Kevin Garnett is considered the greatest Minnesota Timberwolves player of all time. After being drafted by the organization, he was the main reason the team reached the playoffs eight straight seasons from 1997 to 2008. KG’s name is etched in Minnesota stone.
Looking at NBA history, Garnett is in an extremely interesting position. He was drafted in 1995 and retired in 2016. Not only did he have a long career, but KG played against some of the greatest players of all time in very different eras. A fun piece of NBA history is that Garnett is the only player to have faced both the Chicago Bulls (72-10) in 1996, as well as the Golden State Warriors (73-9) in 2016.
Simply put, KG has seen it all. So it seems fitting to say that his words carry a bit more weight than the average former player when it comes to discussing the different eras of the NBA and their implications. If you’ve been following the latest NBA news and especially if you’ve I read Dunking With WolvesYou are aware of the comments made last week by Anthony Edwards.
For those who don’t know, Edwards has claimed that although he hasn’t watched any games from that era, he believes Michael Jordan was the only talented player of his era. Multiple players inducted into Hall of Fame Thousands of people protested Ant’s comments last week, and Kevin Garnett has now joined the list.
Appearing on the TICKET & THE TRUTH podcast with himself and Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett made no secret of his true feelings about Edwards’ statement. “Jordan’s the only one with talent? Yeah, I know you haven’t watched the games,” Garnett said. “He’s the one who said that.”
While he didn’t agree with Ant’s sentiment, KG made sure everyone knew he held no ill will toward his Timberwolves fraternity brother. “So you know what, respect to the young guy, man,” he said. “I don’t come here and we don’t use this platform to stifle anything… I’m here to elevate the game, I’m here to help young players elevate themselves.”
While Garnett still wants to focus on encouraging others, he also wants to make sure the truth is told about the history of the NBA. “It’s always different eras,” he said. “And when you hear Michael Jordan and some of the greats talk about the different eras of the game, the ’80s were different than the ’70s, the ’70s were different than the ’60s, the ’60s were different than the ’50s. But in all of that, there was a spirit of play, an aggressiveness and things that came from that that you don’t really hear about today.”
Garnett goes on to cite many talented players from the past few decades that he considers to have some degree of authenticity. Referring to Edwards’ comment, Paul Pierce remarks that Ant “must have been talking about the ’60s or something.” Garnett dismisses Pierce, stating that he understands in some way why Edwards said what he said.
“No, he feels good and I like that. I like him feeling good, but when you’re a scholar and you’re talking to the league and you’re talking different shit, no, you have to know what you’re talking about to be in the discussion.”
Some may disagree, but it really seems like Garnett has hit the nail on the head. He’s known for mentoring and helping a lot of young players in recent years, and he’s far from being a bitter ex-player who wants to disrespect modern players. He’s coming at it from a purely honest angle, and he sees that while he may respect the trust, Edwards has to be smarter than the average internet troll when it comes to these things.
“I encourage you, young man,” Garnett said. “You just gotta know what you’re talking about, young man. Because what you’re saying is nonsense.” Very well said by the Minnesota legend. If we could all approach discussions about the era with a little more humility and a sincere desire to learn more, basketball culture as a whole would probably be in a better place.
