Fuck outta here. Oh, shit. And I understand. I understand the chase. Each one contains its own anecdote. When he talks about some of them, he sounds like a monk. The walk to the kitchen leads past a fish tank that could be scrubbed by a scuba diver. I never knew where that came from. Let me clear that up. After seven straight seasons of first-round playoff exits, Garnett finally reached the Western Conference Finals in the same season he won MVP. Beside [Kobe], you know? What would we have been like?
I play with that idea. But according to co-director and co-producer Eric W. Newman, Garnett was mostly hands-off. But not a lot of push and pull with him. He trusted us to go and do what we set out to do. When talk about the documentary first began in , Garnett wanted it to focus on his trailblazing preps-to-pro journey. Over 25 years ago, as an executive for the Toronto Raptors, Thomas was in a random Chicago gym, watching a pickup game, when Garnett strode in and took the floor.
He was still in high school. Two other players on the court: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. You felt his energy, his intensity, his passion, his love for his craft in high school, beyond anybody else who was in the gym. It was one of the most poetic, beautiful experiences I had had or felt from a young player.
Garnett—who was introduced at his Hall of Fame induction by Thomas earlier this year—gets wistful thinking about that game, after which Thomas told him he could play in the NBA right now. He can be hilarious, serious, unfiltered, tight-lipped, nonsensical, and brilliant all in the same five minutes. His grapevine covers an entire football field.
During his first on-camera interview for Anything Is Possible , Garnett was recounting his very first draft workout in front of NBA coaches and front office executives when suddenly he stood up, glared at a mic dangling over his head, and began to roar. Take the time the Notorious B. I'm young. What the fuck? He never went up to the room unlike Allen Iverson , but part of him now wishes he did: Biggie was murdered exactly one month later.
In each one, he turns the English language into his own amusement park; everyone within earshot was granted a VIP pass. Owners thought salaries were spiraling out of control, while players suddenly caught a glimpse of exactly how much money their employers were making off their sweat. Understandably, they wanted more, although what they got after the lockout were longer rookie-scale deals and max contract protections for the owners.
From his point of view, jealousy sprouted around the league. It became real intense. But as someone who simply leveraged his pending free agency to make as much money as he could, Garnett believes his record-setting contract eventually helped push players into understanding their power as a collective body, even if that process at times felt glacial. I called the higher society out and really put owners on the fucking forefront with the real issues.
I didn't believe in the partnership with the league. I believe that the partnership worked if the league actually respected and wanted to hear what the players had to say, and what the players were actually bringing to the table… My generation actually was a little more together on the topics.
Not even a decade later, Garnett threw the weight of his looming free agency around again, narrowing his desired destinations with full recognition that the Timberwolves had two options: trade him where he wanted to go, or lose him for nothing. He also apologized on behalf of Phoenix and ownership, and he was very, very, very deliberate about how much he wanted to play with me. Doc Rivers , Uncategorized. Blog 08 May 11 Matchups that matter. No, it was an NBA immortal even higher on the all-time food chain.
Kareem used that game as a springboard to an MVP award as the Lakers won in six. That was his quote. Steve Aschburner: Garnett, his favorite player was Magic Johnson.
He would have been happy facilitating Marbury's game. That wasn't going to be an issue, in terms of sharing the ball or anything. Ultimately, I think it was money that got in Stephon's head, and the notion that he'd have to go make it bigger somewhere else. Terry Porter: He felt he was, if not 1a, [then] 1b, and he should at least be in that ballpark financially. He didn't feel at that point that they valued what he brought to the table.
Sam Mitchell: We all wanted Steph here. But sometimes these guys when they're young, man, they have outside influences that we just can't compete with. Flip Saunders: I knew we were in trouble, the year we [acquired] Marbury. I said something to Stephon about, "You guys can be like Stockton and Malone. He didn't want that. The deal, signed in October , triggered fierce skepticism and derision, even among other NBA players.
Although Garnett made the All-Star team in his second season, he was not yet a superstar and had not won a playoff game. Yet the value of his contract was more than double what Michael Jordan had earned in his career to that point. But it was Garnett's deal that owners cited as proof of a broken system.
The following summer, the NBA locked out its players, beginning the longest work stoppage in NBA history, a six-month standoff that lasted until January 20, Although there were other factors, Garnett's contract is often cited as having triggered the lockout. Russ Granik: I certainly wouldn't blame the lockout that occurred in ' on Mr.
We always had the view that a player was entitled to get whatever he was able to get under the system. But I think the extent of his contract led a lot of people in the league to feel that it proved that the current salary cap wasn't working that well anymore, and that some changes had to take place.
If it wasn't his contract, it would have been the next contract that was signed. Ron Klempner, NBPA general counsel: Coming out of the [collective bargaining agreement negotiations], the owners clearly did not get what they wanted, and they were looking for the first available opportunity to be able to go back in and get it.
