While basketball fans wait for Allen Iverson’s official announcement about retiring from the NBA, every blog, site and sports channel has been reflecting on Iverson’s career and showing the same 5-10 videos including his infamous one.
11 years after the infamous “Practice” event, Gary Payton told FoxSports a few stories about Iverson, including how he might be responsible for the “practice” rant.
We were out somewhere on a summer and we were all out having a good time. We had a little bit too many and he asked me ‘How do you keep your body in so good of a shape and don’t get hurt and stay always on the court?’ I just told him for real, my coach George Karl didn’t let me practice. So that was it, I said You have to stop practicing.
He then said after he watched the press conference his reaction was,
Don’t say it like that, Allen! Don’t do it like that!
I think that’s what Payton used to say when trying to guard Iverson his first few times – here is a 41 point game from the Answer vs The Glove in 2000.