6 ft Allen Iverson’s ‘practice rant’ had a bigger backstory to it with his best friend’s murder

Allen Iverson was one of the strongest personalities in the NBA, his infamous ‘practice rant’ being a great example. However, there may be more than meets the eye to that story.

The 6 ft. 76ers guard goes down as one of the greatest players in NBA history to have never won a championship ring. He tried several times, and he was part of some teams that got really close, but he never captured that elusive dream.

Iverson’s vintage move was his crossover. He’d regularly destroy opponents with his crisp handles, and the only player who’s come close to reaching his level of ball handling is Kyrie Irving. Iverson even got the great Michael Jordan with his move.

Iverson’s other vintage moment came in the 2001 NBA Finals when he drilled a shot over Tyronn Lue and then stepped over him. The shot came in a massive upset win against the Kobe-Shaq Lakers, and even though the 76ers ultimately lost the series 4-1, the moment lives on in history.

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Allen Iverson had a lot on his mind when he ranted about practice

What was the this famous ‘practice rant’ that defines Iverson’s persona? Back in the 2001-02 season, the 76ers were having a brutal time.

Just the season before, they had reached the NBA Finals and looked like a premier contender in the league. However, the 2001-02 season was much different.

They just finished above .500 and were beaten in the first round of the playoffs. Tension between Iverson and head coach Larry Brown had reached an all-time high. The two had a shouting match and things only calmed down when Brown said that he wouldn’t be trading Iverson away.

Iverson then agreed to a news conference where he laid into reporters asking him about his thoughts on practice. Brown used to regularly take issue with Iverson’s stance on practice, and Iverson wasn’t having any of it.

Larry Brown had assumed Iverson was drunk. “I assume he went and fooled around somewhere,” Brown said while gesturing like he was taking a drink out of a bottle.

However, Iverson denies these claims. There’s also much more to the clip that doesn’t get shown around as much. Iverson was still grieving from the murder of his best friend, Rahsaan Langeford, who was shot seven months ago.

His death was on Iverson’s mind throughout the 2001-02 season, and just a day before the famous press conference, the murder trial for Langeford had begun.

It’s an important piece of information to include whenever discussing Iverson’s rant. It gives the whole situation much more context and helps you understand what must have been going through Iverson’s mind when he made those comments.

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