Celtics big man Kevin Garnett is a surefire Hall of Famer, one of the best to ever play his position. He is revered by his teammates and Celtics fans adore him. However, that is where the superlatives likely end.
Garnett has an undeniable reputation among his NBA brethren, and it’s not a glowing one. The veteran is not only one of the best basketball players of his generation, he’s also one of the best agitators. Never afraid to take liberties after the whistle blows, Garnett also blows more than his fair share of hot air.
It’s his trash talk that has been the biggest point of contention lately. Garnett was one of the top stories in the NBA this past week for his role in a tussle with Knicks scorer Carmelo Anthony. The two went at it all game, with their dispute apparently pouring out into the tunnel and all the way to the Celtics’ team bus. Anthony, who received a one-game suspension for his actions, seemed hellbent on getting some sort of retribution. Garnett had gotten under his skin with trash talk, reportedly saying something to Anthony about his wife; the two are separated.
That comes more than two years after Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva alleged that Garnett called him a “cancer patient ” Garnett refuted the fact saying that he called Villanueva, who suffers from a condition that keeps him from growing hair, a “cancerous player.”
“KG talks alot of crap, he’s prob never been in a fight, I would love to get in a ring with him, I will expose him,” Villanueva tweeted at the time.
There is, no doubt, a rhyme to Garnett’s reason. He is trying to get into his opponents’ heads, and in the case of Anthony, it appears to have worked. The New York swingman had a miserable game, shooting 6-for-26 from the floor, while the Celtics knocked off the first-place Knicks in New York.
While Garnett’s trash talk obviously fuels him, and he fuels the Celtics, there are some that Garnett takes it a little too far sometimes. Knowing what we know about Garnett and how he plays the game, is that a fair point?
