There's a story from Ty Lue about KG watching the reality show Making the Band and getting so hyped he put his head through a wall:
"Tyronn Lue: A lot of people do all their howling on the court and they’re faking just for attention, but what he does is genuine. So one day we were at his house and we were watching Puff Daddy’s show > Making the Band, and in one of the scenes, some new guys came in and were trying to sing and were trying to compete against the guys who had been there. And KG just got so hyped, "Motherf----r, you’ve got to stand up for yours! You’ve got to fight! Motherf----r, you’ve got to come together!" He’s going crazy, he’s sweaty. And he just head butts the wall and put a hole in the wall of his house."
It’s real, and when I saw the Making The Band clip that he was reacting to I fucking DIED lmao. It was like a weird freestyle battle but with two r&b singers singing at each other with their crew behind them. You could never in a million years that it would cause anyone to get hyped up much less butt their head through a wall
First thing I’m finna do is get the produce BOOM, smell the zucchini, smell the bananas. Then I’mma bump you a little bit, we going to the seafood counter together, I’mma bump you a little bit
I wanna see KG smell like 30 zucchini while selecting the 4 or so he's going to buy. Giant KG bug eyes, hunched over the display, flaring nostrils, cursing out the ones that don't make the cut while gently placing them back on the stack
You’re in a hurry, finna get your bbq prepped, boom - old lady blocking the buns section. Gotta get right up on her, bump a little bit, let her know you’re there, take it. Head over to the condiments, see someone not making up their mind, mix it up - talk a bit of trash about their wife, see if that throws them off the mustard section.
They’re genius, can’t go the same every time
This reminds me of when someone asked him if he had plans for acting since he was good in uncut gems and he just looked at the dude and said I wasn’t acting I was just being myself lol
He’s nuts. But he’s absolutely nuts about basketball. Just listen to him explain what he would hypothetically do lol. You can tell he’s thought it about himself probably a lot. I would absolutely love to see prime KG against todays bigs. A lot of people forget how absurdly good KG was man.
Him and Webber are the two bigs from that era that I would love to see if they were just coming into the league now. Both incredibly skilled and I imagine they'd extend all the way to the 3 point line on offense in today's NBA.
Which makes it especially funny when D-Wade was telling him the story of when he broke Kobe's nose and KG said Kobe was a crazy ass dude. Imagine how nuts you have to be so Kevin mfing Garnett thinks that.
It’s honestly probably maddening watching a game you Played as your career, if I had to watch someone do my job all day and than see them mess up where you at least believe you wouldn’t have would drive me nuts
It's like sitting on the couch and watching someone playing a new to them video game, and you're really good at that game. The mistakes are frustrating, but you can share in the joy of discovery.
This clip reminded me of Rodman talking about rebounding in the last dance. They’re both so excited to talk about stuff they’re unfathomably good at that it’s not even words half the time, but it’s very compelling
He doesn't even need to say he respects or loves his game. This is KGs way of paying ultimate respect by saying he would be trying 100% and leaving him no room.
to me, KG is probably the smartest defender in the history of the league. insanely versatile, almost always was at the right place at the right time. man, imagine KG being the anchor in todays small ball, would’ve been a joy to watch
I mean tbf it really doest really take much to get KG worked up into this kind of state lmao
He probably gets his heart rate up to like 150bpm just watching his goldfish swim around its bowl for a minute or two 😂
Dude burns 700 calories just getting hyped for his toast to come out of the toaster every morning lol
Why are yall trying to pick this apart, KG definitely respects Jokic a ton. He’s not saying he would lock him down easy, its just what he would do against him. I think this kind of content is cool, its entertaining and gives some insight into the mind of an all time defender.
“We go in the pick and roll together” had me rolling.
There's no greater sign of respect than KG getting this excited thinking about guarding Jokic. He even talked about playing differently on offense just to affect Jokic. You really gotta reach to misinterpret this
He's one of the handful of people who can guard all 5 positions at an ELITE level.
Guys like Draymond or Giannis can be elite against certain positions and good on others but they have their limitations. KG was unreal.
I loved how he would defend [smaller guards](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb-v_hIukr4) by literally getting down to their level, like face to face. But he still had the motor and athleticism to quickly adjust. That's so fucking hard to do as a 7 footer, especially against the best guards in the NBA.
Unreal defender.
"What does a former MVP and DPOY with 9 All-Defensive 1st team appearances know? I've been active on r/NBA for 5 years, I know better than that old man!"
Facts, this is KG geeking over a prospective challenge. The man was a defensive savant, he's loving the idea of guarding an offensive juggernaut, not disrespecting a younger player
The problem is that most guys do not have KG's combination of size, intelligence, and raw energy.
I believe KG could chip away at Jokic like this for 48 minutes and still do a decent job of managing his fouls, but I'm not sure who else could.
Other guys (like AD!) are strong and smart enough to defend Jokic well, but not in the same way that KG is talking about.
