When you are not practicing, someone else is getting better.
Allen Iverson
You can hide from the devil, but he'll always find you.
I had a lot of growing up to do. A lot of times, I learned the hard way.
Either you give in, or you fight. That's all I know, being where I'm from. You fight for what you want. You go after what you want. The only thing I could do was give up or keep fighting for what I wanted in life.
You gotta do what you gotta do. And I had to figure that out, and I used to - I couldn't stand the media, but I realized they have a job. They gotta do what they have to do.
I didn't take constructive criticism the way I should have. When I finally caught up to that, that's when I went to being the MVP.
Obviously, if I could go back and change anything, I would be a perfect man. And I know there's no perfect man.
I wasn't a point guard. I was a killer.
Being in a fishbowl, everybody looking at every move you make, talking about everything you do - it's just a hard life to live.
I have no regrets on anything. People ask me all the time, 'Do I have any regrets?' I don't have any. If I could back and do it all over, would I change anything? No.
You hit road blocks in life, but I'm living proof that you can overcome those road blocks and become what you want to become.
I'm not going to be the same as I was when I've made so many bad mistakes.
I failed, got back up. I failed, got back up.
Just understand that there's going to be some ups, there's going to be some downs.
I don't really care too much about what people who don't care about me say about me, but a lot of times, you know, I get tired of defending myself.
I surround myself with people who make me laugh.
My dream was bigger than anything else. My fight and me wanting to fulfill what I wanted to be in life. That was enough to keep me strong enough to endure anything.
I want to play basketball so bad.
Everybody is their own person.
I didn't do this by myself, man. It was so many people, so many fans that came in there and cheered for me, night in and night out.
If I don't believe it, then they don't need me on the court. I've just got to believe that in my heart.
Just because you put a guy in a tuxedo doesn't make him a good guy.
My mom always told me that I could be anything I wanted to be. And I truly, actually believed it. And I fought.
That's the only thing that got me here is my teammates. My teammates and my coach. That's the only reason I'm here.
If I could take back all the mistakes that I made throughout my career, I would have had a perfect career. I would have missed no shots. I would have made no turnovers. I would have went right instead of going left when I was supposed to, every game.
I made a lot of mistakes. And obviously, it cost me.
I gave everything I had to basketball. The passion is still there, but the desire to play is not. It was a great ride.
My actions, right or wrong, there were people who supported me through this long, hard journey.
Me and my family are straight. I am blessed. I am alive, man, and I am healthy, and that is the only thing that matters. Me and my family, everybody else, it really doesn't matter because why do you care about somebody talking negative about you if they don't know you?
If I'm not getting older and more mature at 31, then something's wrong.
If we lose games, and I don't score a lot, they gonna say I'm not scoring enough.
So many people supported me and believed in me. They made it so easy for me to believe in myself, because I didn't want to let them down.
I'm just overwhelmed with the fact that I had a signature shoe. It's actually 'my shoe.'
I wasn't afraid to be who I am. I didn't think anything was wrong with it.
I felt like I was better at football than I am in basketball.
I can't take it back. I can't take anything back. So I don't regret it.
I just feel this is my planet.
You think I can be the MVP without practicing?
It was a blessing just to play one NBA basketball game.
My whole thing was being wanted and being accepted by a ball club. That was the most important thing to me.
There's nothing that sells good about Allen Iverson if it's something positive about Allen Iverson.
I knew I was gonna be the number one pick, but I didn't know.
I went from the projects to a real house. It was a big difference.
Tattoos, cornrows, headbands, hip-hop. I never meant to start any trends. I got my butt kicked, but if that meant that the guys who came after me could be themselves, then it was worth it.
I want to thank coach Thompson... for saving my life. For giving me the opportunity.
I don't care. I feel like if we don't make a trade, we have to get it done with what we've got.
It was just the greatest feeling to see a kid with your shoes on.
I don't want to just go to the playoffs, I don't want to go to the playoffs and win the first round, second round, and not win the whole thing because it's bittersweet.
I make all that money and it ain't enough. I gotta make more to help all the people around me.
It was a great experience for me - the ups and downs - because I became a man in Philadelphia.
