 4:40 a.m. Tuesday after his mother, Janice Jackson-Burke, removed him from life support.

“She just told me how much he loved me and how much he loved the Sixers and that she really appreciated it,” Iverson said Wednesday night, before the 76ers’ game against the Seattle SuperSonics, in his first public comment on the situation. “It was just sad to see that she had to say goodbye to her son.”

Iverson said she invited him to her son’s funeral, which is Wednesday, but the Sixers will be in Milwaukee that day.

Johnson was seriously injured in 2003 after he was approached by five teens, one of whom shot him in the neck. He became an inspirational figure, speaking to schools and at rallies advising people to stay away from guns. He forgave his attackers.

However, Johnson suffered irreparable brain damage last weekend after his breathing machine failed. His mother decided to take him off life support.

Iverson said once he saw Johnson’s story in the newspaper, he felt he needed to do something. Aided by his wife, Tawanna, who found the hospital where Johnson lay critically ill, he got in contact with Jackson-Burke and spoke to her and Kevin’s aunt.

“They didn’t have the financial support to be able to have the funeral like they wanted,” he said. “So I spoke to her and asked them: Could I do anything to help?

“I didn’t want them to think I was trying to disrespect them by doing it for any publicity or anything like that. It was just something that touched me, and I felt I could do something to help. She appreciated it. I was just happy that she let me help.”

The 31-year-old Iverson said he recalled his best friend’s family’s not having the money for a funeral after he was killed by gun violence. That memory, coupled with his familiarity with the grim gun situation in Philadelphia, where 357 people have died this year, prompted him to take action.

“It’s just terrible what’s going on in Philadelphia,” he said. “I just kind of felt like I’ve got to do something more than I have been doing to try to help this situation as much as I can. If I could reach one person and take one death away, I think I’d be doing something. But it’s not right in Philadelphia right now.”

When asked about solutions to the problem, Iverson said it would take “a collective effort from a lot of people.”

“There’s a lot of good people trying to help the situation in Philadelphia,” he said.

“Sometimes you just get scared when you look at the paper, and every day there’s a death in there. You just feel blessed that nothing like that happens to somebody you know or your family and friends. But it happens to people, and that itself should touch you and should get your attention. It definitely has mine.”