On this day in Philadelphia 76ers history, one of the greatest press conference rants in not only Sixers history, but in NBA history, occurred. On May 7, 2002 Sixers great Allen Iverson stepped to the podium to speak and was asked about skipping practice. The guard scoffed at the notion that practice was so important and he then went on to ask why practice was brought up so many times that it would turn into a running joke for years to come. Here is ESPN’s complete transcript of the rant: If a coach say I missed practice, and y’all hear it, then that’s that. I might’ve missed one practice this year. But if somebody says, ‘He doesn’t come to practice — it can be one practice, out of all the practices this year — then that’s enough. … But it’s easy to talk about, it’s easy to sum it up when you just talk about practice. We sittin’ in here, I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talkin’ about practice. I mean listen, we talkin’ ’bout practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game. We talkin’ about practice. Not a game, not a, not a, not the game that I go out there and die for, and play every game like it’s my last. Not the game. We talkin’ bout practice, man. I mean how silly is that? We talkin’ bout practice. I know I’m supposed to be there, I know I’m supposed to lead by example. I know that, and I’m not shovin’ it aside, you know, like it don’t mean anything. I know it’s important, I do. I honestly do. But we talkin’ bout practice, man. What are we talkin’ about? Practice? We talkin’ about practice, man. [Reporters laughing] We talk — we talkin’ bout practice. We talkin’ bout practice! We ain’t talkin’ bout the game, we talkin’ bout practice, man. When you come into the arena, and you see me play, you see me play, don’t you? You see me give everything I got, right? But we talkin’ bout practice right now. [Reporter: ‘But it’s an issue that your coach raised.’] We talkin’ bout practice. Man look, I hear you, it’s funny to me too. I mean, it’s strange, it’s strange to me too. But we talkin’ bout practice, man. We not even talkin’ bout the game, the actual game, when it matters. We talkin’ bout practice. On This Date: In 2002, Allen Iverson talked about practice. pic.twitter.com/O2J1UF2BC0 — ESPN (@espn) May 7, 2019 For context purposes, Iverson was speaking with a heavy heart as he had found out that his friend had passed away right before he spoke. Iverson still roots for the team and is regularly at games courtside. Maybe he’ll show up to practice and give the current players a pointer or two.<doc-sep>For those of us who remember it, this story will make you feel old. For those too young to remember it, you need to watch the video at the top of this story. Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson held a press conference 17 years ago today that remains simply ... legendary. That’s right. Iverson’s practice rant is almost old enough to go to college. It came on May 7, 2002, with the Sixers battling the Boston Celtics in the NBA Playoffs. Iverson was one year removed from being NBA MVP and an appearance in the NBA Finals. And the future Hall of Famer took offense when asked about his practice habits. Here’s a partial transcript, per Philly.com: If I can’t practice, I can’t practice. If I’m hurt, I’m hurt. I mean, it’s as simple as that. It ain’t about that. It isn’t. It’s not about that at all. You know what I’m saying. I mean … But it’s easy to talk about. It’s easy to sum it up when we just talk about practice. We’re sitting here … I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we’re in here talking about practice. I mean, listen, we’re talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We’re talking about practice. Not a game. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last. Not the game. We’re talking about practice, man. I mean how silly is that. And we're talking about practice. I know I'm supposed to be there. I know I'm supposed to lead by example. I know that and I'm not shoving it aside, you know, like it don't mean anything. I know it's important. I do, I honestly do. But we're talking about practice, man. What are we talking about? Practice? We're talking about practice, man? We're talking about practice. We're talking about practice. We ain't talking about the game. We're talking about practice, man. Buy NBA Playoffs tickets: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster The next day, the Celtics eliminated the Sixers from the playoffs. Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.<doc-sep>17 years ago today. Take a moment to watch the entire thing, and not just the two minutes that are typically shared on social media: This was after the Sixers got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs following a disappointing 43-39 season. There were questions about Iverson’s relationship with Larry Brown. There were rumors he would be traded and his best friend, Rahsaan Langeford was shot and killed about seven months prior. So this was more of an emotionally charged press conference than I think most people realize. The “practice” part starts around seven minutes in. The exchange with the late Phil Jasner about basketball playing credentials comes in around 18:30. But if you’re at lunch break or something, seriously just watch this video clip while eating your Wawa shortie or loaded nacho taco.<doc-sep>
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It's been 17 years...and we're still talking about practice!On May 7, 2002, Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson delivered one of his most memorable press conferences.And it was just from being asked about his practice habits.Since then, his response has become part of Philly sports lore.Here is ESPN's transcript of this press conference:"We sittin' in here, I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talkin' about practice. I mean listen, we talkin' 'bout practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game. We talkin' about practice. Not a game, not a, not a, not the game that I go out there and die for, and play every game like it's my last. Not the game. We talkin' bout practice, man. I mean how silly is that? We talkin' bout practice. I know I'm supposed to be there, I know I'm supposed to lead by example. I know that, and I'm not shovin' it aside, you know, like it don't mean anything. I know it's important, I do. I honestly do. "But we talkin' bout practice, man. What are we talkin' about? Practice? We talkin' about practice, man. [Reporters laughing] We talk -- we talkin' bout practice. We talkin' bout practice! We ain't talkin' bout the game, we talkin' bout practice, man. When you come into the arena, and you see me play, you see me play, don't you? You see me give everything I got, right? But we talkin' bout practice right now. [Reporter: 'But it's an issue that your coach raised.'] We talkin' bout practice. Man look, I hear you, it's funny to me too. I mean, it's strange, it's strange to me too. But we talkin' bout practice, man. We not even talkin' bout the game, the actual game, when it matters. We talkin' bout practice."