The recent situation with the league’s officiating has brought to light the disparities in mentality and physicality between eras. In the 80s, 90s, and even in the 2000s, the NBA was known for its toughness and physicality. With the league looking to make the game more “presentable” and “global”, the rules have started to favor scoring over defense.
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Kevin Garnett, the Boston Celtics legend, recently took to Instagram to share his views on the current state of the league. Attesting to former Memphis Grizzlies star Jason Williams’ ‘rookie hazing’ story, KG said, “Sh*t was very different. The old league was very much a bully league… Straight Jungle mentality. Frfr…”
Jason Williams was recently on the Flagrant podcast where he gave the hosts of the show an insight into the league back in his day. During the show, the veteran point guard talked about an incident of rookie hazing that he witnessed.
The player that Williams’ teammates hazed was none other than Gordan Giriček. Gordan was previously a pro in Croatia and Russia and hence, wasn’t amused when the senior players on the Grizzlies treated him as a rookie. According to Williams, Giricek was once ordered to bring doughnuts for the senior players on the team, which he refused to do.
After a few reminders, the senior players had enough. Recalling the chilling story, Williams said, “So at the end of practice, they put a bin up…Duct taped his legs-Giricek the rook, duct-taped his legs, hands behind his back, butt naked, put him in the laundry bin, filled it up with ice, rolled him into the shower, rolled him out onto the pyramid floor, left his a** there for like three hours bro. Nobody found him.”
This chilling yet hilarious tale of Williams was shared by KG with the above-mentioned message about the league back then. It sure makes us understand how the league operated before. Rookie hazing was a common phenomenon as even Williams faced a lot of hazing himself.
Kevin Garnett did it too
Kevin Garnett was an intimidating personality on the court back in the day. The aggression and ferocity weren’t just for show, as some rookies had to find out the hard way. While on ESPN’s ‘Highly Questionable’, Mason Plumlee recalled a hilarious story of Garnett hazing the entire rookie class.
Recalling the incident, Plumlee said, “This year we had a bunch of young guys and they forgot the boombox for the flight to one of our preseason games so KG kicked all the young guys off…He had us get off the plane and run through our plays on the tarmac while we waited for the flight staff to get the plane ready.”
But this wasn’t the last of Garnett’s hazing incidents, as KG had something special in store for Karl-Anthony Towns. Teaching his ways to Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins, Garnett taught the duo how to properly haze the rookie class. He would proceed to kick a few balls in the stands and make rookies, Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyus Jones and Nemanja Bjelica retrieve the balls, which were scattered throughout the stands.