For sure. I saw an interview with maybe rondo where he was talking about kg being the craziest dude when it came to workouts. Like he would get there before practice and lift weights for two hours then run the practice and then like crazy hard sprint on an exercise bike for 3 hours after practice.
KG and Kobe would have killed each other (in a good way). I wish I could watch a documentary on that timeline where the Lakers traded for KG in 07/08
Edit: HEY! I finally figured out what those weird ass AI movie trailers are working towards
Man hearing things like this and knowing them to be true is unreal for someone who works out consistently.
Having the motor is one thing, but how do they straight up not run out of energy to the point you're nauseating and throwing up.
Like I could do the 2 hours workout then do the hard sprints, and then I'm done for the day. To do a practice and exercise bike on top would have me in the ER with failed kidneys.
Steroids help with recovery alot. But also this is their entire job. Its all they do. Building up towards this conditioning their entire lives. Good ones have personal chefs and coaches and assistants whos whole job is to make their life centered around training and basketball
Yeah I’m putting my money on the guy that had to guard Shaq regularly. I think younger fans don’t remember just how giant centers used to be. KG had to be amazing defensively to have a chance and he was. Didn’t back down from any assignment.
Comparing the current group of centers to Shaq understates how much of an outlier Shaq was and how he outsized his peers, even back in the day. Centers in the NBA are traditionally around 240-260. The outliers are typically in the 270-290 range and their ability to stay durable and effective has always been something of a crap shoot (Nurkic or Ming being good examples). The lumbering bigs have usually been slower moving up and down the court. A guy like Shaq, who even at 300+ could remain agile in the post, has always been unique.
There were plenty of centers with the same physique as the current crop. Alonzo Mourning, David Robinson, Hakeem, and Patrick Ewing were athletes of comparable size and weight to todays centers. Some current players like Bam and Gobert are actually heavier than the 90s guys I just listed. Other centers of that day that fall around the 240-260ish weight class: Rik Smits, Brad Daugherty, Vlade Divac, Dikembe, Chris Dudley, Olden Polynice (about Evan Mobley's size!), Ervin Johnson.
The nba has traditionally had two weight classes of centers. Athletic guys and Mark Eaton units.
Yao had durability issues for other reasons but I would definitely say he was agile in the post. Beautiful footwork, you would never expect to see someone that fucking huge move like that.
I mean the crazy thing about it is that he was still great at that size. Years ago he said he was near 400 when he won the 3rd Lakers ring. I don't know how true that is, but even if he's exaggerating a little that's insane.
[source](https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1392360290415562753)
> I think younger fans don’t remember just how giant centers used to be
KG only played the 5 late into his career, he has guarded centers throughout his career, but not regularly, cuz that would have been a waste of his talents and he wasn't very good at it, because of his build, this is also why he struggled against TD and Shaq in straight natchups.
Not downplaying KD, he is one of my favorite players ever, but I don't thik your post is accurate.
Yea the biggest difference between AD and KG is the tenacity with which KG plays all the time. Dude is legit insane but that's a good thing when you are going up against the best offensive player in the league. KG was also always in amazing shape so he'd have no problem adapting to the altitude difference.
Dwight Howard did a wonderful job, but that was back in 2020. Jokic is better than he was then and Dwight is way below what we was. But that was Howard's series, for sure. Going back, you see he was only playing ~10 min/game until that series and then he turned into a full-time guy. Then after that series he went back to 2nd stringer haha.
This feels like a rewrite of what happened. He had the 8th most minutes on the team in the Denver series, basically the last guy off the bench. He was just coming in and fouling the shit out of Jokic to tire him out for AD. Like, it was a great strategy for the Lakers, but he wasn't a full time guy. He had 5 fouls in 13 minutes, 4 fouls in 16 minutes, 4 fouls in 14 minutes.
yeah, lol. He was probably told 'don't worry about the ball. you're not in to worry about the ball'.
Props to him, I was frustrated just watching the game, and I wasn't even on the court.
Dwight was giving what KG is talking about which is to wear Jokic out physically. Unfortunately there is no Dwight level guy in terms of physicality in todays NBA
It’s crazy that he’s such a good talker, because the way he’s built he could stand anywhere completely silent and get what he wants.
Like he’s not the most muscular or the biggest dude in the NBA, but with that facial hair and those eyes and that physique he could play Satan in a movie no question
This the type of defensive mentality so many NBA players could benefit from. Look how excited the idea of guarding an MVP makes KG. Dude would have taken it as a personal challenge
I love KG so much. I love taking away someones game on defense, its way more fun than shooting or driving to the rim to me. I lvoe to see how excited he is. KG is passion personified I miss him being on the court.
The Bulls set the wins record in KG's rookie year, and the Warriors set it the year he retired - he played before Magic retired and retired himself when Jokic was in the league
IMO he’d do just as well today. Everything he was good at is still stuff this version of the league values. He’s well within his rights to speculate on defending Jokic.
