As NBA ratings continue to underwhelm and fans keep wringing their hands at the state of the game, it’s good to know that the internet always has our backs. Kevin Garnett took to his Instagram story this week to share a post by IG user franklinthomasyi that had him in tears.
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The post in question is a scene from the 2002 movie Paid in Full, except instead of stars Mekhi Phifer and Wood Harris, the faces of LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been swapped in, along with the caption, “Lebron whenever he thinks about Retiring.”
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Garnett lost it at the sight of “James” explaining why he can’t quit the game to the bed-ridden, head-bandaged “Davis,” saying, “Y they do em like that… Yall ain’t shhhh” with a few laughing emojis.
KG on his IG story pic.twitter.com/w4PdY6opXw
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) January 14, 2025
They say that in every joke, there’s a kernel of truth, and that’s certainly true for this spoof. LeBron is now the oldest player in the NBA, playing in his 22nd season. Though he said in November, “I’m not going to play that much longer, to be completely honest,” fans will believe it when they see it, as James has a history of telling the odd lie on camera.
He’s still putting up numbers for a Lakers team that is hanging in the Western Conference playoff race. But LeBron is also famously hungry for the spotlight, so when the clip concludes with the line, “But if I leave, the fans still gonna love me, man?” it really hits.
“Davis” didn’t even speak in the clip, but AD managed to take the heaviest fire anyway. The Brow has dealt with the injury prone label his whole career, so to see him lying there with that bandage on his head took it to another level.
In fairness to AD though, he’s done his best to shake off his fragile reputation, as he played in 76 games last year and has played in 35 out of a possible 37 games this year while carrying the heaviest load on the team.
While the rest of the NBA media stresses about low ratings and looks to shift blame onto players and coaches, it’s nice to see Garnett have a laugh and spread some joy.
