Ten years ago today, Allen Iverson didn't want to talk about practice...

[blacklion23]

This still cracks me up til this day.

Iverson is still one my favorite players of all.

 

[ill legal operation]

Originally Posted by Cronicmolemolereturns

My favorite player ever.. but that last line in the video sums up where he is now " How the hell can I make my team better by practicing"

Co-sign on everything, but I'd still rather be his teammate than Jordan's though...

 

[fullmetal]

This joint slaps 

 

[CosmicGhostRider]

Originally Posted by FullMetal

   

This joint slaps�

Yes!!!

The Bears are WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!
  

 

[gangsta207therevolution]

It was true though. If Iverson wasnt practicing to be in shape there was no point to his practicing.

 

[antidope]

Originally Posted by FullMetal



This joint slaps�

Sad that this wasn't on page one, where it should have been. 
That AI rant was Legen... wait for it.

DARY

 

[black entourage inc]

Vid is Funny and Sad at the same time. Worst part is at about the 0:50 mark....he thinks they're laughing with him, when in reality they're laughing at him

 

[Peep Game]

Originally Posted by DMan14

remember the outrage when he was about to drop 40 bars lol

Yo, I thought 40 Bars was pretty dope, especially compared to the other athletes who tried to rap

 

[airmaxpenny1]

I love AI but the more I watch videos like these that I though were great when I was younger, the more I see how misguided dude was...
Dude really asked how can he make his teammates better though practice?

 

[freakydestroyer]

Originally Posted by Peep Game

Originally Posted by DMan14

remember the outrage when he was about to drop 40 bars lol

Yo, I thought 40 Bars was pretty dope, especially compared to the other athletes who tried to rap

 

[sonoftony]

i wonder what he'd give to practice with a team?

 

[mr jordan04]

 

[savraj1]

Originally Posted by Cronicmolemolereturns

My favorite player ever.. but that last line in the video sums up where he is now " How the hell can I make my team better by practicing"

Yes, he had no supporting cast. It was just a one man team. 

 

[mjdalegend]

dude's swag at that time was off the chart. 

 

[shuges]

Thanks for tha transcript ybd.


The sad thing is that the "practice" part is all anyone talks about and remembers. But the conference as a whole was pretty revealing. Dude was hurting emotionally, that's all.

 

[finallyfamous]

Originally Posted by KingZarus

Bet he wishes he was practicing on an NBA team now..

Damn

 

[ruxxx]

Originally Posted by Mr Jordan04

I remember this +@%@ like it was yesterday.

 

[putting in work]

Lol dude straight didn't give a damn about anything or anyone.

 

[snaggykicks]

classic

 

[651akathepaul]

I usually hate these types of me, me, me displays, but I think Iverson is where he is today because of this attitude. It came back on him so I won't judge. However, AI is the man. I respect him most for his competitive fire and that unmatched skill.

 

[Peep Game]

Originally Posted by Ruxxx

Originally Posted by Mr Jordan04

I remember this +@%@ like it was yesterday.

For real

 I remember ROLLIN like "

No he didn't just do that!!"

 

[the natural mystic]

Yea look where is at now. Dude had all the talent in the world.

 

[kdawg]

Originally Posted by airmaxpenny1

I love AI but the more I watch videos like these that I though were great when I was younger, the more I see how misguided dude was...
Dude really asked how can he make his teammates better though practice?

Yeah, this whole episode is sad - the guy had so much talent and just couldn't see how he was hurting his team. He basically blamed his teammates for not being able to play with him and them made weird excuses about not lifting weights or practicing shooting. He could have been so much. It feels weird saying that he wasted his talent when he was so good - but he could have been incredible.

 

[5am6oody72]

Originally Posted by you big dummy



For those that didn't know, that 2 minute soundbite was a small part of a 40 minute press conference, that I've been searching for years now.

Here's the transcript of the entire press conference



[font=helvetica,arial]
[/font]

WOW, thanks for posting that man. I have to say it's shame that the one soundbite about practice is all anybody will remember this for. He said a lot of revealing/insightful things there and they got completely brushed aside so everybody could make him look like a %%+!$*% that only bemoaned having to talk about practicing.