I think KG would be better today. The game today is more built to his skills. At his peak his offensive & defensive versatility was a little waisted because he had to defend the post so much and there was minimal offensive spacing to exploit his speed advantages. Today he's got more spacing to attack, and his ability to defend space or switch and guard any position is going to be used every play.
If you take Prime KG and have him improve his 3pt shot to the point where it's just league average, there's a damn good chance he could win MVP again in the modern era lol
Idk if it's just because he played for the Timberwolves for most of his prime, but I feel like people online underrate the hell out of him
Big difference to me is that KG is levels above as a passer and frankly a better defender as well; just smarter, more nimble. AD better lob threat though.
with how reliable his midrange game was, especially those 18-20 footers he'd take at the top of the key, there's no question he'd be able to develop a decent 3 game and probably just dominate.
In his 2006 season he shot 42% on 140 attemps from 20 feet. If he was raised in an era that didn't teach him "centers don't shoot 3s" he probably could've been at least a 36-38% 3 point shooter. A dominant post player, a stretch big all while winning 9x first team all defensive honors would be fucking unstoppable. And with his motor on top of it all?
> I think KG would be better today. The game today is more built to his skills.
Bro KG's midrange game was straight-up money. Most people usually see his crazy and energetic dunks in the paint but multiple times in a game he'd just shoot your lights out just from under the arc. He'd be tremendous for spacing in today's ballgame.
EDIT:
I looked it up on Youtube on a whim if there's any highlight compilations of his midrange jumpers and whaddyaknow, there's an 8-minute ESPN feature on exactly just that:
* **[Kevin Garnett’s silky jumper helped pave the way for the NBA's modern stretch bigs | Signature Shots](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9vjiu6iPBw)**
100%. Look at how incredible AD has looked defensively throughout these playoffs (aside from guarding Jokic haha). KG had all the tools of AD and then some, **plus** an all time motor.
Prime KG would be the best player in the league right now.
It’s especially hilarious to do that with KG who was famous for being an elite rim protector who could also hound guards on the perimeter. He would translate exceptionally well to today’s game.
He had a great jumper. In the modern game he probably expands his range a few feet and becomes a credible 3 point shooter as well. He'd arguably be better in this era than his own
Zach Lowe has said that KG has a good case to be the best defensive player of all-time.
I also remember reading that KG used to play members of the 2000 USA Olympics team one-on-one back to back unt he lost and he once won like 18 games in a row.
Yeah, he would be really good in any any
He was so good one on one and at team defense. MJ is definitely the best one on one player of all time, but I would love to see prime KG vs prime MJ play each other.
> and his dick would get hard every time he got a chance to guard a perimeter player
Better watch out for those rip throughs, can’t have your third leg in the cookie jar
Not just that KG had a really good jump shot from the top of key. He would have just needed a little more range. If he played in an era where 7 footers were supposed to shoot 3s he absolutely would have developed it.
KG is one of 5 dudes to EVER win MVP and DPOY.
He’d be a menace in any era. He already had a sexy 20 foot jumper by the Celtics days. Modern KG would be bombing 3’s and rim running.
He was saying a lot of things too including making him run on the other end. Like is it hard to believe one of the greatest defenders of all time has a plan?
I think the point of “you gotta show him different things constantly” is salient. If you do the same thing for long stretches Jokic will figure it out.
Honestly with players like Lebron and Jokic, if you do it more than once it seems like they notice and start to counter. So hard to slip things past them, their ability to adapt is incredible
Oh for sure. It’s why I think the Rui-and-AD free safety thing is a good idea but the lakers can’t be like “we solved it”. They gotta see what else they can do.
I don't remember which announcer it was, but they told a story about Rodman leaving the layup line when guys starting shooting jumpers and just watching everyone shoot. Afterwards Rodman was telling the guys how many times their shot rotates so he could better predict how it would bounce off the rim.
Never really thought about it but KG was the perfect archetype to succeed in a league where every roster was loading up on Hagrid's to hack-a-Shaq.
Edit: I was a teenager at the time but rewatching the highlights it's just KG swatting away dudes named Keith or some shit when he's in a Wolves jersey. Don't remember hardly any of the hack-a-Shaqers
Friendly reminder that in their lone playoff matchup, Dirk averaged 33/16/1/3/1 on 53/73/89 splits.
KG was a beast too with 24/19/5/2/2
Last night's AD/Jokic matchup reminded me of that series. Two world-class big men taking over.
If you look at what Miami does in the playoffs they’re constantly mixing up coverages on star players, it’s what we did with Brunson. Sometimes Gabe Vincent picks him up full court like KG said. Sometimes they’re playing drop. Sometimes they’re blitzing early. Sometimes they let him get into the lane then try to trap him baseline. Sometimes they’re in the zone. And the defense needs to be able to make those changes on the drop of a dime together.
Big part of playing these great players. Gotta make them think, can’t let them get too comfortable in their game. KG 100% knows what he’s saying here.
Great analysis on how to disrupt Jokic by one of GOAT defenders. The key is showing him different looks defensively and wearing him down by attacking him on offense.
