Alongside his defensive prowess and competitive spirit, it’s not unknown that Kevin Garnett is also one of the biggest trash talkers in basketball history. So it’s definitely not an easy task to faze the Big Ticket. But when a nice rookie turned to the dark side, Garnett was left stunned and wondering what had happened.

The show Certified Smoke has returned as the NBA season is around the corner. Along with discussing various topics like James Harden and Damian Lillard, Kevin Garnett went on to explain the moment that made him question everything.

Kevin Garnett reveals the change in Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes made it to the league in 2003. Kevin Garnett was one of the best players in the league at the time and was averaging 24 points per game with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the recent episode of Certified Smoke, KG talked about meeting Barnes during games and interacting with him.

KG recalls Barnes being the nicest person and always greeting him when they met in his rookie season. But what shocked Garnett was when he met Barnes the following year. Barnes got a lot more tattoos and looked different. During their match, Barnes was in Garnett’s face and told him to beware of kicking him while dunking.

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Garnett said, “I don’t know what the hell happened“. This shocked Garnett so much that he had to look at the back of the jersey to confirm again that it was Matt Barnes.

Barnes explained that he used to get bullied because of his hair and his light skin. He revealed that even Paul Pierce bullied him. So in order to face and stand against the most demanding players in the league, Barnes had to play with an edge and take it to their face.

It’s safe to say that Barnes just took a page out of Kevin Garnett’s book and made people in the league hate playing against him.

KG was a bully during his time in the league

Garnett is definitely one of the last people you want to face on the basketball court. He has mentioned that he has a God-given skill to talk trash and get under the skin of his opponents. But at the same time, he was talented and an elite player in the league. He would dunk on you, and after coming down, he would talk trash to you. This made him a really annoying person to play against. He would bully the younger players and often give them occasional elbows to keep them in check.

Matt Barnes learned a few tricks from Garnett and played with an edge. In his first five seasons in the league, he never even averaged 5 points. However, he was able to have a successful career because of the way he played and his ability to get under the skin of his opponents.

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What do you think about Garnett’s influence on other people? Let us know in the comments!