“I’m Leaving”: When LeBron James Joked About Leaving the NBA Over ‘Best Player’ Kevin Garnett

A young LeBron James thought very highly of Kevin Garnett. The reason for that was pretty simple, KG was one of the best players in the league when LBJ first entered the league in 2003. In fact, a young LeBron even went as far as to say that his colleague deserved to win the MVP award unanimously during a 2004 interview.

At 6ft 9″, James was one of few big players back in the day who could handle the ball well enough to dictate the game. At 6ft 11″, Garnett had a handle that was at a similar level, along with a jump shot and a post-up game that was far more polished. As if this wasn’t enough already, during the 2003-04 NBA season, Kevin Garnett was playing out of his mind.

He averaged 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting nearly 50% from the field that year. And as mentioned previously, his performances flabbergasted  LeBron James. So much so that he announced that he’d retire if Garnett didn’t win the MVP that year.

“KG, The Big Ticket [is the best player in the NBA]... Unanimous MVP! If he don’t get it this year, I’m leaving [the NBA]! Ain’t no second season for me, you feel me? If he don’t get it this year… unanimous decision, man! KG the Big Ticket!” 

 

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Unfortunately, unanimous MVP wasn’t quite on the cards for Kevin Garnett. However, KG did win MVP, which likely convinced LeBron James to remain in the NBA.

Garnett seemingly appreciated LeBron’s sentiment very much. The Boston Celtics legend’s show KG Certified reshared a clip of the interview recently on Instagram.

When he made the statement, James was in his rookie year. So, at the time, he had nothing but respect for Garnett. However, as time went on, the two famously developed a rivalry.

It started during LeBron’s first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, as he faced off against KG and the Celtics in the playoffs. And unfortunately for LBJ, he could never quite get over the hump against them. The Akron Hammer then infamously moved to the Miami Heat in 2010, which only added fuel to their rivalry.

The two NBA legends have had many battles in the NBA, and there was likely a lot of bad blood in there as well. However, given how much time has passed since, there is likely nothing but respect between the two currently.