Allen Iverson admits regretting his infamous Practice rant from 2002 playoffs: "Wish I could take it back"

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Allen Iverson shares story about infamous meme

Many players in the league have been associated with something iconic they did and Allen Iverson is no stranger to that. During his prime years with the Philadelphia 76ers, Iverson became an icon for what he did on the court and what he said at a particular press conference.

Back in 2002, Iverson dealt with the death of his best friend, Rahsaan Langeford. He was shot seven months prior and the NBA star couldn't move on from the death of a close friend. The 6-foot guard also lost against the LA Lakers a year before his iconic press conference.

This led to the media asking about his dedication to practice, and Iverson went on a rant about it. In totality, he mentioned the word "practice" 22 times that time, and it became a meme. It's been more than 20 years since that happened and the 11-time All-Star shared his honest thoughts about the infamous meme.

"All the time," Iverson said when asked how often people bring it up. "People say it was the funniest thing in the world, and I was like, 'To me, it wasn't that funny.' You had no idea what I was going through in my life and I wish I could take it back and do it another way, I wouldn't have gotten off the podium. I would've explained to people, 'How you think I do all of these things on the basketball court and you look at my resume, there's no way you can do all these things without practice.'
"The way I look at it is, I lost my best friend. I was on the podium telling the whole Philadelphia and my fans around the world that I wasn't getting traded... the bothersome part about it all was just 'You saying we talkin' bout practice?' That's the only thing you can think of out of all the stuff I did on the court?"

Now fans can walk up to the Sixers legend and not mention the meme as it wasn't a good memory of his life.

Also read: "My childhood dream": Allen Iverson crowns Michael Jordan & Michael Jackson his idols


Reebok honored Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson, along with Shaquille O'Neal, was the face of Reebok in his prime. Even though he's been retired from playing the sport for over 12 years, the shoe company still honors him whenever they get the chance. Recently, they worked with SURGEON and Draft Kings to create "Day 1," paying homage to the career of Iverson.

The pair closely resembles Iverson's Question Mid. It was handmade by SURGEON, capturing the influence of the Hall of Fame player in the game of basketball. Unfortunately, the pair isn't for sale, but there's a chance the Draft Kings might use it as a giveaway prize.

Also read: Why was Allen Iverson arrested in 2002? A closer look at incident involving wife Tawanna Turner

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