Kevin Garnett was one of the NBA’s greatest trash talkers.
But there’s one time that KG went all-in against the wrong opponent and he still regrets the mistake.
5 Kevin Garnett was as talented as he was intense on the basketball courtCredit: Getty
Early in Garnett’s career, he was a loud-talking young athlete with a ton of potential and fresh out of high school.
But when the No. 5 overall pick of the 1995 NBA Draft went at Michael Jordan during his Chicago Bulls prime, KG and the Minnesota Timberwolves — who will return to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 20 years against the Dallas Mavericks — paid a hard price.
“He’s right here. Mike can hear me,” Garnett said on All The Smoke, recalling how the six-time NBA champion overheard his vicious trash talking.
“I say that and I feel it,” Garnett said. “Hands on hips, legs locked, then (Jordan) looking and he stabbed me about 15 seconds.”
Garnett, a Pro Basketball Hall of Famer who made 15 All-Star teams and earned 12 All-Defensive Team selections, told a hilarious story about a young Minnesota team taking it to Jordan’s Bulls.
It was KG’s rookie season and the second half of a campaign that saw the eventual 2003-04 NBA MVP average 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds as a 19-year-old.
Today, Anthony Edwards is hitting huge shots and earning Jordan’s respect in the playoffs.
In 1996, Garnett believed that he had learned how to operate in the NBA.
5 Garnett didn’t back down from a challenge but respected Michael Jordan’s greatnessCredit: Getty
5 KG recalled a time when he went at Air Jordan as an NBA rookieCredit: youtube@ALL THE SMOKE
5 Garnett’s tone changed after Jordan and Chicago dominated MinnesotaCredit: youtube@ALL THE SMOKE
With Minnesota’s Isaiah “J.R.” Rider starting hot, Garnett backed his teammate, despite being a rookie playing on no sleep.
“As we come out to timeout, I’m all, yeah — I can’t even explain it,” Garnett said. “I was just like, yo, keep killing that.”
Former Chicago Bulls PA announcer introduces Michael Jordan in his last ever NBA match
Rider knew that Garnett should tamper down his loud trash talking.
But the fiery rookie did the opposite, even with Jordan looming nearby.
Suddenly fired up by an unproven NBA player embarrassing him in public, Air Jordan turned on the jets and reminded Garnett who was in charge of the league.
“I can’t even really describe the next six to seven minutes of play,” Garnett said.
“Not one but two 10 second calls. … Down 25 (points) now, it was just two.”
The best player in Timberwolves history revealed that it “got bad quick,” as Jordan played like the best basketball player on the planet.
While Garnett didn’t specify the game, a Feb. 27, 1996 matchup between the Timberwolves and Bulls saw Minnesota stay close for three quarters, then get outscored 38-23 in the fourth quarter on the road at the famous United Center.
Garnett and Rider scored 20 points apiece for Minnesota.
Jordan absolutely dominated, scoring a game-high 35 points on 11-of-24 shooting while sinking 11-of-12 free throws, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out seven assists and collecting two steals in 41 minutes.
5 KG and MJ went at it again during Jordan’s final run with WashingtonCredit: Getty
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Garnett said when he returned to the Timberwolves’ bench.
It was too late.
MJ had another NBA win on the way to another world championship.
His Bulls were 45-5 and in the middle of one of the greatest seasons in league history.
A rookie KG learned an important early lesson.
And he received a great story about Jordan that he was still telling two decades later.
“Never talk trash to Mike ever again,” Garnett said.
Minnesota hosts Dallas in Game 1 on Wednesday.
Edwards is also an elite trash talker, while the Timberwolves try to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.