“If I come back here looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, y’all gonna give me the MVP award automatically?” : When a frustrated Allen Iverson counter-questioned a reporter during the infamous ‘Practice’ press conference

Allen Iverson seemed very upset during that entire press conference. It was supposed to be a simple interview but Iverson took offense to most of the questions and turned it into an iconic rant.

There is hardly any press conference in the NBA that can beat the ‘practice’ press conference of Allen Iverson on May 7, 2002. He said ‘practice’ 22 times during that interview. It was held 4 days after the Philadelphia 76ers’ first-round exit from the 2002 Playoffs.

Then Sixers’ coach Larry Brown publicly criticized AI for missing practice sessions. It was also rumoured that he was about to be traded due to that. The stage was set enough for Iverson to lose his cool.

When a reporter asked about what Iverson planning to do in his offseason to improve his game, he said, ” If I build myself up, get a whole lot of muscles and come back here looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, y’all gonna give me the MVP award automatically?”

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The Sixers with Allen Iverson never met the expectations

AI was awarded the Most Valuable Player for the 2000-2001 season. He averaged 31.1 points that season, winning his second scoring title as well. Iverson led his team to the NBA Finals where they lost to a Kobe-Shaq led LA Lakers.

Next season, the Sixers barely made the playoffs as they were plagued by injuries, and were only able to make a 43–39 record. Iverson only played 60 games that season with an average of 31.4 points, winning his 3rd scoring title. They ran into the Boston Celtics in the first round and lost in a 5 game series.

Then in the 2002-2003 season, Sixers made it to the playoffs again with a 48–34 record. AI averaged 27.6 points that season. The Sixers went to lose against the Detroit Pistons in the 2nd round. After that, their head coach Brown resigned.

The Sixers had a rollercoaster experience in those years. But AI delivered his prime performance throughout those seasons, winning 4 scoring titles and 1 MVP playing for the Sixers. It was definitely not the ‘practice’ that ruined their championship chances.

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