Younger players often reach out to the veterans for advice when they feel like their game needs improvement. It not only helps the youngsters overcome their problems, but it also builds a camaraderie between the two generations. On an episode of Ticket & the Truth, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were asked if they ever reached out to veteran players for advice when they were up-and-coming.
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Back when KG started in the NBA, he had superstars all around him, who were also some of the best basketball players on the planet. Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson were all at the top of their game at the time.
However, KG’s favorite person to reach out to was Kevin McHale. He said, “I felt like I was very fortunate to have something or someone of that caliber. He had won multiple times, he had played with great players, he understood the culture, and what I felt like he was building in Minnesota when I got there was aligned with what I was.”
KG was hesitant to go to someone like Shaq for advice because he felt like he wouldn’t get anything from him that could really be of help. He said, “The guys you had to play against, they wouldn’t…Shaq didn’t give me no advice other than ‘Keep going’. But yeah, I didn’t have anybody I could call.”
The question was brought up because of an Anthony Edwards report that came out recently.
As per ESPN’s Mark Jones, Ant reached out to Michael Jordan for advice on how to handle being double-teamed. Ant has had his struggles with it lately so taking advice from someone who was double-teamed his entire career was the right choice.
Although KG didn’t have a veteran to reach out to, retired McHale was there for him when he needed help.
Kevin Garnett and Kevin McHale share a great relationship
Throughout his career, KG was seen as an aggressive, intense, and versatile competitor. People didn’t even know that he had a soft side to him. In 2012, when McHale was dealing with a devastating personal loss, KG’s soft side came out to comfort him.
The Celtics legend’s 23-year-old daughter, Alexandra ‘Sasha’ McHale, had passed away. After McHale came back to coach the Houston Rockets, he shared an emotional moment with KG after their game. The 2008 NBA Champion walked up to the coach and gave him a hug and some words of comfort.
McHale broke down and started crying as the two embraced one another on the court. It also showed how close KG was to the three-time NBA Champion.
