Kevin Garnett‘s relentless energy, elite defense, and versatile scoring, made him one of the most complete players in NBA history – there was nothing he couldn’t handle.

After dominating the league for 21 years and earning a Hall of Fame induction, he’s witnessed the game evolve, making him wonder how his peers would adapt to today’s NBA.

“The game is at another level,“ said Garnett.

“I want you to get on a court, sprint corner to corner, stop on a dime and shoot a 3. I want you to do 10 of those. Then, I want you to focus on how tired you are. Because these players do that for 48 minutes. I don’t think guys from 20 years ago could play in this game,” he added.

In the modern NBA, perimeter shooting dominates, and players at every position are able to knock down threes.

Defense in today’s league is also tougher than ever, as rule changes, particularly around hand-checking, have limited defenders. Garnett describes it as “damn near impossible.” Defenders must now rely on footwork and positioning, but offensive players driving to the rim hold a clear advantage.

Some NBA greats, like Isiah Thomas, say the NBA has lost its physicality and has turned into a copycat league, but Garnett sees it differently. The three-point revolution has created a different kind of game, where skill and offensive versatility are on full display every night, even if it doesn’t resemble the grittiness of the 80s and 90s.

“Steph Curry revolutionized things with being able to shoot it from distance with such consistency. Klay Thompson. Dame Lillard. These guards changed the game. I don’t know if even the guards from 20 or 30 years ago could play in this time right here. It’s creative. It’s competitive. It’s saucy. You’ll get dropped! A [expletive] will cross you over and break your A.C.L. these days. The game is in a great place.”

Time heals all wounds: Real s—. Especially in the New England.

Celtics legend Kevin Garnett Sunday saw his jersey retired at TD Garden, and, during the festivities, he called out former “Big 3” colleague Ray Allen, who was present in the stands.

“It’s good to see Ray Allen here, real s—,” Garnett said.

The two then embraced at mid-court for a hug before Paul Pierce made it a full “Big 3” reunion with a group hug in front of a standing ovation.

The three played five seasons together in Celtics green to win the franchise’s only championship (2008) since its 1980’s glory days.

Allen departed Beantown in 2012—to join LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and others on the Miami Heat “superteam,” nevertheless—which led to an icy, long-standing feud that made Allen persona non grata in Boston as well as in the “Big 3” clubhouse.

The rift even famously led to Garnett snubbing Allen during the Heat’s first meeting with the C’s after the move in 2012, as well as Allen missing Pierce’s 2018 jersey retirement.

On January 26 of last year, the basketball community was burdened with one of the biggest tragedies in recent memory. Kobe Bryant, and 13 year old daughter Giana Bryant, along with six others, perished in a helicopter crash in California. Bryant was an all time Los Angeles Lakers great. He led the team to five championships, with countless personal accolades along the way, including an MVP and multiple scoring titles. Bryant was known for his competitive spirit, something he got from the great Michael Jordan. This Saturday completes Bryant’s journey to basketball immortality, as he’ll be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in what is quite possibly the best class of all time. Included in the class are power forwards Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan, both champions in their own right. The aforementioned Jordan is set to induct Bryant, and recently this past week Jordan revealed his last texts with the Lakers swing man.

“This tequila is awesome,” wrote Bryant.

Bryant’s text was in reference to Jordan’s Cincoro Tequila, a bottle of which was sent to Bryant at the launch.

“Thank you, my brother,” Jordan responded.

“Yes, sir. Family good?” Kobe replied.

All good. Yours?”

“All good.”

Jordan wanted to talk to Bryant about his daughter’s basketball team—which he was coaching. “He was really into coaching Gigi,” Jordan said, “so I hit him up about that.”

“I added that little crying/laughing emoji,” Jordan chuckles.

“Ah, back at you, man,” Kobe wrote. “Hey, coach, I’m sitting on the bench right now, and we’re blowing this team out. 45-8.” …

“I just love that text,” Jordan says, “because it shows Kobe’s competitive nature.”

Emotions will almost certainly run high on Saturday, even for someone as stoic and cold natured as Jordan. When asked about the speech, he told ESPN, “I was thinking, at first, I might be a little somewhat nervous about it, but then I realized I’m not going to be nervous about showing emotions for someone I absolutely loved,” “That’s the humanistic side of me—people tend to forget I do have one.”

Bryant will be enshrined on ESPN, at 5:30 PM ET.

On Thursday, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its honorees for the 2020 Hall of Fame inductees.

Among the presenters, Michael Jordan is the biggest name, and he will be honoring the late Kobe Bryant by announcing his induction to the Hall of Fame.

