Kevin Garnett and trash-talk went hand in hand long before the Boston Celtics assembled the “Big Three” in 2008 and raised Banner 17.
As expected, Garnett’s competitive nature sparked some on-court beef. There was the unforgettable clash between Garnett and Carmelo Anthony back in 2013 during a Celtics-Knicks matchup in New York. Then, of course, there was the decade-long beef with former Celtics teammate Ray Allen, which sparked when Allen crossed enemy lines and joined the Miami Heat, becoming the first to break up Boston’s star trio.
But now, Garnett is adding to his list of former enemies he has made amends with, doing so with former Chicago Bulls All-Star Joakim Noah. The two squashed their long-lived beef during an episode of SHOWTIME Basketball’s “KG Certified” podcast.
“I was trying to destroy your will, but never in another stratosphere would I ever thought that you was a fan of mine,” Garnett told Noah. “So, you know, I come today and I say I apologize for killing that light, my brother. No real (expletive). Because I take a lot of pride in being a big brother to all the young guys.”
Garnett added: “I recognized your genius, I saw it. I respected it. And yeah, we battled, bro.”
In 24 career matchups, Garnett took 14 wins to Noah’s 10.
As the story goes, Noah was a big fan of Garnett’s leading up to his pro career, but it backfired. Garnett, being himself at the time, shrugged Noah off and took any opportunity to verbally pick apart him on the court. So typical KG behavior, right?
“This is a really special moment,” Noah explained. “… I think that it made me who I am. And that’s why today, right now, this moment right here is for nobody else but me.”