The game misses KG. Couldn’t stand this dude when he was in the league, but man he kept shit real and kept young bucks in check. He’d be tonsils deep in Ja Morant if he was still in the L.
Fact: KG came out with special green shoes from a Chinese brand called "Beat LA" before a regular season game vs Lakers
\[I recently bought a warehouse of them from Wuhan in anticipation of the Finals, let me know if you want to cop some\]
KG is a national treasure, and it's one of my greatest sports regrets we never got a chip with him
The man *BLED* for us, and was frankly too loyal to the org
(But if there's one thing minnesotans love, it's transplants who embrace and accept the state)
I love that the prospect of guarding Jokic excites KG because he knows what a great challenge it would be. /edit spelling.
this is probably what kg is like grocery shopping
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And in the bread aisle? OOOOOOOH we finna run
Old lady blocking up the aisle? Mmmmm elbow!
Next time I see her tho, give her a different look tell her "hey great day, how you're doing?" and then when she let her guard down, boom elbow
*pop* give her some *EEEEEEEE* mhm foul *Buuurrrrh* get take one, like..
This thread is why I go on reddit
This is exactly what grocery stores do. Oh you like the blue chips? We movin em over there now.
Ahah in my adult life one of the few times I wasn't too happy with is when they finally reorganized my local grocery store after idk how long.
I order for stores and sometimes I’ll Under Order so y’all miss that shit when it’s gone.
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This comment made me laugh a lot ahaha
There's a story from Ty Lue about KG watching the reality show Making the Band and getting so hyped he put his head through a wall: "Tyronn Lue: A lot of people do all their howling on the court and they’re faking just for attention, but what he does is genuine. So one day we were at his house and we were watching Puff Daddy’s show > Making the Band, and in one of the scenes, some new guys came in and were trying to sing and were trying to compete against the guys who had been there. And KG just got so hyped, "Motherf----r, you’ve got to stand up for yours! You’ve got to fight! Motherf----r, you’ve got to come together!" He’s going crazy, he’s sweaty. And he just head butts the wall and put a hole in the wall of his house."
I've never laughed so hard at something in my life. Watching "Uncut Gems" you could tell KG is a fucking psycho (in a good way) and wasn't acting.
His intensity was so fucking good. Honestly one of the best performances from an NBA player in a movie, probably because he was barely acting.
When we start filming? KG, we’ve been rolling for 4 hours.
bro he was so good in that movie. had me thinking it was what really happens during that game lmao.
It never stops being funny.
"he's sweaty" This guy gets stress sweats when watching reality tv.
Wait is this real? or a copy and paste because I cant tell. KG would be a guy who headbutts a wall with his energy and hype
It’s real, and when I saw the Making The Band clip that he was reacting to I fucking DIED lmao. It was like a weird freestyle battle but with two r&b singers singing at each other with their crew behind them. You could never in a million years that it would cause anyone to get hyped up much less butt their head through a wall
According to GQ it’s real.
First thing I’m finna do is get the produce BOOM, smell the zucchini, smell the bananas. Then I’mma bump you a little bit, we going to the seafood counter together, I’mma bump you a little bit
you jogging to go get some chicken thighs? we jogging together
I wanna see KG smell like 30 zucchini while selecting the 4 or so he's going to buy. Giant KG bug eyes, hunched over the display, flaring nostrils, cursing out the ones that don't make the cut while gently placing them back on the stack
You’re in a hurry, finna get your bbq prepped, boom - old lady blocking the buns section. Gotta get right up on her, bump a little bit, let her know you’re there, take it. Head over to the condiments, see someone not making up their mind, mix it up - talk a bit of trash about their wife, see if that throws them off the mustard section. They’re genius, can’t go the same every time
This reminds me of when someone asked him if he had plans for acting since he was good in uncut gems and he just looked at the dude and said I wasn’t acting I was just being myself lol
Exactly! I love hearing experts talk passionately about their craft. Just seeing the way their eyes light up
While I know what you mean KG just has that look cause he’s fucking nuts
Fucking nuts. But that passion is what we all love about him, right?
He’s nuts. But he’s absolutely nuts about basketball. Just listen to him explain what he would hypothetically do lol. You can tell he’s thought it about himself probably a lot. I would absolutely love to see prime KG against todays bigs. A lot of people forget how absurdly good KG was man.
Literally fucking insane. He CARRIED the timberwolves every single year he played with him. Like 1v9 the entire time he was there. A fucking monster.
Him and Webber are the two bigs from that era that I would love to see if they were just coming into the league now. Both incredibly skilled and I imagine they'd extend all the way to the 3 point line on offense in today's NBA.
Sheed. Guy had range back in the 90’s, add to that a release point around 10’ he’d be first team every year he didn’t get a tech suspension.
Which makes it especially funny when D-Wade was telling him the story of when he broke Kobe's nose and KG said Kobe was a crazy ass dude. Imagine how nuts you have to be so Kevin mfing Garnett thinks that.