In early 2020, Bryant passed away in a fatal helicopter crash. During his memorial service, Jordan spoke about the Lakers’ legend. “Kobe was my dear friend, he was like a little brother,” Jordan said. “When Kobe died, a little piece of me died. This kid had passion as you would never know, as I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be.”

Growing up, Bryant idolized the Chicago Bulls legend and sought to emulate Jordan’s game. Once Bryant made it to the NBA, he dedicated his early career to learning from Jordan on and off the court. At first, MJ was irked about Bryant’s constant questioning, but it soon faded as a bond was formed between them. “At first, it was an aggravation,” Jordan said. “Then it became a passion.”

The two formed a sibling bond. “He was really like a big brother, and whether it’s because we similarly see things in terms of our competitive spirit or fire or whatever the case may be, there’s an understanding that we have a connection that we have,” Bryant once said of Jordan.

Jordan will be the only Hall of Famer to be presenting multiple people in the ceremony. The Chicago legend will also be presenting women’s coach Kim Mulkey in the Hall of Fame ceremony.

The other inductees and their presenters are the following:

• Patrick Baumann, presented by Russ Granik and Vlade Divac  
• Tamika Catchings, presented by Alonzo Mourning and Dawn Staley 
• Tim Duncan, presented by David Robinson 
• Kevin Garnett, presented by Isiah Thomas
• Barbara Stevens, presented by Geno Auriemma and Muffet McGraw 
• Eddie Sutton, presented by John Calipari, Bill Self and Sidney Moncrief
• Rudy Tomjanovich, presented by Calvin Murphy and Hakeem Olajuwon 

Ever since the Seattle Supersonics relocated to Oklahoma City and were re-named the Thunder in 2008, Seattle has often been a destination for expansion franchises in other major sports such as the MLS (Seattle Sounders), XFL (Seattle Dragons) and most recently an approved location for an NHL expansion team that will begin play in the 2021-22 season. But former 15-time NBA All-Star Kevin Garnett knows the city still yearns for an NBA franchise.

SLIDESHOW: 50 GREAT SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019

During a lengthy interview this week, Garnett spoke about different topics including being selected for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, his relationship with Kobe Bryant and his plans for the next 5-10 years. Unexpectedly, he also brought up his fondness of Seattle and how he’d like to help bring an NBA team there.

“If I have a dream, I would say that I would love to be able to go and buy the Seattle SuperSonics and reactivate the Pacific Northwest and get NBA loving back going into that area. I think it’s needed and it’s essential,” Garnett said. “Seattle was huge to our league. Not just Portland, but the whole northwest. I would love to be able to do that. That’s what’s up. If there’s one thing I could do tomorrow, it would be that.”

He is not the only person to echo this sentiment. In an article from Seattle Business in January 2019, Kevin Durant who spent his rookie season as a member of the Sonics before the relocation, stated strongly that Seattle deserved an NBA team after returning to KeyArena for a preseason game earlier that year.

“Everybody in the basketball world and the NBA knows the Sonics need to be back in Seattle,” Durant said.

Although fans and players would like to see this idea come to fruition, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke to reporters during the 2019 NBA playoffs and said, “Expansion is not on our agenda right now.” He hasn’t spoken since about a new NBA franchise and with the current hostile environment stemming from the coronavirus outbreak, it’s impossible to tell when basketball will return to Seattle.

A debate that has been discussed for the better part of a decade has finally been settled: Lebron James, not Michael Jordan, is the greatest basketball player of all time.

There are plenty of people out there that would disagree.

Some would say the argument for Lebron is clouded by his recent heroics. It’s a fair point considering just how monumental his performance in the 2016 NBA Finals was, not only for the city of Cleveland, but for basketball, nationally and internationally.

James averaged 29.7 points 11.3 Rebounds and 8.9 assists in the most recent edition of the NBA’s finest three weeks. The 6-foot-8, Akron, Ohio native, saved his finest performance for last, notching a triple-double in the series deciding game, posting 27 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists. King James carried his team from down 3-1, to victory in a Game 7.

2016 NBA FINALS HIGHLIGHTS

That alone is cause for elevation within the pantheon of the basketball’s most prolific players. But with a closer look, his star rises further.

1. COMPETITION

The Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team in the history of the NBA to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the title. Cleveland exacted revenge against a Golden State Warrior squad that had set a league record, finishing 73-9 in the regular season, after falling to the Dubs in the 2015 Finals.

Did MJ ever play a 73-win team? Ok, we knew that answer. How about a 70-win team? Nope.

65?  Not once, not never.

Twice Jordan faced a 64-win team in the Finals, beating the Seattle Supersonics (1996) and Utah Jazz in six games (1997), but those were the best regular season records he had to contend with, a far cry from a 73-win, defending champion Warriors team.

