Kevin Garnett is probably among the best power forwards of all time and an icon in his era. He was a futuristic big in the late-’90s and 2000s that could do everything from the four position. He was a fluid scorer while also being one of the best defenders in the league. He carried the Wolves to their only Conference Finals in history and is the only MVP to come out of that team.
Garnett was an idol to many young big men, even if they didn’t possess his skill set. Tyson Chandler was one of those bigs, getting drafted into the league 5 years after KG entered. In his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, the future Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Champion detailed his first encounter with Garnett in a preseason game.
.@tysonchandler will never forget his first time playing @KevinGarnett5KG. 🤣
The NBA champion joins @QRich and @21Blackking on #Knuckleheads TOMORROW.
Tap in. https://t.co/ZyWXxhSVbO pic.twitter.com/buwvEyqeBn
— The Players’ Tribune (@PlayersTribune) January 9, 2023
“Me and Eddy, when we first played against Minnesota in the preseason, I was on the same court as Kevin Garnett. I am trying not to pay attention, going through with my little warm-up with him coming down, and I’m looking as I am trotting down, trying to not make it obvious. I’m like ‘damn, that’s Kevin Garnett’. I go through another warmup and me and Eddy lined up at the same time. I laid it up and he laid it up behind me, we running back. KG come down the side lie ‘these motherf****rs, these high school motherf****rs think they can f**k with me? I am the motherf***ing ticket’ I was like ‘is he talking to us, Eddy’? I thought they said this was preseason. That man showed me a different type of fierce.”
Garnett was a one-of-a-kind trash talker, with multiple players having stories of KG’s incredible intensity on the court. Rookie or no rookie, Garnett will not take it easy on his competition.
Kevin Garnett’s Battle To Be The Best Power Forward Of His Era
Many people used to keep arguing for KG as the best four of his era due to the variety of his skill set, but it’s hard to put him over Tim Duncan. Duncan won a lot late into his career and is arguably the greatest power forward of all time, not just in his era. However, there is a conversation to be had between KG and Dirk Nowitzki.
While Dirk couldn’t even come close to defending like Garnett, KG didn’t have the offensive arsenal that Dirk did. Nowitzki has a great record against Garnett over his career, beating the Wolves in the playoffs with the Mavericks and dominating in those games.
Whether you value Dirk’s incredible 2011 title or Garnett’s two-way ability and Defensive Player of the Year winning season is what will decide who the better individual player was. What can be said for sure is that this was a special era and Garnett was fighting with some of the all-time greats.
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