Kevin Garnett is one of the best trash-talkers in NBA history. Players have repeatedly given Garnett this crown for how he would get players off their game by using his words. Garnett spoke on that on his show ‘KG Certified,’ revealing why he used to do it and sharing how Tim Duncan would remain unfazed by it.
“My secret sauce was my gamesmanship—being able to get you to listen and hear what I’m saying, get you to engage with me, and then get you to totally not think about basketball. You’d want to fight, you’d want to go in the back. The gamesmanship was a big part of me.”
He used Duncan as an example of someone who didn’t engage with him, which led to a skill-on-skill battle.
“When I didn’t get a person that would engage in the gamesmanship and it was just skill on skill, man. Tim Duncan, coming back. He may go baseline fadeaway, glass, come back with a right-hand hook, come back, fake them, and you go, ‘Ah man!’ You feel me?”
Duncan giving Garnett friendly taps on the behind after scoring on him infuriated the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year, revealing how frustrated he’d feel in those moments.
“When you’re a shot blocker, man, it’s the worst. I’d rather you say something to me. Don’t tap me on the ass, dog, real sh*t. But that was Timmy. Timmy would get you and he’d be like, ‘Hey man, that was a tough shot.’ Like, man, ‘Shut the f**k up.’”
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Garnett averaged 19.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while Duncan averaged 19.0 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over the 44 regular-season games the pair met in. Duncan has a 27-17 advantage over Garnett in these matchups.
The career-long Spurs center also maintains the head-to-head advantage in the Playoffs, holding a 6-2 record over Garnett. In those games, Duncan averaged 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while Garnett averaged 21.4 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists.
They were two of the premier power forwards of this era, along with Dirk Nowitzki. The position hasn’t seen a time that was as talent-rich as the 2000s since the trio, though Garnett and Duncan also were Defensive Player of the Year winners, unlike Nowitzki.
Kevin Garnett Once Described How Tim Duncan Would Trash-Talk
Kevin Garnett might have been a more aggressive trash-talker than Tim Duncan, but it wasn’t like Duncan didn’t talk on the court. Garnett once described the ways the five-time champion would trash-talk on the court hilariously.
“People wouldn’t see him verbally saying stuff, he wouldn’t talk in sentences. Timmy would hit you in phrases. ‘Gotchu, Ooo, Almost.’ This is the worst one right here, ‘Nice try,’ like subtle sh*t, no gangster sh*t, no real hardcore sh*t.”
Garnett also revealed that he had to stop trash-talking Duncan as it would not affect the Spurs’ center while it would throw Garnett off his game.
“What really, really, really pissed me off, was when the trash talk wasn’t affecting him. So now, you’re spending all this energy trying to rile this up, you now forgot about your own game… And that’s when I quit talking trash to Timmy.”
Duncan won’t be remembered as a trash-talker, but even a trash-talker as intense as Kevin Garnett will remember him as someone who was sneaky good at it. Duncan didn’t need to intimidate opponents with his words, but he did manage to do it with his incredible defensive ability and proven winning record over his career.
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