2. ALL-AROUND PLAYER

If we were debating who is the best scorer of all time, hands down Jordan takes it. As he would handle the competition for the most exciting player of all time, or the best dunker.

MICHAEL JORDAN’S TOP 10 DUNKS

His Airness can never be diminished. But he just wasn’t the same quality of all-around player that James has become.

In the 1996-97 playoffs, Jordan averaged 31.1 points per game and added 7.9 rebounds per contest.

That was Jordan’s most productive playoff run in terms of rebounding, about eight boards a game. His next highest playoff average was 7.2 in the 1990 NBA Playoffs.

James averages 8.8 rebounds for his career in the playoffs, to go with 6.8 assists per game. MJ averaged 5.7 assists for his playoff career.

3. DEFENSE

Jordan was an all-world defender, earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1988 and stands as a 9-time All-Defensive First Team.

James is a 5-time All-Defensive First Team selection, though he has never won Defensive POY.

No matter, because unlike MJ, Lebron can match up with any player on the court, at any time.

King James can guard any player in the league for that matter and that is not an overstatement. Watch him lockdown Kevin Garnett in the 2007 NBA Finals.

LEBRON BLOCKS KEVIN GARNETT

Could Michael guard Hakeem Olajuwon? Or Kareem Adbul-Jabbar? No.

MJ would be hard-pressed to ‘D’ up Magic Johnson. It’s not a knock, it’s just a reflection of his size.

Keep in mind that Bron-Bron averaged 2.6 steals and 2.6 blocks in the 2016 finals, numbers Jordan never even approached in a championship series.

“THE BLOCK”

Look, it is not an easy realization to come to grips with, especially if you grew up with Michael Jordan, especially if you wore a No. 23 Bulls jersey even though you were a Knicks fan, and especially if you watched “Air Time” on repeat with your friends.

If you have one shot to take, Michael is taking the shot.

But if you have one play to make, you want the ball in Lebron’s hands.

MJ, is still His Airness, one of a kind, basketball royalty.

But when it comes down to the Greatest, Lebron is King.

At this point in his career, Kevin Garnett isn’t exactly lighting up the score sheet. But that didn’t matter, nor did the fact that he now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, when he returned to Boston’s T.D Garden on Monday.

While the Timberwolves planned to give Garnett some rest in the second leg of a back-to-back, the Boston crowd wouldn’t allow it. Almost as soon as the game began, they began chanting “We want KG.”

Minnesota coach Sam Mitchell would not comply. Late in the fourth quarter, with their hero still on the bench, the crowd began to chant “Thank you, KG!” Garnett, who spent six years with the Celtics, helped Boston win their 17th championship as as part of the ‘Big Three’ with Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce.

But when Celtics coach Brad Stevens called a time out in the final minutes, the crowd still got a chance to acknowledge Garnett. During the stoppage, the Celtics played the “Gino Time” clip that once celebrated Boston victories. Garnett walked onto the court and thanked the crowd, who greeted him with a standing ovation.

“Boston’s always been a special place in my heart and probably always will,” Garnett said after the game. “Tonight, although the outcome wasn’t the way I wanted it to be, it was a great homecoming. It felt really good to be in the building.”

“[Gino] was like the cherry on top for me, you know?” he continued. “My teammates were looking at me like, ‘What is this?’ I was like, ‘I’ll explain later.’ So thank you for whoever put the Gino on. I know my guys here put it on for me, so I appreciate that.”

“I just want to say thank you all for all the appreciation tonight,” he concluded. “I’m out of here, man. On that note, I’m exiting. I’ll see you guys later. Let me out of here. I’ll see you guys later. Thank you all, man. I appreciate you, Boston. See how you just blew that whole thing, right? We outta here.”

Photo: Kevin Garnett by Michael E. Lee via Flickr Commons.

During Wednesday night’s season opener between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett tried and failed to scare Julius Randle by getting all up in his face.

The 20-year-old power forward for the Lakers did not seem to fall for a second for Garnett’s well-known antics. Randle finished the game strong with 15 points and 11 boards despite a 112-111 win for the Timberwolves.

“I’m not scared of anybody,” said Randle. “The main thing is we know that’s his thing. That’s what he does, try to get in people’s heads. I’ve been watching him my whole life so I knew what to expect.” He later added,“I’m not scared of anybody,” said Randle, who posted 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes. “The main thing is we know that’s his thing. That’s what he does, try to get in people’s heads. I’ve been watching him my whole life so I knew what to expect.” He later added: “It’s KG. I liked that, though. It gets me going.”

Randle also successfully completed a trick play on Garnett, 39, when he bounced the ball off his back and essentially passed the ball to himself. Randle expressed constant confidence in his game, “no matter who it is.”

