Kevin Garnett cemented his Hall of Fame legacy with his exceptional play for the Minnesota Timberwolves and eventually the Boston Celtics, where he captured his only championship. However, the 15-time All-Star also played a couple of seasons for the Brooklyn Nets in what was a largely forgettable period of his career. He spoke briefly about it during the latest edition of his KG Certified podcast.
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The story of how KG ended up in Brooklyn is sort of a wild one when you look back on it. On June 27, 2013, the Celtics traded Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to the Nets. In return, Boston got three future first-round picks and players like Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace. Two of those picks later turned into All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Suffice it to say, the Celtics were looking out in the long run.
Coaching Garnett on that team was Jason Kidd. As much respect as KG has for the Hall of Famer, he was surprised by how long it took him to find his footing as the head honcho. “It took J-Kidd like 40 games to understand and get it together. We didn’t have 40 games to get nobody.” The Nets were eliminated in the playoffs in the first round by the Miami Heat despite an all-star lineup, albeit a much older one.
“I wasn’t anticipating what he actually was. I thought he was going to be totally different,” added Garnett about Kidd’s coaching ability. A moment later, he reflected on the fact that Brooklyn was an entirely different environment from the one they came from in Boston. “The Brooklyn moment was a dope one, but it also woke us up like ‘we not in Kansas anymore.'”
Garnett’s two seasons with the Nets were a mixed bag. He did surpass 14,000 rebounds while wearing a Brooklyn uniform. He also finished with career lows of only 6.6 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game in 2013-2014. It was at that point that KG started to realize that his best playing days were behind him.
Paul Pierce once shared a story of how Garnett got into J-Kidd’s face in Brooklyn
Playing alongside Garnett on that infamous Brooklyn Nets team was Paul Pierce. The Truth recalled his time playing under Jason Kidd during an old appearance on the All The Smoke podcast. In doing so, he remembered a time when KG nearly started throwing hands with Kidd.
“(On) Christmas we (were) playing the Bulls. They blow us out on national television,” Pierce began. “J-Kidd came in there. He (was) yelling at us. KG caught up and got in J-Kidd’s face dawg. I thought he was about to whoop J-Kidd. I swear from that point on it turned our season around. KG cares so much dawg.”
The 2013-2014 Nets were a moment in time, one that did let NBA fans know that the league was serious about creating another star-studded team in New York. Unfortunately, it never took off. They tried again years later with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, but that trio also hit a brick wall of bad luck.
Maybe one day the Nets will etch their way onto the right side of the history book. Until then, New York is the Knicks’ town.