I sympathize with what he's saying; even though it's the media's job to ask him questions about his performance and what went wrong etc, at the end of the day he's still a human being with a job and a family just like anyone else. We all have days at work that don't end up going well and none of us have to answer to a media swarm about why we didn't land a certain project or why do we think our coworker said what he did about your working relationship etc Kids at school aren't asking our sons and daughters why we bombed our presentation and if we're gonna get fired. Especially after losing somebody close to him he probably was not in the mood to be dealing with people tearing him down at that time and just wanted to relax and spend time with friends and family.

Unfortunately instead of empathizing with his issues or attempting to understand his side of things, the media never really attempted to project the same issues they faced in their lives onto his. He was just a young black athlete that looked different than them and dressed like a thug and made millions of dollars, and never apologized for who he was or how he played. I think he understood that the criticism and questions came with the territory, but  he felt (and rightly so) that a lot of it was unwarranted given that he had taken a roster full of scrubs to the Finals the previous year and played his heart out every second he was on the floor. He was trying to make them understand that a multimillion dollar contract doesn't equip him and his family with an emotional shield that makes them impervious to excessive negativity, or make the loss of a close friend hurt any less. Of course nobody paid any mind to that, and instead clipped out all his mentions of practice into a 30 second clip that further perpetuates the selfish caricature they had made him out to be.

I don't think anyone would identify me as an AI "fan," though I appreciate him as a player. And he's ultimately responsible for the unfortunate spot he's in now, but it's just kinda sad IMO to see how the media can shape how we view an athlete/celebrity so easily. I'd never read any of that transcript before and I'd bet 99.5% of sports fans who know about the "Practice" press conference haven't either.

 

[koolbarbone]

Originally Posted by 5am6oody72

Originally Posted by you big dummy



For those that didn't know, that 2 minute soundbite was a small part of a 40 minute press conference, that I've been searching for years now.

Here's the transcript of the entire press conference



[font=helvetica,arial]
[/font]

WOW, thanks for posting that man. I have to say it's shame that the one soundbite about practice is all anybody will remember this for. He said a lot of revealing/insightful things there and they got completely brushed aside so everybody could make him look like a %%+!$*% that only bemoaned having to talk about practicing.

I sympathize with what he's saying; even though it's the media's job to ask him questions about his performance and what went wrong etc, at the end of the day he's still a human being with a job and a family just like anyone else. We all have days at work that don't end up going well and none of us have to answer to a media swarm about why we didn't land a certain project or why do we think our coworker said what he did about your working relationship etc Kids at school aren't asking our sons and daughters why we bombed our presentation and if we're gonna get fired. Especially after losing somebody close to him he probably was not in the mood to be dealing with people tearing him down at that time and just wanted to relax and spend time with friends and family.

Unfortunately instead of empathizing with his issues or attempting to understand his side of things, the media never really attempted to project the same issues they faced in their lives onto his. He was just a young black athlete that looked different than them and dressed like a thug and made millions of dollars, and never apologized for who he was or how he played. I think he understood that the criticism and questions came with the territory, but  he felt (and rightly so) that a lot of it was unwarranted given that he had taken a roster full of scrubs to the Finals the previous year and played his heart out every second he was on the floor. He was trying to make them understand that a multimillion dollar contract doesn't equip him and his family with an emotional shield that makes them impervious to excessive negativity, or make the loss of a close friend hurt any less. Of course nobody paid any mind to that, and instead clipped out all his mentions of practice into a 30 second clip that further perpetuates the selfish caricature they had made him out to be.

I don't think anyone would identify me as an AI "fan," though I appreciate him as a player. And he's ultimately responsible for the unfortunate spot he's in now, but it's just kinda sad IMO to see how the media can shape how we view an athlete/celebrity so easily. I'd never read any of that transcript before and I'd bet 99.5% of sports fans who know about the "Practice" press conference haven't either.

If anything, the full transcript makes him look worse than the soundbite.