Astonished By Kobe Bryant’s Knowledge On Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett Preaches Knowing Your Opponent’s Strengths And Weaknesses

Kevin Garnett is one of those retired NBA stars who are still very close to the game, all thanks to the digital world. Be it through his podcast with Paul Pierce or his stories on Instagram, the ‘Big Ticket’ has embraced social media as a medium to connect with his fans. Recently, the 2008 NBA champion posted a story about one of his biggest competitors – Kobe Bryant, where the latter is seen explaining how he studied his opponents.

Kobe Bryant was a savant of the game. He lived to play basketball and displayed an unmatched work ethic that helped him develop into one of the greatest players in the game. However, that was not the only quality of the Los Angeles Lakers legend. He also studied his opponents like no other in the NBA, which helped him exploit them on defense. In an interview, Bryant talked about Kevin Durant being the toughest opponent to guard in defense and the reason behind it.

Breaking down Durant’s game when he entered the league as opposed to a few years later, Kobe said:

“Before he had a left-hand finish at the rim, I could always send him left, force him to the basket even with the advantage of his size, he was still uncomfortable finishing with the left. So I could clamp the right hand and now force him into tough situations. But, now he developed that.”

Bryant talked about Durant being uncomfortable when forced to his left and exploiting the weakness in the early stages of his career. However, once Durant developed his left, Kobe was unable to figure him out.

Kevin Garnett, who was an elite two-way player himself, showed appreciation for Kobe’s comments on his Instagram and shared the story with the following message,

“Want to create doubt in an opponent, know your opponent and know he’s/she’s strengths and weaknesses.”

As seen from the story, Garnett resonated with Kobe’s interview and urged everyone to study their opponent to gain the upper hand.

Part of one of the biggest NBA rivalries, Garnett had a lot of respect for Bryant. Kobe and Garnett faced each other 76 times in their career, 25 of them in playoffs. Not so surprisingly for many, Kobe’s Lakers have the better record against the ‘The Ticket’s Celtics with 45 wins-14 in playoffs.

Kobe once even lodged 50 points against them and averaged 24.8 points per game in the 76 played. Although the 2008 champion had a better defensive record (11.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game) against Kobe’s Lakers, the numbers clearly define how Mamba outplayed them most of the time; another example of how well he used to read his opponents.

Kevin Garnett’s appreciation for Kobe Bryant

As members of the two most decorated franchises in the NBA – the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant embraced the rivalry that came with it. The two players were drafted just a year apart in the 1990s, and both entered the league right out of High School. Bryant and Garnett were true contemporaries in the NBA, and it makes sense that they shared a level of respect and admiration towards each other’s game.

Apart from the recent story shared by the Boston Celtics Power Forward, he has appreciated Bryant on previous occasions as well.

Earlier this year, Garnett appeared on ‘The Stephen A. Smith’ show and talked about how much he missed the NBA legend. In a heartfelt gesture, he further mentioned dedicating a son to the player someday. Garnett’s comments reflect the admiration for his rival, whom he faced multiple times in the NBA finals. Like the entire sporting world, Garnett also misses Kobe Bryant and the aura he brought with him.