It wasn’t easy being Allen Iverson, and the Philadelphia 76ers star made the world know of that fact in an epic response to dealing with the pressure of being an NBA MVP.
Iverson made headlines with his epic rant on May 7, 2002, when he addressed the media for the first time since the Sixers were dismantled by the Boston Celtics in a do-or-die Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs four days prior. What followed next was a substantial volley of words and one that showed how Iverson, at the end of the day, was a normal human being who felt emotions like everyone else.
“I can’t win ’em all. I’m human. I’m just like y’all, man, I’m just like you. I’m just like you. You might be a little better than me in your eyes or the people that love you, in their eyes, you might be a little better than me. But you are human, you are just like me, right? You just like me, you ain’t no different. You are just like me. You bleed just like I bleed, you cry just like I cry, and you hurt just like I hurt. I ain’t no different than you. I ain’t no different. But I’m Allen Iverson, I’m a basketball player, you know, I get some money to play basketball.”
The fact of the matter was simple: Expectations from a player or a franchise are fine as long as it doesn’t start putting the athlete under tremendous pressure to be a great day in and day out.
True that the legendary Iverson was a force, and he had an illustrious career in the NBA, but he was as human as he could get, and he minced no words when he said it. Perhaps, the modern-day stars and young rookies can take a lesson from his rant.
Allen Iverson Was A Rockstar In The NBA During His Playing Days
When Allen Iverson played, it was like Return of the Mack x AC/DC rolled into one. The comparisons aside, it was his skill and his dog that made him one of the more explosive players during his time.
And he was incredibly consistent at that. He had a decorated career-winning MVP in 2001. Iverson was also an eleven-time All-Star and made the 75th Anniversary team for his stellar achievements.
Consistency was one of the terms that could be rightly used to describe the 47-year-old as he averaged 26.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.6 APG over the course of his illustrious career. It’s of no surprise that he is regarded as one of the greatest scorers in the league to date.
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