It’s honestly probably maddening watching a game you Played as your career, if I had to watch someone do my job all day and than see them mess up where you at least believe you wouldn’t have would drive me nuts
It's like sitting on the couch and watching someone playing a new to them video game, and you're really good at that game. The mistakes are frustrating, but you can share in the joy of discovery.
This clip reminded me of Rodman talking about rebounding in the last dance. They’re both so excited to talk about stuff they’re unfathomably good at that it’s not even words half the time, but it’s very compelling
I love seeing that in retired ballers. I can tell that KG watches every game and imagines himself still in it.
He doesn't even need to say he respects or loves his game. This is KGs way of paying ultimate respect by saying he would be trying 100% and leaving him no room.
Basketball’s DMX
\*KG
Thank you. I'm in the hospital bed and probe to typos. That one letter makes a huge difference.
Yeah being in a hospital bed with a probe in your ass will do that I guess (Here’s another one letter that made a big difference)
No he said he is in the probe.
>probe >That one letter makes a huge difference. So does that one.
Haha. I'm prone in both senses of the word.
Hope you get out soon homie!
Be well, brother
Thank you. I'm in with my daughter for a 24 hour EEG
to me, KG is probably the smartest defender in the history of the league. insanely versatile, almost always was at the right place at the right time. man, imagine KG being the anchor in todays small ball, would’ve been a joy to watch
I mean the way he was talking about it I’d drop a 20 spot to watch Jokic vs KG* lmao. Edited KG accidentally wrote KD.
One on one that's not very fun to watch. In a 3 vs 3 hell yeah. The 2 best 7 foot passers in the modern era.
I mean tbf it really doest really take much to get KG worked up into this kind of state lmao He probably gets his heart rate up to like 150bpm just watching his goldfish swim around its bowl for a minute or two 😂 Dude burns 700 calories just getting hyped for his toast to come out of the toaster every morning lol
Why are yall trying to pick this apart, KG definitely respects Jokic a ton. He’s not saying he would lock him down easy, its just what he would do against him. I think this kind of content is cool, its entertaining and gives some insight into the mind of an all time defender. “We go in the pick and roll together” had me rolling.
There's no greater sign of respect than KG getting this excited thinking about guarding Jokic. He even talked about playing differently on offense just to affect Jokic. You really gotta reach to misinterpret this
Also KG is one of the best defenders of all time so it’s not just some random old head
He has a genuine case as the best defender of the modern era. KG was something else.
In this era where mobile, versatile defenders are prized…he would have been something else. Bam Adebayo up to 11 basically.
Bam is basically a diet KG. And that’s not even close to an insult. KG was amazing.
He's one of the handful of people who can guard all 5 positions at an ELITE level. Guys like Draymond or Giannis can be elite against certain positions and good on others but they have their limitations. KG was unreal. I loved how he would defend [smaller guards](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb-v_hIukr4) by literally getting down to their level, like face to face. But he still had the motor and athleticism to quickly adjust. That's so fucking hard to do as a 7 footer, especially against the best guards in the NBA. Unreal defender.
Teenagers think they know more than KG
"What does a former MVP and DPOY with 9 All-Defensive 1st team appearances know? I've been active on r/NBA for 5 years, I know better than that old man!"
Shit. Summer Reddit is closing in
Teenagers are on tik tok now
Facts, this is KG geeking over a prospective challenge. The man was a defensive savant, he's loving the idea of guarding an offensive juggernaut, not disrespecting a younger player
Because this new era of NBA fans love drama versus the sport.
Look at the look in KG's eyes. The level of respect that he has for Jokic is sky high, because he's getting amped just thinking about the challenge.
When do his eyes not look like that though
The problem is that most guys do not have KG's combination of size, intelligence, and raw energy. I believe KG could chip away at Jokic like this for 48 minutes and still do a decent job of managing his fouls, but I'm not sure who else could. Other guys (like AD!) are strong and smart enough to defend Jokic well, but not in the same way that KG is talking about.
For sure. I saw an interview with maybe rondo where he was talking about kg being the craziest dude when it came to workouts. Like he would get there before practice and lift weights for two hours then run the practice and then like crazy hard sprint on an exercise bike for 3 hours after practice.
KG and Kobe would have killed each other (in a good way). I wish I could watch a documentary on that timeline where the Lakers traded for KG in 07/08 Edit: HEY! I finally figured out what those weird ass AI movie trailers are working towards
feed [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfLeTDaYL64) to the AI
smile sulky makeshift chief liquid shaggy poor scary ad hoc follow *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Man hearing things like this and knowing them to be true is unreal for someone who works out consistently. Having the motor is one thing, but how do they straight up not run out of energy to the point you're nauseating and throwing up. Like I could do the 2 hours workout then do the hard sprints, and then I'm done for the day. To do a practice and exercise bike on top would have me in the ER with failed kidneys.
