Even the greatest players in NBA history don’t come out of the gates gun blazing. The NBA is a new environment for any young player, and many of the existing stars look to take advantage of fresh meat. Hall of Fame forward Kevin Garnett fell victim to this in his first few years in the NBA, notably falling prey to the great Michael Jordan.
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This is not to say that Garnett didn’t have an immediate impact in the NBA. But as good as he was, Jordan was simply better. Garnett also had a habit of idolizing certain players he would go against on a given day.
Afterall these were athletes he had looked up to growing up and he considered it to be a great privilege to be rubbing shoulders with them. Take this story about Glen Rice for instance.
“I looked up to Glen Rice,” Garnett revealed on Ticket & The Truth. “So Glen Rice would go, ‘What’s up, KG? I love you, boy. You’re playing good. Then come off the bench [and start killing me].”
Garnett quickly realized the cutthroat nature of the NBA. Although the league is a brotherhood, there’s such a thing as friends on the court. But while Rice would do it every now and then, Jordan would absolutely destroy Garnett.
Garnett is among the few stars who have had the opportunity to face off against Jordan during his tenure with both the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. Even though he was more experienced during Jordan’s stretch with the Wizards, it was hard to remain strong against arguably the greatest player of all time.
“My aunt and my mom love Jordan, and he knows this. Bro is talking to me and mollywhopping me. In Washington, he gave me about 40,” Garnett recalled.
Although Garnett didn’t give an exact date, based on the performance he’s referring to, the battle most likely came in January 2002. In that game, Jordan put up 35 points. It should be noted that at the time, Jordan was already 38 years old.
That instance may have been one of the best things to happen to Garnett because his mental fortitude drastically improved afterwards. In his later years, he was able to do the same thing that both Rice and Jordan did to him many years ago.
