Report: Allen Iverson once took a break from practice to eat Taco Bell
Unless NBA history isn't your thing and/or you weren't paying attention to the Association back in the spring of 2002, you're probably aware that former Philadelphia 76ers superstar Allen Iverson wasn't always keen on team practices.
From that famous May 2002 rant:
"We sitting in here -- I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talking about practice. I mean, listen: We talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We 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 talking about practice, man."
As Rich Hofmann of The Athletic wrote, that wasn't the only time A.I. felt practicing wasn't the best use of his time at the Sixers facility.
Both Comcast SportsNet 76ers sideline reporter Dei Lynam and Larry Platt, author of "Only the Strong Survive: The Odyssey of Allen Iverson," spoke with Hofmann for a piece commemorating the 18th anniversary of Iverson's pro-wrestling-like promo. They remembered a time when "The Answer" felt the need to Live Mas and Think Outside the Bun:
Lynam: You know the food that he loved to eat? Taco Bell. There was a reason we took him there when they would do the “Fan Day” (events), where they would stick players in different parts of the city.
Platt: There’s also a moment where he disappears from practice because his guy Gary Moore had Taco Bell outside in the little hallway, which was at St. Joe’s (where the Sixers practiced). Allen goes out, downs a few burritos and then comes running back in and rejoins the scrimmage.
Iverson rose to second on Philadelphia's all-time scoring list behind only Hal Greer during his tenure with the Sixers, and A.I. holds the franchise records for career three-pointers and steals per game.
He deserved a little Taco Bell now and again.
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