Kevin Garnett and Charles Barkley are two of the most intense players to have played in the NBA. Both were known for their legendary toughness on the court, to go along with some serious trash talk and sublime skill. While they are often thought of as greats from different eras, Garnett’s first ever playoff series was a loss in the first round against the Houston Rockets featuring Charles Barkley, who Garnett admired.
After he got close to the championship with the Phoenix Suns but couldn’t find a way past Michael Jordan, Barkley joined up with the Houston Rockets in 1996, aiming to get his hands on a ring. And even though they would make it to the Western Conference Finals, they ended up losing to the Utah Jazz, who themselves lost to the Chicago Bulls that season and the next.
And after defeating a young Garnett and his Timberwolves in the first round, Barkley had some choice words for the young Minnesota team, as Garnett shared on his show, KG Certified.
“Charles Barkley, this is in 96 when he actually pulled Stephon to the side after they beat us, they swept us. And we was just so eager to be in the playoffs, just so happy to be in the playoffs. But he was like, ‘Hey, we needed this one. Y’all got a million years to go get yourselves one. Y’all gotta go through this, this is a part of it. Every player and every great team has to go through something to get to something.’
“I didn’t want to hear this sh*t but he was like grabbing us, like ‘Come here!’, like his arm was around us. I walked away from my second year very confident.”
The Houston Rockets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-0, which was to be expected considering the star power that they had. And while Chuck never got the ring he so desired, Kevin Garnett looked like he might have to settle for that as well, but a move to the Celtics later in his career saw him clinch it and become a champion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Qbf8Xh0RE