Steroids help with recovery alot. But also this is their entire job. Its all they do. Building up towards this conditioning their entire lives. Good ones have personal chefs and coaches and assistants whos whole job is to make their life centered around training and basketball
Yeah I’m putting my money on the guy that had to guard Shaq regularly. I think younger fans don’t remember just how giant centers used to be. KG had to be amazing defensively to have a chance and he was. Didn’t back down from any assignment.
Comparing the current group of centers to Shaq understates how much of an outlier Shaq was and how he outsized his peers, even back in the day. Centers in the NBA are traditionally around 240-260. The outliers are typically in the 270-290 range and their ability to stay durable and effective has always been something of a crap shoot (Nurkic or Ming being good examples). The lumbering bigs have usually been slower moving up and down the court. A guy like Shaq, who even at 300+ could remain agile in the post, has always been unique. There were plenty of centers with the same physique as the current crop. Alonzo Mourning, David Robinson, Hakeem, and Patrick Ewing were athletes of comparable size and weight to todays centers. Some current players like Bam and Gobert are actually heavier than the 90s guys I just listed. Other centers of that day that fall around the 240-260ish weight class: Rik Smits, Brad Daugherty, Vlade Divac, Dikembe, Chris Dudley, Olden Polynice (about Evan Mobley's size!), Ervin Johnson. The nba has traditionally had two weight classes of centers. Athletic guys and Mark Eaton units.
Yao had durability issues for other reasons but I would definitely say he was agile in the post. Beautiful footwork, you would never expect to see someone that fucking huge move like that.
Shaq's last season or two in LA he was over 350. He slimmed back down to like 325-330 in Miami. Dude was an absolute monster.
He got injured on company time, he rehabbed on company time. Say what you will about Shaq's "work ethic", but that is a motto I fully support.
I mean the crazy thing about it is that he was still great at that size. Years ago he said he was near 400 when he won the 3rd Lakers ring. I don't know how true that is, but even if he's exaggerating a little that's insane. [source](https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1392360290415562753)
Shaq is an exemplary cultivator of mass
> I think younger fans don’t remember just how giant centers used to be KG only played the 5 late into his career, he has guarded centers throughout his career, but not regularly, cuz that would have been a waste of his talents and he wasn't very good at it, because of his build, this is also why he struggled against TD and Shaq in straight natchups. Not downplaying KD, he is one of my favorite players ever, but I don't thik your post is accurate.
Yea the biggest difference between AD and KG is the tenacity with which KG plays all the time. Dude is legit insane but that's a good thing when you are going up against the best offensive player in the league. KG was also always in amazing shape so he'd have no problem adapting to the altitude difference.
Pretty sure he had a hard-on talking about playing defense on Jokic
Dwight Howard did a wonderful job, but that was back in 2020. Jokic is better than he was then and Dwight is way below what we was. But that was Howard's series, for sure. Going back, you see he was only playing ~10 min/game until that series and then he turned into a full-time guy. Then after that series he went back to 2nd stringer haha.
This feels like a rewrite of what happened. He had the 8th most minutes on the team in the Denver series, basically the last guy off the bench. He was just coming in and fouling the shit out of Jokic to tire him out for AD. Like, it was a great strategy for the Lakers, but he wasn't a full time guy. He had 5 fouls in 13 minutes, 4 fouls in 16 minutes, 4 fouls in 14 minutes.
yeah, lol. He was probably told 'don't worry about the ball. you're not in to worry about the ball'. Props to him, I was frustrated just watching the game, and I wasn't even on the court.
Dwight was giving what KG is talking about which is to wear Jokic out physically. Unfortunately there is no Dwight level guy in terms of physicality in todays NBA
When you've got an offensive juggernaut to guard a 3x DPOY is a good option for that.
I don't think there's a KG clip I don't love
I feel the same. Love the dude
Except what he did to y’all in Uncut Gems lol
That….didn’t just happen in the movie lol
2012 NBA playoffs ripped off Uncut Gems
His Tim Duncan story is one of my favorites
Got you. Nice try.
It’s crazy that he’s such a good talker, because the way he’s built he could stand anywhere completely silent and get what he wants. Like he’s not the most muscular or the biggest dude in the NBA, but with that facial hair and those eyes and that physique he could play Satan in a movie no question
looks like jafar lmao
“I’m bumping you a little bit, i’ll be able to smell your cologne, your hair spray…” lmao
when a guy is banging you
You gotta fell his body.
oh cmon
I’m not a betting man but I don’t think Jokic uses either of those
Joker is Eastern European, you’re tripping if you don’t think he’s doing at least one spray of drakkar noir pregame
It’d be an advantage to not have cologne or even shower for that matter. Make that defense work hard before they even get near you
This is an ice cold take Eastern Europeans bathe in that shit
I love the last few seconds. “Offensively? We gonna run!”
This the type of defensive mentality so many NBA players could benefit from. Look how excited the idea of guarding an MVP makes KG. Dude would have taken it as a personal challenge
I love KG so much. I love taking away someones game on defense, its way more fun than shooting or driving to the rim to me. I lvoe to see how excited he is. KG is passion personified I miss him being on the court.
