Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving have played 13 games against each other in the NBA Finals, yet there’s no bad blood between them. During All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, the two even shared a respectful moment of learning, which caught the eye of Kevin Garnett.
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Like KG, fans were delighted to see the competitors discuss the game and share their own tips with each other. When Dallas Morning News writer Mike Curtis asked Kyrie about his wholesome interaction with Steph, he said they were “just giving each other some hints and some cues and how we kind of play at the size we are.”
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Curry and Irving’s on-court discussion reminded Garnett of a teachable moment from his own career. The Big Ticket re-shared the video of their interaction to his Instagram story and wrote about his own learning experience in the caption.
“I remember when GP @gary.payton.20 took Bean [Kobe Bryant] n I n gave is a lesson n some shared knowledge [emoji].. love this great for the game [emoji],” the 2008 NBA champion shared.
It’s unclear exactly when the two were taken under the wing of Gary Payton, but it might have been during the 1998 All-Star Weekend. Hosted in New York, the ’98 ASW saw the Glove team up with Kobe and KG for the Western Conference All-Star team.
As two of the premier NBA talents to come out of high school, Garnett and Bryant shared a tight bond throughout their careers and certainly had lots to learn about the professional league. Thankfully for them, one of the league’s best two-way players took an interest in their growth, and even decades later, KG remains grateful for Payton’s mentorship.
Kevin Garnett took the mantle of ‘best trash-talker’ from GP
The Glove’s impact on the Big Ticket isn’t just evident in the defensive intensity they shared. Along with a penchant for hard-nosed basketball, Payton and Garnett also shared a love for trash-talking.
In recent years, stories of KG brutally shutting down his opponents with his words have dominated the airwaves. But the 2004 MVP will be the first to give credit to his predecessor and mentor for his own fiery tongue.
“Gary Payton and Charles Barkley was two of the, arguably the best, trash-talkers I ever experienced,” Garnett revealed on his podcast last year.
What made The Glove so phenomenal at trash-talking was that he didn’t just reserve it for his opponents. The 9-time All-Star would mouth off at everybody who wasn’t wearing the same jersey as him — from fans and officials to the coaching staff, nobody was safe around Payton.
“I watched GP back down the guard from baseline to baseline, talking the whole time. ‘Shut yo a** up.’ ‘Four up, twist.’ ‘Hey, get his a** in here.’ ‘Hey, come up.’ ‘Hey, you see the hand on the hip? Call it if you see it’… I’m like, ‘How is GP managing all this?’… GP to me, was like, masterful,” Garnett added.
Learning from that energy clearly impacted Garnett. Over 21 seasons in the league, he left his own legacy of trash-talking that might never be eclipsed by the modern NBA.
