[Syd Thrift]

There were guys who regularly went clubbing and still commanded respect and leadership. AI is the obvious example but that was also Gary Payton (in fact, teammates at the time said that the reason why Vin Baker became an alcoholic, weirdly, is that he chose not to go out with GP and drank in his hotel room instead). I guess from Payton’s standpoint he was acting so much like the general he was even in clubs that he just didn’t have time to drink much. Needless to say, I don’t remember either Iverson or Payton walking around the clubs with a gun - I got the sense that neither needed that to assert their authority.