Even 20 years after retirement, Michael Jordan remains one of the most dominant personalities that the NBA has ever seen. Breaking numerous records and leading his team, the Chicago Bulls, to winning over six NBA championships, Jordan has cemented his place in the history books. Throughout his 15 seasons? career, many people have tried to take down His Airness. While some have continued to carry that animosity, others have learned to grow and respect the former player.
One of those players, who once faced the consequences of trash-talking Jordan, recently spoke about the impact that the legend has had on him.
Kevin Garnett talks about Michael Jordan and his impact
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Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett bid adieu to the NBA in 2016. Even then, he keeps in touch with the sport and the people associated with it. For quite some time now, Garnett has been hosting his own Showtime show ?KG Certified? where he invites various former NBA players and engages in light-hearted discussions. A few months ago, Garnett played host to Isaiah Rider, the 52-year-old former player for the Portland Trail Blazers. Taking a trip down memory lane, the duo discussed stories related to their performance on the court and the performances of others as well.
During the same, the 47-year-old recalled how, in the earlier days, Michael Jordan was just making a name for himself. Being faster and more athletic than any other NBA player.
When shooting guards who were even younger than Jordan started to join the league, Garnett felt that it was nothing to worry about in the presence of His Airness. ?These two-guards were bigger and when I mean big, I mean thicker. Like, they could post you up,? said Garnett with respect to Jordan.
Drawing a comparison between other players like Reggie Miller, Dell Curry, Dale Ellis and other shooting guards, the 47-year-old former player claimed that none of them came close to the level of Air Jordan.
?Once Jordan came in and started posting up, it felt like the shift of the two-guard changed and now your two-guards posting up, your two-guard now will dunk on you, your two-guard now is a mid-range fanatic.?
According to Garnett, the two guard was considered to be the most important player just because of the impact that Michael Jordan had on his position.
KG had his own lesson to learn after going against Jordan
The respect that Garnett holds for Jordan is not something that has existed since the beginning. The former player had to learn his lesson.
Back in his professional days, The Big Ticket was known to be a big trash talker. As long as it helped to serve his goal of distracting his opponent, it didn?t matter how far the 15x NBA All-Star would go in insulting someone. In a not-so-recent episode of KG Certified, featuring current Los Angeles Clippers player Bones Hyland, Garnett discussed a moment when he got an upper hand against His Airness.
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Grabbing the ball from him, Garnett uttered the words, ?Gimme that s**t n***a?. Of course, it didn?t sit well with the Bulls legend. Trying to get him a second time, Garnett blinked once and Jordan was off to the hoop, making his shot.
?Let me leave this n***a alone,? said Garnett in defeat.
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That is the intimidation that Michael Jordan carried for so many years. If people felt that they couldn?t beat him, then he would show them that he can. And how!