As Allen Iverson approaches his 40th birthday, it seems we learn more and more about the future Hall of Fame player every day. With his Showtime documentary Iverson coming out a few weeks ago and journalist Kent Babb dropping Not a Game, a book on Iverson, there have been lots of tidbits coming out about certain details of his life.
When you think Iverson, you think Philadelphia, stepping over Tyronn Lue, and "practice." But there's always been a cloud of confusion over his infamous practice rant that occurred in 2002. Recently, a Bleacher Report piece revealed that Iverson had a clash with then-Sixers GM Billy King and coach Larry Brown before he went to speak to the media that day:
In 2002, he came within minutes of being traded. He met with Billy King and Larry Brown in a particularly tense meeting in King’s office. If the meeting didn’t go well, he was gone.
“They would have pulled the trigger,” says Iverson. “I knew it.”
He didn’t want to leave Philly. His anxiety was made worse when his kids would come home from school with messages from their friends asking Iverson not to leave the Sixers.
In the end, he would agree that he could work with Brown. Iverson asked to be a captain and promised to set a good example. Iverson says afterward, still stressed from the meeting and mourning the recent death of his best friend Rahsaan Langford, he got in his car and drove straight to the arena for what would become the infamous “Practice” press conference.
However, Babb spoke with Brown, and he believes that Iverson didn't drive straight to the arena. Brown believes that Iverson went to a bar and then showed up drunk for the "practice" rant.
Brown and Iverson argued b4 "Practice" rant, and AI disappeared for a few hours. Brown believes he went to a bar, returned very drunk.
— Kent Babb (@kentbabb) May 17, 2015
King also wanted to step in during the rant but didn't know how to end it without revealing that Iverson was drunk.
GM Billy King, who had the idea for a news conference, thought about jumping in and ending it but how to explain w/out saying he was intox
— Kent Babb (@kentbabb) May 17, 2015
Watch the press conference below. What do you think?
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via Uproxx]