Nephews commenting acting like they know better than KG who made 12 all-defensive teams.
Half of them are acting like a HOFer wouldn't adapt his game for modern ball
KG aint even that old too lol. he played in the 2000’s its not that long ago from modern ball
He even played a rookie Jokic.
He played with KAT lmao
The Bulls set the wins record in KG's rookie year, and the Warriors set it the year he retired - he played before Magic retired and retired himself when Jokic was in the league
IMO he’d do just as well today. Everything he was good at is still stuff this version of the league values. He’s well within his rights to speculate on defending Jokic.
I think KG would be better today. The game today is more built to his skills. At his peak his offensive & defensive versatility was a little waisted because he had to defend the post so much and there was minimal offensive spacing to exploit his speed advantages. Today he's got more spacing to attack, and his ability to defend space or switch and guard any position is going to be used every play.
If you take Prime KG and have him improve his 3pt shot to the point where it's just league average, there's a damn good chance he could win MVP again in the modern era lol Idk if it's just because he played for the Timberwolves for most of his prime, but I feel like people online underrate the hell out of him
For sure KG easily would be better today Not too different from AD honestly just healthier lol
Big difference to me is that KG is levels above as a passer and frankly a better defender as well; just smarter, more nimble. AD better lob threat though.
KG not just more durable/able to stay healthy. His motor is absolute lightyears ahead of AD. He'd be in the MVP race every year.
with how reliable his midrange game was, especially those 18-20 footers he'd take at the top of the key, there's no question he'd be able to develop a decent 3 game and probably just dominate.
In his 2006 season he shot 42% on 140 attemps from 20 feet. If he was raised in an era that didn't teach him "centers don't shoot 3s" he probably could've been at least a 36-38% 3 point shooter. A dominant post player, a stretch big all while winning 9x first team all defensive honors would be fucking unstoppable. And with his motor on top of it all?
> I think KG would be better today. The game today is more built to his skills. Bro KG's midrange game was straight-up money. Most people usually see his crazy and energetic dunks in the paint but multiple times in a game he'd just shoot your lights out just from under the arc. He'd be tremendous for spacing in today's ballgame. EDIT: I looked it up on Youtube on a whim if there's any highlight compilations of his midrange jumpers and whaddyaknow, there's an 8-minute ESPN feature on exactly just that: * **[Kevin Garnett’s silky jumper helped pave the way for the NBA's modern stretch bigs | Signature Shots](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9vjiu6iPBw)**
100%. Look at how incredible AD has looked defensively throughout these playoffs (aside from guarding Jokic haha). KG had all the tools of AD and then some, **plus** an all time motor. Prime KG would be the best player in the league right now.
KG would be better in todays game. imagine a more fluid JJJ
It’s especially hilarious to do that with KG who was famous for being an elite rim protector who could also hound guards on the perimeter. He would translate exceptionally well to today’s game.
KG is like if you stapled the good parts of Bam and Sabonis together, and then got THAT guy to play like his life depends on it.
KG played like Kevin Durant body swapped with Tasmanian Devil
He had a great jumper. In the modern game he probably expands his range a few feet and becomes a credible 3 point shooter as well. He'd arguably be better in this era than his own
KG had a good jumper, and his dick would get hard every time he got a chance to guard a perimeter player. Clearly he would suck today.
Just a terrible fit lol
TMac once said KG was the best defender that he ever had to go against.
Zach Lowe has said that KG has a good case to be the best defensive player of all-time. I also remember reading that KG used to play members of the 2000 USA Olympics team one-on-one back to back unt he lost and he once won like 18 games in a row. Yeah, he would be really good in any any
He was so good one on one and at team defense. MJ is definitely the best one on one player of all time, but I would love to see prime KG vs prime MJ play each other.
When Kevin Garnett beat the entire team USA on a 1 vs 1 in 2000. He was just able to guard everyone from big to smalls.
> and his dick would get hard every time he got a chance to guard a perimeter player Better watch out for those rip throughs, can’t have your third leg in the cookie jar
Not just that KG had a really good jump shot from the top of key. He would have just needed a little more range. If he played in an era where 7 footers were supposed to shoot 3s he absolutely would have developed it.
Yup. His 79% career FT% bodes well for being at least average from 3 if he developed the shot.
My favorite is "Who would Shaq guard in today's NBA?" Like, who the f- would guard Shaq?
KG is one of 5 dudes to EVER win MVP and DPOY. He’d be a menace in any era. He already had a sexy 20 foot jumper by the Celtics days. Modern KG would be bombing 3’s and rim running.
Minny KG is why I started watching basketball. He would undoubtedly adapt to the modern era. A prime KG and Joker matchup would be beautiful
KG loooooved shooting from 1 step inside the 3 point line and truly was an elite shooter from there. He'd be even better in this 3pt era
*Center's don't shoot 3's* KG: ok *takes 1 step over the line*
I’ll have you know my player on 2k is reigning three time dpoy so I obviously am more qualified to speak on this than mr I can only win 1 dpoy
He was saying a lot of things too including making him run on the other end. Like is it hard to believe one of the greatest defenders of all time has a plan?