Garnett's contract provided them with all of the ammunition that they needed. Andy Miller, Garnett's agent since It was sort of an unfair target. Ron Klempner: The concept of young players, just two years removed from high school, being able to sign for guaranteed amounts of that magnitude, was certainly a factor that permeated the negotiations.
Glen Taylor: I thought some of the big markets would be after [Garnett]. And my thoughts were, the franchise had been down, down, down. This is the first time the fans in Minnesota could see some hope. So I went out there and made an investment that probably, money-wise, business-wise, was not a good one. But it had to do more with, that I lived here, I was a Minnesotan, and I wanted this for our team.
The collective bargaining agreement reached in clearly reflected the concerns over Garnett's contract. Ron Klempner: It soon became clear that the owners wanted a longer period by which they could control the incoming players. It's safe to say that both of those rule changes can be traced back in one way or another to the Garnett contract. Russ Granik: I don't think those things were all related just to his contract.
So I don't think that was attributable particularly to Kevin. It certainly was an example of the concern. Trash talking was well-ingrained in the game when Kevin Garnett arrived, but he's taken the art of provocation to new places — and occasionally over the lines of common decency, according to some of his targets over the years. It's not just the creative taunts that set Garnett apart. He barks and chirps almost incessantly, in games and practice. He bellows, he chest thumps, he points, he claps, he glares.
The verbal imbroglios are both legendary and infamous. Such as the time Garnett then with Boston switched onto point guard Jose Calderon then with Toronto and spent two straight possessions yammering at him. Or the time he reportedly made an untoward remark about Carmelo Anthony's wife an allegation that's never been confirmed.
Or the time he threateningly grabbed the neck of the Knicks' Bill now Henry Walker — a former Celtics teammate—after the final buzzer. Occasionally—very occasionally — Garnett drops the ferocity long enough to laugh at himself. Sam Mitchell: Most of that stuff he's saying is to himself. It's funny, people think he's talking trash, but he's on himself about mistakes. If you listen to him, he's always talking about "Kevin this," "Kevin that," "Kevin, what the 'F' you doing?
Flip Saunders: It's his shtick. Have there been times we've talked to him and tried to have him calm down? But that's just kind of who he is. If you're on the other team, you are the enemy. Phil Jackson, Lakers head coach, ; He carried himself with a tremendous amount of, what would you call it, bravado.
High bravado. I had had some of my players tell me, "It's all show; it's not go," that bravado. He's just gonna talk big. Flip Saunders: Kevin's not a fighter. He's a lover. You always worry about it a little bit. He's got a very unique ability to be able to know when he's gone too far, when to cut things off. Henry Walker, former Celtic and Knick: That thing [between us] happened, we were coming out of the tunnel.
I was with my mother and my sister and my daughter. I walked up to him, and I asked, "Hey, what's going on? It was no big deal, man. Sam Cassell: He's got a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing. Off the court, he's a great person. Great conversation. But on the court, he becomes a maniac. If you don't have that [same] colored jersey he has on, you're against him. Steve Aschburner: In the preseason in Garnett's rookie year , they played against Milwaukee, they also played against the Lakers.
I know that he took guff from Cedric Ceballos and from Glenn Robinson. One of them said something like, "He's not ready," as he sort of shoved Garnett out of bounds.
And the other one was also trash-talking Garnett. He didn't curl up in the fetal position. He sort of gave [it] back verbally, but mostly he just went on playing. That stuck with me, that this guy, he's got some spine to him. He's not gonna get rattled here. Dwane Casey: The same trash talk he did during the game, he did during practice. It was never malicious. It was just something to get in the other guy's head. Alvin Gentry, Suns head coach, : He's always been an edgy guy, that's what made him great.
At the time, as a coach, it's something you're obviously going to react to. I fouled him when I played for Portland — he was playing for Minnesota — he fell, but then did five push-ups in a row before he got up. I had just a terrible game for me against the Celtics in the playoffs.
He got me all off my game. He scored, like, four times in a row on me in the crunch. And I was so embarrassed and so upset, and he got in my head. Ever since that day, I never said anything else.
Jose Calderon: Everything started because I switched onto Garnett on defense once, and I contested one of his shots. And he made it. So he was kind of happy about it. So we went at each other. After that, we have [had] a great relationship. Danny Ainge, Celtics GM: He's so competitive that he wanted to win that scrimmage in practice, and he wanted his players to be able to talk through the trash. It was real. It wasn't just some sort of contrived test on his players.
He genuinely wanted to compete and he wanted to win in practice, and he was not afraid of challenging his players and talking trash to them and getting them fired up.
Tony Allen, Celtics teammate, In practice , I'd make a shot, he'd be like, some explicit version of "Do it again! Bring that bleep in here again! Paul Pierce: One time, he asked [Joakim] Noah if he could rub through his hair, like a female or something. And this was when Noah was a rookie, too. I remember Noah looked up to KG. It crushed him. It crushed Noah. Kendrick Perkins, Celtics teammates He definitely has the best punch lines in the NBA, as far as talking goes.
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