Crediting 74 YO NBA Veteran for Being a Trailblazer, Kevin Garnett Reflects on 4x All-Star?s Lesser Known Off-Court Contributions

Many aspiring basketball players have entered the NBA and have become NBA stars. Thanks to their amazing basketball talent and tenacious competitive spirit, they?re able to make a name for themselves in the NBA community. But very few are able to inspire NBA fans and even fewer are able to change the very dynamics of the NBA.

Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett recently reflected on one such trailblazer, who was a 4x NBA All-Star.

Kevin Garnett expresses his admiration for the 74-year-old NBA veteran

In a recent Instagram post, Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett posted a snippet of his interview with NBA legend Spencer Haywood. In the clip, he told the 74-year-old NBA veteran, ?In the category of ?the box?, players are in the box right? You?re outside of the box.?.

The Boston Celtics star explains, ?You?re at the fashion shows, you dating models. I didn?t see this with anybody else. I?ve seen people womanising with other chicks but I ain?t never seen them with models. I?m just being honest. You at the fashion shows, you at the operas, you at sh*t guys are not. What?s got you thinking outside ?the box?? What?s got you thinking differently??.

Spencer Haywood laughed as he replied, ?I just wanted something different. I wanted a different life than just basketball. And so, when I met Iman (his ex-wife and a supermodel back then) we just got married and had children and stuff like that, but that whole lifestyle was like totally different.?

The NBA veteran clarified, ?I enjoyed it. And we were like?two lovers. She was from Somalia and within the fashion world, didn?t know a lot of people in America. I was in New York (playing for the Knicks). I had left my family back in Seattle. So we just clinged to each other. We did a lot of things man. We just went to plays, the operas. Went to fashion shows galore because she was the number-one model in the country at that time. So, it was some beautiful stuff man. I enjoyed it.?.

Kevin Garnett responded, ?I know you did, man. I say this to say too, she was universal. Kind of, the first black supermodel that we all kind of honored and looked at.?. The Boston Celtics legend chuckled as he said, ?Yeah Iman was on my wall. Her and the 50 other Jet beauties that I had on the back of my wall.?.

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Both the Hall of Famers laugh as they acknowledge the universal figure that Iman is to this day. Spencer Haywood played in the ABA in 969 and in the NBA from 1970 to 1982. In his rookie year in the ABA, he did so well that he won both the Rookie of the Year award and the ABA?s Most Valuable Player award. However, his amazing basketball talent is not how he impacted the game of basketball in the NBA.

Spencer Haywood: A trailblazer that changed the NBA

Apart from being a pop-culture icon back in the day for his grand appearances at big events, he played a crucial role in changing the dynamics of the NBA. In 1970, 21-year-old Spencer Haywood left the Rockets to sign with the NBA?s Seattle SuperSonics. However, this was against the NBA rules because he hadn?t graduated from college yet. Therefore, he was not a part of the NBA draft in 1970. Despite the Seattle Super Sonics? interest, the NBA office opposed this move as it violated NBA rules.

The NBA went to court against Haywood and the SuperSonics. Haywood?s argument was that he was the sole ?breadwinner? for his family, making his case a ?hardship” case. This earned him his right to begin earning and the Supreme court ruled in Haywood?s favor. This forever changed professional basketball.

In 1976, the ?hardship? requirement for a player to be a part of an NBA team was removed. Any athlete with remaining college ability can enter the NBA draft as long as he notifies the NBA office 45 days prior to the draft. This ?Early Entry? procedure is in effect to this day.

This rule allowed future NBA legends like late Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and many others to join the league directly from high school. Imagine if Kobe was still in college in 2000 (the year he won his first NBA ring) instead of entering the NBA in 1996.

What are your thoughts on NBA legend Spencer Haywood?s impact on the NBA? Let us know in the comments below.

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