Friday, July 22nd, 2011 at 10:30 am  |  58 responses

For Old Time’s Sake: Kevin Garnett

The Big Ticket

KG was drafted 5th overall by the Timberwolves in ’95 after averaging 25.2 points, 17.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 6.5 blocks his senior year in HS. It was the first time a player had been taken straight out of high school in 20 years. He transitioned to the NBA style of play fairly quickly and became the go-to guy in Minnesota. You could make the argument that it was his NBA success followed by Kobe’s that opened the floodgates in regards to HS phenoms trying to make the jump straight to the League. Aside from that, KG has been an absolute beast in the NBA for over 15 years. He won a Chip with the Celtics in ’08, was the MVP in ’04, is a 14x All Star and arguably the greatest PF/C of all time. He’s posted career averages of 19.5 pts, 10.7 rbs, 4.1 asts, 1.6 blks, and 1.6 stls while also shooting just under 50% from the field. I think he’s got one of the wettest Js ever for a guy his size, pretty much impossible to block. KG probably has a year or two left in the tank and has been a great ambassador for the league during his Hall of Fame career. Dude is a monster on the court with a warrior’s mentality….and he has a real shiny head. RESPECT.

@Schneezy

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  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    Duncan > Malone > Barkley > KG in my opinion…the 3 after Duncan are almost interchangeable though… Duncan really had it all though. Offensively, Defensivley, and intangibles were all there for him. 4 rings help his argument too.

  • DukeFromDeep

    KG is an old fav of mine too.In my opinion KG is def there with Malone, TD, Barkley as one of the greatest 4′s ever.And possibly the best defencive 4 ever.

  • http://Slamonline.com CatKiller

    Don’t care y’all say KG could in his prime run circles around Duncan in his prime. Nobody got that drive to win and it shows in games. Even if he only scores 5 points and grabs 6 rebounds he finds ways to make his team win. Duncan has nothing on KG when it comes to intangibles like his leadership and motivation

  • Darren

    Just one question: How does Duncan win that many titles if he doesn’t have a drive to win? He’s the best PF ever, hands down. KG is ahead of Malone because he is better in the clutch.

  • vtrobot
  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Duncan has always been the leader of his team. He has never not been a leader. He was all-defense for a decade straight!
    I love KG, but he’s just more vocal and demonstrative. Duncan leads quietly, kind of like Hakeem used to do back in the day. Everybody knows what’s up with him night in and night out. I’d love to play with both guys if I was a player because both of them are great leaders, just with different styles.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    But, to be clear, I LOVE KG AS A PLAYER.
    Dude is awesome. I think he’s better than Barkley, to be honest. And it’s questionable about Malone. He’s number three on my power forward list at the lowest, and possibly number 2.

  • maverick

    People kill me with this KG had just as much help as TD thing. Sure KG played with two all-stars spree and cassell….for two years. And the second one was totally wasted by repeated injuries etc. Anyone who thinks 04-05 cassell, spree were all-stars are dillusional.
    So basically ONE season with better supporting cast than TD, and he won the MVP that year. AND was better than Spurs, both in the regular season and the playoffs. What does that say?

    And Marbury? He became an all-star AFTER he left for New Jersey. And terrell brandon might have been a star if he wasn’t injured ALL THE TIME. How many healthy seasons did he give KG? how many healthy GAMES for that matter?

    And Admiral was good for only TWO seasons TD played with him? Like he wasn’t an NBA all-star in 2000, 01 season? And on top of that, how many of centers KG played with played better than OLD David Robinison. Michael Olowakandi? Blunt?
    And how many years did KG play for a hall-of-fame-bound coach like poppovich?

    I don’t think anybody will doubt TD’s career was way better than KG’s, and personally I think TD is a better, more valuable player. But that margin is fairly slim. And I most DEFINITELY think things would have been a LOT different if they switched places.

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