Allen Iverson was an NBA icon the moment he stepped foot on the floor. From his crossovers to the arm sleeve, all the way to wearing jewelry and bling to games, AI started a culture that followed long after he left the league. And one of the things about Iverson was his aversion to practice and hitting weights. Well, the former NBA All-Star had something up his sleeve for fans on social media today.
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Allen Iverson recently took to Instagram to share a throwback picture of him in the weight room, actually hitting weights. Donning the Philadelphia 76ers gear, AI captioned the image, “Sike,” as if he was trolling fans for assuming he never did hit the weight room.
Listed at just six feet, Allen Iverson was a man among giants, and the way he played the game, ‘AI The Giant Slayer’ could very well have been a moniker that could’ve been used to describe the 2001 MVP.
Allen Iverson used his speed and agility to get around defenders. When that didn’t work, his nifty ball handling and ability to swift through defenses was something that always bailed him out of such situations.
Once, when asked why Iverson did not prefer lifting weights or hitting the weight room, the 11-time All-Star had this to say.
“That s**t was too heavy.”
However, Iverson’s aversion to lifting weights or spending a substantial time in the weight room never caused a significant problem for him to get the best of opposing defenders on the floor, as fans very well know the number of ankles AI has snatched throughout his career.
Allen Iverson’s infamous ‘Practice’ rant explained
It wasn’t just weights that Allen Iverson had a problem with. He wasn’t too fond of team practices either. No doubt AI was a gifted individual with the ball in his hands but it ended up creating quite a buzz when the 76ers legend shared his feelings towards indulging in practice.
Back in 2022, Allen Iverson shed some more light on his infamous ‘Practice’ rant during his time in Philly. According to BasketballNetwork, Iverson said the word ‘practice’ 22 times in that interview back in the day. But when expanding on that, this is what AI had to say.
“I didn’t give a f**k about drills. But if you play five on five, then I’m ready. I want to do that. Throw the ball up and let’s go. That was my thing…I had a pattern of skipping [practice]. Sometimes I was out too late and when I come in there I don’t feel like it. I’m a man, I’m a human.”
While Iverson may not have had a work ethic like Kobe Bryant or some other star in the league, it did not bother him when asked if there was something he would’ve done differently. Regardless of his aversion to weights and practice, AI went on to become an icon and eventually, an NBA Hall of Famer as well.
