Former Sixers President Reveals Allen Iverson's 'Practice' Rant Caused Him to Quit

Former Sixers President Billy King recently revealed that Allen Iverson's 'Practice' rant caused him to resign as the press conference was going on.

On May 7th, 2002, Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson participated in a postseason press conference, which is still very much relevant today. Yes, that same press conference that causes sports fans from all over to shout "Practice?!. . . We're talking about practice?!" Whenever the word 'practice' is heard. 

Nowadays, the press conference that lasted close to an hour is typically only seen when somebody uses the famous 'Practice' clip. However, Iverson's relentless and brutally honest rant was much more than a guy complaining about practice.

Before Iverson approached the podium that day, the Sixers held a meeting with former head coach Larry Brown, and former team President, Billy King, to discuss Iverson's status with the organization. By now, we know the meeting wasn't as productive as desired -- and Iverson left the room frustrated, which caused the legend to let his emotions go during a lengthy press conference with the local media.

At the time, nobody could've guessed Iverson's heated altercation with numerous reporters that day would become a staple of his legacy many years from then. So when it was all going down, some within the Sixers organization believed that the entire ordeal was nothing short of a disaster.

Therefore, the guy who set the whole thing up was ready to resign from his position. Billy King, the team's president at the time, recently revealed that he was pretty much ready to quit before anybody could fire him. "I'm thinking, I made a big mistake," King told 94WIP on Thursday. "Ed Snider calls me and says what's going on? I said, 'Ed, I'm sorry, I quit. It's my fault, and I quit.'"

[RELATED: Allen Iverson Once Left Practice to Eat Taco Bell]

Fortunately for King, Iverson's press conference was well-received from a marketing standpoint. Initially, it might've been a bad look for the Sixers' organization, but the former president wasn't actually in any danger of losing his job that day. So when Snider called King back, the Sixers president was assured he wasn't going anywhere. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_