Allen Iverson had to go through a lot before he became an icon who got his flowers from players across the NBA. Long after his famous crossover on Michael Jordan, Iverson faced a lot of criticism from the league and the media for the way he dressed. Despite taking the 76ers to their only Finals appearance since their 1983 championship run in 2001, the former MVP was viewed differently than he is today.
In a recent interview with CBS on his press tour to promote his memoir, ‘Misunderstood,’ Iverson opened up on his true feelings about being deemed a ‘thug’ by the media and opened up on how they misinterpreted his “legendary” rant on practice that was a result of the media’s focus on the 76ers head coach criticizing Iverson for missing practice.
“There are a lot of things that people have said about me throughout my career. A lot of those things hurt,” said Iverson. “Calling me a thug when I know I’m not, judging me off of a look. I think that was one of the toughest things I really had to deal with,” the 76ers legend added when asked what hurt him the most.
But Iverson eventually realized the value of representing his own identity, and despite the league’s strict crackdown on fashion in 2005, he prided himself on dressing the way he did. As per the 2005 NBA Dress Code, the players were expected to show up in business casuals, and it banned items like large jewelry and durags from outfits.
“It was something that the NBA had never seen. We never saw anybody come here dressing like this with the diamond chains and the watches, and… cornrows,” said Iverson. “Right now, all of these guys in the NBA have their own unique personalities, and dressing means a lot to them. Now, I get the flowers for it from them.”
Iverson was under the impression that David Stern, who was the NBA commissioner at the time, had intentionally imposed the dress code to stop other players from imitating Iverson’s dressing style. Years later, the dress code has been abandoned, and now he gets the flowers for what he stood up for decades ago in his prime.
Allen Iverson Opens Up On “Legendary” Practice Rant
During Iverson’s press tour for his memoir ‘Misunderstood,’ Iverson appeared for interviews with CBS Mornings as well as on the Stephen A. Smith show. In both interviews, he addressed how the media misunderstood his iconic rant from 2002, where he lost his calm with the media over constant criticism of his discipline regarding practice.
“I’ve never come out and said I didn’t like practice. That’s a perception that you got from that rant, from the legendary rant,” said Iverson during his interview with CBS. “I definitely see the humor in it. But if you were me, you would know what was going on at that time. It wasn’t funny back then, but I was so upset about the practice thing. I couldn’t explain myself a little better.”
19 YEARS AGO TODAY
Here’s what you never see from Allen Iverson’s infamous “practice” rant.
“My best friend is dead & we lost. And this is what I have to go through for the rest of the summer until the season is all over again. This is what I got to go through.” pic.twitter.com/AT9cqcl8tC
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) May 7, 2021
During his interview with Stephen A. Smith recently, he went further in depth about the situation, calling it one of the biggest things that were ‘misunderstood’ in his career.
“No question. No question. Especially in my career, you know what I mean? Aside from you know, things like my tattoos, the cornrows, the way I dress, besides that, yeah, for sure. You know what I mean?” said Iverson on whether the rant was one of the most ‘misunderstood’ moments of his career.
“People really don’t understand. And all they thought of, you know, I like, I really got the perception of me just not liking practice, and in all actuality, it was just, you remember all that summer they were talking about trading me, right?”
“And they called me in one day and basically they were like, ‘You’re not going anywhere.’ And I was so happy, man. I could tell my kids, Tawanna, I could tell, you know, my family and friends. So, I go in there and I’m thinking I’m just getting ready to tell the world that I’m, you know, I’m not going anywhere. And they kept asking me about practice, and I just, you know, I lost it.”
Iverson then went on to explain how beat writers played a role in his infamous rant. He held a lot of respect for the media, as he saw Michael Jordan’s relationship with Ahmad Rashad, and hence treated beat writers with respect under normal circumstances. But that day, he recalled he refused an exclusive with one of the beat writers who ended up asking him the questions about practice in the press conference, which triggered his rant.
“I used to always look up to Michael Jordan so much. Like he’s really black Jesus to me, you know what I mean? And I just looked at I kind of looked at us as a small version of himself and Ahmad Rashad, right? That’s how I kind of looked at it. You know what I mean?”
“And you know it was one of those beat writers that just you know… they wanted exclusives. I talked to everybody.. [and I told] one of the guys, probably not right now, and then okay, I come in here and he’s getting ready to do this press conference, he thinks everything is getting ready to be peaches and cream.”
It was also reported that Iverson was still mourning the murder of his best friend a few months before the incident, which, combined with the trade rumors and instigations, led to his emotional outburst.
“I knew who it was, man, and I knew what it was, and I just lost it and and it was taken all out of context. So now this many years later, people see me in the streets and all the things I accomplished in my life and in my career. Somebody says, ‘Hey, you’re talking about practice.’ That’s right,” said Iverson in conclusion.
Iverson has used his memoir to clear several such prevalent misconceptions about his career. The former MVP’s book has hit the shelves across the country now. NBA fans should purchase the book now to know more about the legend’s life.
