Everybody knows the soundbite, but not everyone knows the weight behind it. Iverson’s press conference in May 2002 wasn’t just him clowning practice, it came just months after he lost his best friend Rahsaan Langford to gun violence. Add a playoff exit and constant tension with Larry Brown, and you see why he snapped when the media kept drilling him on missed practices.

When you watch the full clip, it feels less like a meme and more like a guy grieving, frustrated, and tired of being misunderstood. Do you think history did him dirty by turning that moment into a joke instead of recognizing it as raw emotion?

Read about that incident here:
https://sportsorca.com/nba/allen-iverson-practice-rant/

16 comments

  1. Yes the media made it into a joke. Anyone watching the actual press conference would see the context and weight behind what he was saying.

  2. I think it was misunderstood when it happened, however the loss of his friend was clarified on this decades ago as well.

  3. A lot of Gen-Z’ers watching the clip/meme now don’t understand the guy was just putting basketball in context of his friend losing his life and how to keep everything in perspective. Media’s been fuckin with A.I since high school smh.

  4. We knew and it was reported after. The media did not care and make it a thing. It was also the year were he was battling injuries nightly

  7. I think we should resist trying to “all or nothing” the takes about this incident. On the one hand, yes, what you describe is correct. AI was going through a lot, he wasn’t really in the mood to devote himself entirely to basketball, and that’s a pretty normal, human thing to go through. We’ve pretty much all half-assed our jobs in times of stress or trauma. We should be empathetic.

    At the same time, we’ve also all had to drag our asses to work when we didn’t want to. People with depression, anxiety, and health problems both mental and physical, all over the world, are pulling themselves together and pushing through, forcing themselves to get by because there is no other choice. And it is frustrating that people who are good at a silly sport get to duck all of that.

    I think both of these reactions have some merit and we should be mature enough to entertain them both.

  8. He was grieving but he was also just out drinking right before the press conference. It was yet another time Iverson chose alcohol over other more important commitments. 

  9. I love AI but I mean let’s be real here too. He was constantly missing practice before his best friend’s death too. They were trying way too late to start holding him accountable and he was mad about it. They were trying to do the extra things so they could get over the hump and win a title and he wasn’t into it. He played his ass off in games but never cared about practicing.

  13. I’ve been a Sixers fan since ’83 and I’ve resented Iverson for years for his ‘rant’. Meanwhile, my brother (Lakers fan) has been telling me I wasn’t paying attention to what went on. It took me until 5 years ago to finally listen to the whole session and I’m so pissed off that I allowed the media and Larry Brown to control that narrative. He was 100% justified to be frustrated with everything that season – and especially Brown. They took my dude’s personal pain and frustration and lampooned it to the point that it’s a sports meme.

    Disgusting.

  15. Real fans knew this what, 25 years ago. National media hated him n made it all wrong. Real fans knew what he dealt with. Real fans never hated on him cause of it.

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