Practice or lasagna? Allen Iverson explains his legendary 'practice' rant
Hall of Fame-bound Allen Iverson isn't a huge fan of practice, if you believe his most famous press conference rant of all time.
Iverson recently gave some backstory about the rant -- and now all we can think about is lasagna. (Lasagna. We talking about lasagna.)
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Iverson spoke to reporters Monday after he was named a member of the 2016 Hall of Fame class. He was asked about his famous "practice" rant from 2002, in which he railed against those questioning how much he practiced with his team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
As recorded by Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Iverson provided some context for the legendary rant.
Iverson said his best friend had recently been killed and coach Larry Brown had just informed him that the team did not intend to trade him, as rumored at the time.
"I was so ecstatic and happy that I could go into that press conference and tell the whole Philadelphia and the rest of the world, 'Don't worry about the trade rumors, I ain't going nowhere,'" Iverson explained.
When he was instead asked about whether or not he'd showed up to a recent practice, the change in subject set him off.
"If you would have said something about lasagna at that point, I would have kept saying lasagna," Iverson said. "I was already on edge. I was already mad."
Imagine the possibilities! Watch the original "practice" rant video below and mentally substitute "lasagna" for each mention of "practice." It's magical.
Iverson's "practice" monologue was one of the sports Internet's earlier viral moments. The former player says it's stuck with him -- something athletes in today's digital world can surely identify with.
"I'm a Hall of Famer and I can go outside today and go to a restaurant or wherever and someone will come up to me and say, 'Practice? We talking about practice?'" Iverson said. "Man, I am a Hall of Famer, man! And that's all you can think about is me saying practice?"
Just imagine how that guy behind the crying Jordan meme feels.
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Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
