Allen Iverson Regrets Legendary 'Practice?!' Rant

When Allen Iverson retires, three things will stand out from his career: The style (braids, tats, and clothing which ultimately led to the NBA instituting a ridiculous dress code), the magical Playoff run in 2001 (which helped short-list Iverson as one of the toughest athletes of all time), and of course, his YouTube-tastic 'Practice, we talking 'bout practice?!' press conference following the 2002 season. According to Allen, however, he regrets talking about practice in such a manner. From the Philly Inquirer:

"It was just being young and definitely immature. I wish it wouldn't have ever happened," he says during an appearance on Fox SportNet's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."

"But you learn from experiences like that... I think it sent the wrong message, especially to kids. You can't be a scoring champion and an MVP and an All-Star and all of that without practice...I didn't want kids to get the message that you don't need to practice because when you're not practicing, someone else is out there practicing, getting better."

I don't care what Allen Iverson says, that press conference is one of the greatest things to ever happen. I mean, sure, it may have led to Iverson becoming even more polarizing that he already was (which is incredible if you really think about it), but it was hilarious, and expressed what many people felt but were afraid to say. Considering what was going on in Philly at the time (AI's daily battles with the media, the catfights with Larry Brown, etc.), it was never really about practice anyway.

In your old age, it appears as though you've gone soft on us, Allen. 'Tis a shame.