Stephen A. Smith does not back down from speaking his mind. He, nevertheless, is a man of logic and will listen to your side, as claimed by Smith recently on KG Certified. Appearing on the podcast, Smith stated how Kevin Garnett was the man who once allowed him to test this claim.

Notably, the incident in the discussion was Smith’s criticism of Michael Olowokandi during his NBA days. As disclosed by the ESPN analyst, it was Kevin Garnett back then who talked to him and asked to go easy on Olowokandi. “I’m talking about Olowokandi at the time… You told me to chill… And all I could think about, like, you and I never really talked much over the years. We were always cool with each other. We had mutual friends… But what I loved about you most, you forced me to live up to what I proclaim about myself,” Smith said on KG Certified.

He further explained this by mentioning that he always tells people to talk to him and he can be reasonable. Notably, Kevin Garnett was an NBA superstar back then. Despite this, his effort to reach out to Smith and discuss the Michael Olowokandi issue moved something within him. “And all I ever said to myself is, when KG see me, I want him to know I’m somebody that listened. Cause you told me that. And I dialed it back big time on Olowokandi,” Smith said.

The fact that Smith listened to the former Boston Celtics star and acted on his suggestion reassured Smith of his claim that if a person came to him, he would listen, irrespective of his ongoing disagreements. And Smith maintaining a healthy bond with Kevin Garnett despite an altercation with him as well reflects that he is capable of sorting things out.

The time when Stephen A. Smith and Kevin Garnett had a difference of opinion 

The brief altercation occurred because of contradictory opinions on the modern-day NBA stars vs legends of the past. Appearing on the Stephen A. Smith show, the former Celtics star stated that it is now time to move on from Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. “They are the past. We gotta embrace this new-ish. We need to embrace this greatness that’s before us…” KG said. 

Meanwhile, Smith had a different opinion of this as he stated, “If I sit up there and I say of the thousands of the thousands of the thousands of players. I think MJ is number 1 and LeBron James is number 2 of all time. Whether you disagree or agree with me, I’m not disrespecting you by saying you are number 2 of all time.” However, KG believed this to be a disrespect to the LeBron.  

Although both of them made some valid points to back up their claims, the discussion between them heated up. In fact, there were reactions from members of the NBA community about their heated argument. But they both appear KG certified and having a friendly podcast reflects that they both can put such minor differences aside upon mutual discussion.