Handing over the baton is a momentous occasion for any NBA star. While building your own legacy is important, imparting the game’s legacy is equally impactful. Whether it was Tim Duncan telling a young LeBron James, “It’s gonna be your league in a few years. Thanks for giving us this one,” or this incident involving Charles Barkley and Kevin Garnett, the great ones know when the next superstar is about to arrive.

While the 80s and 90s saw big men thrive in the NBA despite the emergence of legendary guards, would the story be the same in the next decade? If yes, who would carry the mantle?

Charles Barkley wins hearts all over

While a hard-fought victory always means a ton, losses aren’t always the end. In fact, sometimes, losing isn’t really a loss. But, as Giannis Antetokounmpo would say, it’s a step to success. Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves experienced this firsthand.

While Charles took his talents to the Houston Rockets in an attempt to finally compete for championships, Garnett was on the rise. In the first round of the 1997 playoffs, the two teams went against each other.

Unfortunately for the young Garnett, the series was a whitewash. The Rockets cruised to a 3-0 series sweep. But, it’s not the loss that KG remembers from that year. Instead, it’s Chuck’s words of encouragement.

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As Duncan told LeBron all those years later when the Spurs and Cavs matched up, Chuckster echoed similar sentiments. “He was like, ‘Hey, we needed this one. Y’all got a million years to go get yourselves one… Every player and every great team has to go through something to get to something.”

As the story goes,?the Big Ticket?was destined for greatness. While it took time, success came to the 15x All-Star eventually.

Kevin Garnett fulfilled Charles Barkley’s prophecy

From there on, Garnett became a legend. Arguably on a higher tier than Barkley by the time he retired, KG was phenomenal. In his Minnesota tenure, he would accumulate personal accolades. However, in his heart, he knew a championship was the ultimate goal.

Eventually, he would leave for greener pastures. In Boston, Garnett, along with Paul Pierce, would lead the city to its first championship in 2 decades. As Garnett was overcome with emotion, having finally fulfilled his dream, Barkley’s words rang true.

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Through all the trials and tribulations, Kevin Garnett maintained his focus, his ethic, and his drive. Eventually, he broke through and became the player Chuck envisioned.