Kendrick Perkins believes that Allen Iverson’s ‘Practice’ rant was more impactful than Michael Jordan hitting ‘The Shot’ against the Cavs.
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Allen Iverson was one of the faces of the NBA at the peak of his powers. The diminutive Sixers guard led the league in scoring 4 times and won the 2000-01 NBA MVP.
AI was one of those players who gave their heart out on the court every single time. As a spectator, you’d never feel cheated when he took the floor and competed. Iverson embodied the warriors’ mentality on a basketball court as well as practically any NBA legend.
Iverson was going through some really tough times when the ‘practice’ interview took place. The MVP was dealing with the death of one of his close friends at the time.
His words about how the media were hounding him for missed practices speak volumes about what’s wrong with sports coverage. In fact, the full clip also reveals him delving into his psychological turmoil:
“I’m upset for one reason: ‘Cause I’m in here. I lost. I lost my best friend. I lost him, and I lost this year. Everything is just going downhill for me, as far as just that.”
“You know, as far as my life. And then I’m dealing with this. … My best friend is dead. Dead. And we lost. And this is what I have to go through for the rest of the summer until the season is all over again.”
Kendrick Perkins believes this Allen Iverson moment is more iconic than ‘The Shot’, ft. Michael Jordan
Richard Jefferson, Big Perk and Rachel Nichols were on air 2 days ago, when they discussed about some iconic moments through the years on the date of May the 7th.
The list is an illustrious one indeed. Jordan’s shot is obviously up there, as is the first-round series between the Denver Nuggets and the Seattle SuperSonics.
Richard Jefferson went with the popular choice – Reggie Miller’s 8-point outburst in 9 seconds against the New York Knicks. Big Perk, however, sang a different tune, picking this Allen Iverson exit interview above all others:
“He changed the game. Not only did he make it cool, baggy, white tees… a fitting cap. But guess what, he changed the game for practices in all sport. Since his interview, he made a great point there… you want it now or you want it in the game? I’m playing 40+ minutes, give me something.”
