Making the NBA is an extraordinary feat for an athlete. It can be surreal to go head-to-head with the same players that were once idols. However, there is a reason why they say never meet your idols. Kevin Garnett learned through experience that there’s a time and place to appreciate his NBA brethren on the court. The Hall-of-Fame forward revealed his first battle with his role models which set the tone for his NBA career.
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Garnett made history as the third high school player drafted straight to the NBA in 1996 with the fifth overall pick to the Timberwolves. The 6-foot-11 forward possessed great upside but had much to learn, being only 19 years old. He didn’t have time to be awestruck in his first matchup against legendary power forward Charles Barkley. Instead, he received a Welcome-to-the-NBA moment. On ‘TICKET & THE TRUTH,’ he revealed the details of the story. He said,
“The first time I played Barkley, that motherf****r came elbows high. He tried to clean my whole sh*t! I had to jump out of the way. He said, ‘Watch your face young fella. Watch your f*****g face.'”
Many know Barkley as the controversial and hilarious media personality on ‘Inside The NBA.’ Before that, he was one of the greatest players during his prime. Garnett didn’t have the luxury to absorb the moment, as Barkley quickly reminded him of the competitive battlefield that they were on. In a matchup against Chris Webber, Garnett let his admiration get the best of him and faced the consequences immediately.
For Garnett, Webber was the player he looked up to the most. In his first head-to-head against the Michigan legend, Garnett became awestruck for the first and only time in his career. “People look up to LeBron and Jordan, it was [Chris Webber] for me,” Garnett said. “When he caught the ball and slapped that b***h, he went jump hook middle. I came to the bench, and Sam Mitchell slapped me.”
Once Mitchell brought Garnett down to reality, he never became awestruck in front of an opponent again. Garnett then became a pioneer of a new generation that carried a kill-or-be-killed mentality in the 2000s.
Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard’s first interaction
As time went on, Garnett eventually became a role model for younger players. One of the players who looked up to Garnett was three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard. The once dominant big man joined Garnett on his ‘KG CERTIFIED‘ podcast to discuss his first experience facing the star power forward.
Garnett and Howard didn’t share an intimate moment between the two. Dwight didn’t hold anything against KG for their interaction. Instead, he understood the reasoning behind it. “I really understood why we were going at it,” said Howard. “It wasn’t cause it was something personal against me; it was we were not on the same team, and we’re fighting for this trophy here.”
The interaction between Garnett and Howard helped shape the Magic star’s career. He became a result of the impact Garnett had on the next generation. Similar to the impact Barkley and Webber had on Garnett.