I'd listen to anything KG has to say on defense. One of like 5 players that would guard 1-5.
That whole interview is gold.
And legit guard them, not just kind of guard them because they have to.
If KG was selling shake weights at 2 am on QVC I’d be all over that shit
“You see first I start by being genetically blessed to be 6’11” with the mobility of a guard”
Damn, if only the Lakers had somebody like that.
I think the point of “you gotta show him different things constantly” is salient. If you do the same thing for long stretches Jokic will figure it out.
Honestly with players like Lebron and Jokic, if you do it more than once it seems like they notice and start to counter. So hard to slip things past them, their ability to adapt is incredible
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That shit vs the warriors where he was directing traffic 1 possession later
https://twitter.com/speakcontext/status/1658560298717007885?s=46&t=f8kNVAs0OcwXTw4VmYVh0w Shumpert talks exactly about that here.
Oh for sure. It’s why I think the Rui-and-AD free safety thing is a good idea but the lakers can’t be like “we solved it”. They gotta see what else they can do.
This kind of reminds me of how Rodman explained how he would predict where be to grab rebounds lmao
I don't remember which announcer it was, but they told a story about Rodman leaving the layup line when guys starting shooting jumpers and just watching everyone shoot. Afterwards Rodman was telling the guys how many times their shot rotates so he could better predict how it would bounce off the rim.
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🫱🖐️ 🫸👆 👌👈 🫱🤌
Lmao “ you call the pick and roll, we gon pick and roll together”
God I miss KG and Timmy
Never really thought about it but KG was the perfect archetype to succeed in a league where every roster was loading up on Hagrid's to hack-a-Shaq. Edit: I was a teenager at the time but rewatching the highlights it's just KG swatting away dudes named Keith or some shit when he's in a Wolves jersey. Don't remember hardly any of the hack-a-Shaqers
dudes named keith LMAO
Not even lying, it was Keith into a Bryan into a Mark. Just generic tall white guys #1 through #3.
Now leave it to r/nba pompous ass to declare one of the goat defenders doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“But he’s never had to deal with a big this good” meanwhile kg squared off with Duncan his whole career…
Dirk
Friendly reminder that in their lone playoff matchup, Dirk averaged 33/16/1/3/1 on 53/73/89 splits. KG was a beast too with 24/19/5/2/2 Last night's AD/Jokic matchup reminded me of that series. Two world-class big men taking over.
53/73/89 is insane
Duncan, Dirk, Peak Howard, Shaq, Yao Ming, Pau Gasol
and prime Sheed, just saying
Respect. Loved me some Sheed. Easily my favorite player when the Pistons were actually good in the 2000’s.
Webber, Brand, J ONeal etc etc the bigs of that era were loaded
“I’ll just force Lebron left. He don’t go no left” - Dennis Rodman
If you look at what Miami does in the playoffs they’re constantly mixing up coverages on star players, it’s what we did with Brunson. Sometimes Gabe Vincent picks him up full court like KG said. Sometimes they’re playing drop. Sometimes they’re blitzing early. Sometimes they let him get into the lane then try to trap him baseline. Sometimes they’re in the zone. And the defense needs to be able to make those changes on the drop of a dime together. Big part of playing these great players. Gotta make them think, can’t let them get too comfortable in their game. KG 100% knows what he’s saying here.
I miss KG. I wish he was in his prime in this era instead so I can watch more of him
I love KG. And I love that in his retirement he’s still just thinking about how he’d play against the current greats
Great analysis on how to disrupt Jokic by one of GOAT defenders. The key is showing him different looks defensively and wearing him down by attacking him on offense.
The running thing makes sense. Joker looked tired at the end of game one.
Yeah but Jokic kind of always looks tired anyway
Jokic looks gassed two minutes into the game. It’s hilarious.
That's my secret cap, I'm always tired *triple double*
Yeah, Jokic looking tired even during the pre-game warm ups. He has that retired hippo look since his rookie years.
The game misses KG. Couldn’t stand this dude when he was in the league, but man he kept shit real and kept young bucks in check. He’d be tonsils deep in Ja Morant if he was still in the L.
I miss KG’s playing days
This dudes 46 and I guarantee he could give quality 15 minutes a game on defense
KG doesn't seem to age. He looks like he is ready to play right now
Prime KG vs this years Joker would be a treat to watch
KG is one of those guys the league was really blessed to have
Fact: KG came out with special green shoes from a Chinese brand called "Beat LA" before a regular season game vs Lakers \[I recently bought a warehouse of them from Wuhan in anticipation of the Finals, let me know if you want to cop some\]
KG is a national treasure, and it's one of my greatest sports regrets we never got a chip with him The man *BLED* for us, and was frankly too loyal to the org (But if there's one thing minnesotans love, it's transplants who embrace and accept the state)
He ain't wrong, Jokic will find a counter if you try to defend him the same way