A basketball game’s regulation time is 48 minutes. When Allen Iverson played in the NBA, he would play, on average, over 41 minutes. That’s over 85% of each game.

During the playoffs, that number went up; Allen played over 45 minutes each game (93%).

Allen loved basketball, and he hated sitting on the bench. In order to play as much as possible, he conserved his energy. For example, even though he loved dunking, he stopped so he could play longer.

If you want to play longer, at your game, every game, then you need to make sure you also conserve energy.

Sometimes, conserving energy means giving up a specific, high energy, technique you love, because you love playing the game more.

Allen Iverson’s memoir, Misunderstood, has been a great read so far.