Imagine a duo of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett in 2008! That would have made for the best two-way guard-big combo back then. However, Mamba’s former teammate Matt Barnes revealed that the Lakers superstar guard didn’t entertain the idea. On Podcast P with Paul George, Barnes touched upon Bryant not responding to Kevin Garnett as the latter intended to make a move to the Lakers. For the former 3-and-D Wing, Bryant intended to win it all without needing another superstar.
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This is why he didn’t return the calls of the former Timberwolves’ two-way Frontcourt threat who wanted to tell him about his desire to join forces. At the time, the Black Mamba had three rings, and in all the titles, Shaquille O’Neal had landed the Finals MVP. Bryant wanted to carve out his identity as someone who doesn’t need another MVP-level player to nab a title.
“He definitely wanted to play for the Lakers, he said, uh, Kobe wouldn’t call him back cuz I don’t think Kobe wanted the superstar. He wanted to do his own thing without Shaq,” Barnes told Paul George
At the same time, there were murmurs of The Big Ticket joining the Golden State Warriors. During the 2006-07 season, the Warriors’ “We Believe” squad turned the NBA world upside down when the eighth-ranked squad defeated top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round. This squad employed a “small-ball” scheme. Matt Barnes who was with the squad that season believed that KG would join them as they were on the list of his preferred destinations.
“The next year, we’re like we’re going to have the “We Believe” team plus Kevin Garnett and we thought we could have ran with something. It just didn’t work out in the end”, Barnes added
Ultimately, the 2004 MVP decided to join Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo in the Boston Celtics during the summer of 2007. He’d win the 2008 championship therefore the move paid off immediately. However, the injection of Bryant and Garnett could have made for something riveting.
What if Kevin Garnett joined Mamba
In June 2023, Kevin Garnett appeared on the All The Smoke podcast and relayed why Kobe Bryant could have wanted him as a teammate. As per the former Timberwolves Forward, he had always recognized Mamba’s talent despite him winning in the shadow of Shaquille O’Neal in the first half of his career.
He also conveyed how his “dog” mentality is equivalent to his “Mamba Mentality”. Thus, his passion for winning resonated with the 2x Finals MVP. Basketball Network’s Owen Crisafulli covered his comments.
“I wanted to link with Kobe because Kobe and I had like…a different connect. Like, when Kobe and Shaq when it went on, they little thing, a lot of people went with Shaq. A lot of people didn’t even f*** with Kobe, you know, whatever. I’m one of the very few that stayed with him, and I was a neutral guy…I showed everybody, love. But Kobe loved dogs. Kobe respected dogs,” Bryant told Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson
Many NBA fans would salivate over the prospects of the two joining forces. However, Bryant wanted to prove a point and did land two more chips alongside Pau Gasol. This story once again cements the Lakers legend’s status as one of the most fierce competitors.
