Allen Iverson is famous for a lot of things, his iconic handles, his elite scoring ability, his swagger, and his style off the court. But perhaps nothing is as iconic as his rant about practice from when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers. And while AI seemingly didn’t think that he needed to practice all the time back then, he has possibly since wondered about whether he could have worked more.
Iverson had a slight frame and considering that he was only 6’0, he didn’t have the physicality to make life easier for him. AI still got buckets at a historic pace but the possibility of a slightly stronger Iverson in his prime is an interesting one. And while Iverson entertains the possibility, he does acknowledge that he did a lot to reach the level he ended up reaching in the first place.
“What if I woulda lift weights? What if I woulda dedicated myself more? But, I did a lot. I dedicated myself a lot to be who I am. I did a lot.”
There is no chance that a player can be among the Top 75 players in NBA history without working on their game to a point of exhaustion. Iverson worked his heart out and left even more on the court when he was single-handedly leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals.
However, this humility is nothing new for Iverson. A desire to be the best also exists among the greatest of them all, so it makes sense for him to wonder if he could have done more. And AI has always been real, this is the same man that said Kobe Bryant should have been picked over him in the 1996 draft. While these ‘ifs and buts’ are fun to imagine, the fact remains that even with just what he managed to achieve, Iverson will go down as one of the most legendary players in the history of the game.