After securing Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to an already stacked lineup including Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, many considered Brooklyn to be deep playoff team. However, their 2013-14 season ended with disappointment as they exited the playoffs early.

Since then, Pierce went to the Wizards as a free agent and Garnett was traded to Minnesota back in February. And in a recent sit-down with Jackie MacMullan, Pierce discussed his time in Brooklyn, calling it “horrible” and a “tough situation.”

“I’m much happier [in Washington],” he said. “It was a tough situation [in Brooklyn] last year. Horrible, really.” And he blames this unhappiness on the overall locker room mentality.

“It was just the guys’ attitudes there,” Pierce told MacMullen. “It wasn’t like we were surrounded by a bunch of young guys. They were vets who didn’t want to play and didn’t want to practice. I was looking around saying, ‘What’s this?'”

“Kevin [Garnett] and I had to pick them up every day in practice… If me and Kevin weren’t there, that team would have folded up. That team would have packed it in. We kept them going each and every day.”

And the two players that confused him the most were Deron Williams and Joe Johnson.

“Before I got there, I looked at Deron as an MVP candidate,” Pierce stated. “But I felt once we got there, that’s not what he wanted to be. He just didn’t want that.” He also claimed that the media attention did not help Williams; allegedly, he did not handle the Utah to New York media transition well and the “pressure got to him.”

“Joe [Johnson] is quiet,” Pierce continued. “He doesn’t want much attention. He doesn’t say much. There’s a lot of secondary guys on that team. KG and I went there looking at them as the main guys who would push us, because we were advancing in years. But we ended up doing all the pushing.”

The Nets had the opportunity to re-sign Pierce, but they chose not to. On top of this, they also traded coach Jason Kidd to the Bucks. And since then, they went from the sixth-seed in the Eastern Conference to on the verge of missing the 2014-15 NBA playoffs.

As for Pierce in Washington, he has accepted his limited role. The 37-year-old is only averaging 11.9 PPG, four RPG and two APG in only 26.2 MPG.

Kevin Garnett, legendary baller and trash talker, could return for the 2015-16 season, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.

While nothing is set in stone and the 2014-15 season has not even ended yet — the Timberwolves’ final game is tomorrow against Oklahoma City — the 38-year-old big man is mulling over coming back for another season.

Way back in February when the Wolves made the trade with the Nets, swapping Thaddeus Young for the old timer, they were hoping he would play for more than one season.

And though his numbers have relatively declined since the 2012-13 season in Boston — the last time he scored over 1,000 points — the veteran could bring an identity back to an ailing franchise. Since his original departure in 2006-07, they have not had a winning season, with the closest coming in 2013-14 with a 40-42 record.

Now, if he does call it quits, he has had a monumental hall of fame career. In 1,424 games, he averaged 18.2 PPG, 3.8 APG, 10.2 RPG and a field goal percentage of .497. On top of this, he was the NBA MVP in 2004, the defensive player of the year in 2008, and a NBA champion in 2008 with the Boston Celtics.

He has very little left to prove, but, if he returns, he has to decide whether he is willing to take more of a bench role. With his dwindling numbers, he should not be a key starter for the Timberwolves in the 2015-16 campaign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx4XkMCVTBg

In a surprise move last week, Kevin Garnett waived his no trade clause to head back to the place he started his career, Minnesota.

Kevin Garnett played his first 13 seasons for the Timberwolves and is the club’s all-time leading scorer with 19,046 points. And during last night’s welcome home against the Washington Wizards, the crowd was ecstatic: but one fan in particular stood out.

It was a dancing heavy set man with “Welcome Home KG” painted on his chest: after seeing this, the usually stoic Garnett laughed and proceeded to salute the fan’s dedication.

After the game, Garnett happily commented on the fan: “When there’s a man dancing with your name on his chest, I think you would pay attention to that… The guy was over the top and I had to give him a big shout out and show him it was all love. But that was probably one of the craziest things y’all seen in 15 years.”

In the end, Minnesota beat the Wizards 99-77.

During last night’s Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets match-up at the Barclays Center, the league’s trash talking leader Kevin Garnett got into it with Dwight Howard.

What started as a foul from the Brooklyn Nets star quickly escalated into a shoving contest: and soon after, Garnett decided to take it a step further and he headbutted the 6’11” star.

Soon this resulted in a bit of a fight: where the two athletes had to be separated, with Kevin Garnett being quite emotional despite starting the exchange. At the same time, it did look like Howard attempted to throw a slap or a punch during the drama, which is pointed out at the end of the above video: meaning Dwight could have and probably should have been thrown out too.

In the end, Kevin was ejected, Howard finished the game and the Rockets crushed the struggling Brooklyn franchise 113-99.