15x NBA All-Star Kevin Garnett shares how Tim Duncan might be one of the most effective trash talkers in NBA History
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In the NBA, every aspect of game is critical, and sometimes, trash talking plays an important role too. When teams are evenly matched up or have played each other quite a few times, they start anticipating each other’s moves and strategies. It is then that either star players show up and carry their team home, or you get in your opponent’s heads.
One of the great rivalries of the 2000s was between Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. Having met 52 times during their careers(regular season and playoffs included), the two players knew each other very well. Kevin Garnett was loud, aggressive, and petty. He would always be up in people’s faces, yelling and screaming. On the other hand, Tim Duncan was as cool as a cucumber.
When the topic of trash talking is brought up, no one expects ‘The Great Fundamental’ to feature on the list. However, KG shocked us all when he spoke about the same on Matt Barnes’ All the Smoke.
Kevin Garnett shared how Tim Duncan would get in his opponent’s head
Tim Duncan has only been ejected once in his entire 19-year playing career. Everyone always saw him as a calm presence on the court. However, Kevin Garnett knew otherwise. While talking to Matt Barnes, KG was listing the biggest trash talkers in the NBA.
Garnett made sure he didn’t forget his adversary Tim Duncan. Talking about Duncan, he said,
“Believe it or not y’all, Tim Duncan… People would not see him verbally saying stuff because he wasn’t talking sentences. Timmy would hit you in phrases (like) ‘got you’, ‘ooh’, ‘almost’. (And) this the worst right here, ‘nice try’! Like subtle sh*t, no gangster sh*t, no real hardcore sh*t.”
Also Read: Kevin Garnett was almost robbed of $77 million by a man who also defrauded Tim Duncan
Timmy D would know just how to get in his opponent’s head, and it’s safe to say he was quite effective with it. Out of their 52 matchups, Duncan and the Spurs won 33 of those against KG and his teams. I guess ‘The Big Fundamental’ knew how to win on the court, whether it was with the ball, or with his words.
