People from all over the world adore and try recreating the iconic LeBron James chalk toss ritual, however, Kevin Garnett is no fan of The King’s pregame custom.
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Each NBA player has their own set of rituals that they firmly believe in and follow throughout the course of their career. Many players have these rituals for different reasons – while some are superstitious, others just like getting hyped up before the game, and there are a few players who even do it for entertainment purposes.
Over the years, we have had some stars popularising their pre-game actions. Dwyane Wade had his 3 pulls ups before the start of the game, Kevin Garnett would headbutt the stanchion attached to the basket, Tim Duncan always hugged the basketball, Russell Westbrook would break a couple of moves right before tip-off, Stephen Curry would have a short sprint, among many others.
But no ritual could be as gripping and famous as LeBron James and his chalk toss ritual. Spectators would travel from across the globe to watch The King perform his pregame custom.
Also Read: How the Lakers no. 23 took up the chalk toss routine from his idol the Bulls no. 23
Everybody absolutely loved it. Everybody but Kevin Garnett.
“It gets fans hyped. But me? I think ‘what a shame’”: Kevin Garnett on LeBron James doing the chalk toss
It was actually Michael Jordan who had started this pregame ritual. In order to make the Bulls’ announcers on the scorers-table uncomfortable, His Airness would dust off some chalk at them.
KG picked up the same and loved to see how “pissed the writers got”. In his book “KG: A to Z: An Uncensored Encyclopedia of Life, Basketball, and Everything in Between”, Garnett mentioned:
“So at the start of the game, when I’d get ready to roll out there, I would go over to the area along the sideline where the writers were sitting. I’d load my hands up with chalk, way more than I needed. I’d fling it at them and then clap my hands—but the clap was really just to hide the fling. The stuff would go everywhere, all over their computers. It wasn’t no joke like between Jordan and Johnny and Jim, but it made me smile to see how pissed the writers got, see them holding their papers up in front of their faces,”
Since the chalk wasn’t directed to any “pissed-off writer”, Garnett thought of LBJ’s ritual as a “shame”. He further wrote:
“Later on, LeBron would take the move and put his own spin on it. Load up even more than I did before flinging it high in the air. People love it. It gets fans hyped. But me? Whenever I see that, I think, what a shame. All that shock and not a single pissed-off writer to show for it.”
Also Read: When Kenny Smith explained how the Bulls guard’s strong basics helped him be the GOAT
Love it or hate it, over the years Bron’s pregame chalk toss ritual has become a reason for people to come and watch the games live. With it getting a lot of love, it doesn’t seem like James is going to be stopping the tradition any time soon.
