“He Had 1 Year Under James Harden!”: Kevin Garnett Vehemently Backs Up His Claim Of Predicting Tyrese Maxey’s All-Star Caliber Season

The latest episode of KG Certified produced yet another discourse between the panelists, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The former Boston Celtics duo engaged in a debate while discussing their once-conference rival, the Philadelphia 76ers. As KG vehemently backed up his claim of predicting an All-Star caliber season for Tyrese Maxey, The Truth refused to acknowledge him for it.

“I didn’t know Maxey was gonna turn into this,” Pierce mentioned expressing his disbelief upon witnessing the growth of the point guard. Garnett joined in the conversation soon after, claiming, “I knew. I saw how he was working out in the summer”. Despite a few disagreements, the 47-year-old stood firm, declaring, “I said he was going to have a 50 piece and he was going to be a big part”.

Following this, the 2008 champion shed light on the reason behind his faith, citing, “He had a year under James Harden. James Harden the first thing he did when he went to Philly, he cuffed Maxey”. “He got right in his ear. The first thing you heard Maxey say, ‘Man, I want to thank James Harden for being patient with me. Taking me under his wing,'” KG further added.

Despite the seeming dispute over the claim, both the Hall of Famers paid tribute to the rise of the 23-year-old. In a recent episode, Pierce put his growth into focus, stating, “The most improved is Maxey. Nobody saw when James Harden left, him turning himself into an All-Star”. “If Maxey doesn’t make the All-Star team, that’s going to be sad,” Garnett responded, showcasing his accordance with the statement.

The limelight on the 76ers guard remained justified as his performances fueled these conversations around him. His points per game average of 25.7 rank him 15th on the list of most points per game by an individual in this regular season. His potency in scoring is even backed by his ability to facilitate the plays on the court as the Texas-born registers 6.6 assists per game. Thus, both the panelists had legitimate reasons to publicly support the 6ft 2″ youngster as he transformed from a role player to a leading NBA player in less than a season.

Can Tyrese Maxey boost the Philadelphia 76ers’ championship chances?

Both Pierce and KG chose to remain optimistic about the 76ers’ title hopes with the latter mentioning, “Tobias Harris has stepped up. Maxey has stepped up. They look calmer. They look more patient”. He then shed light on the impact of the bench players, stating, “Batum and all those guys they got from the [Los Angeles] Clippers are great fillers and then you got Patrick Beverly over there. You gotta have that grit in the locker room”.

The Truth indicated the same, highlighting, “They believe they can win it this year”. Following this, he drew parallels between this roster and the reigning champions Denver Nuggets, stating, “They kinda built like Denver”. It further put into perspective the chances of the Eastern Conference franchise as they maintain a 29-15 run.

With the postseason approaching fast, the team would look to build on this initial success. Despite the playoff heartbreaks in recent campaigns, the fans remain hopeful of their hopes of winning the championship. Thus, it would be interesting to see how the roster eventually reacts to the expectations surrounding them.