Is Kevin Garnett a Dirty Player?

by Jill Seward on Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 12:00PM

Kevin Garnett is your typical love-him-or-hate-him type of player. In Boston, fans go wild over his passionate efforts out on the floor. Opponents, however, take a different stance against the power forward’s playing style.

Joakim Noah, Spike Lee and Charlie Villanueva are just a few of the many critics when it comes to Garnett’s game. The combination of trash talk, mind games and physical tactics out on the court have earned Garnett the “dirty player” tag, but does he deserve it?

Garnett insists that he’s not a dirty player, saying that he plays hard and doesn’t do anything out on the floor that he wouldn’t expect in return from an opponent.

“I’m far from dirty. Dirty is like hate,” he said during an All-Star news conference. “I don’t use that word. I competitive and I play hard but don’t call me dirty. If you dislike me, dislike me, but hate is a very strong word.”

As the C’s head into a rematch with the Suns, however, fans are reminded of a recent incident between Garnett and Phoenix forward Channing Frye that occurred during their last matchup at U.S. Airways Center, as seen below.

Garnett gave Frye a swift tap below the belt while he was shooting — a move that sparked shoving match and eventually five technical fouls. Garnett was awarded two Ts, one personal foul and an early shower as he was ejected from the matchup.

Couple that with his alleged “cancer patient” remark from November and it’s easy to see how Garnett has had trouble shaking that dirty player label this season.

But is he really a dirty player? Or just one that plays hard and does what it takes to win?

Do you think Kevin Garnett is a dirty player? Share your thoughts below.

Monday, Feb. 28: Should the Celtics sign Rasheed Wallace?

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