“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy,” poet Maya Angelou once advised. And you can practically see Kevin Garnett nodding in agreement. Known for his fierce competitiveness, Garnett has left a mark on basketball history with an NBA championship, a Hall of Fame induction, and a laundry list of accomplishments. Yet, there’s a little-known chapter to his story, adding to his list of achievements, one his close friend and ex-teammate Paul Pierce let slip.
Garnett’s locker room presence was as intimidating as his game. In fact, he set some strict rules in the Celtics’ locker room. “We got rules in the locker room, and if you didn’t follow these rules, the repercussions came after the rules,” Garnett recalled on KG Certified. And repercussions weren’t just words.
Eddie House recounted, one unfortunate team doctor made the mistake of stacking his plate before the players had their turn and this was right beside Garnett’s locker. “Mistake—that was a mistake,” House laughed, recalling how Garnett slapped the full plate right out of the doctor’s hands. “Ticket said, ‘Don’t nobody eat before the players!’”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The message was clear, and, as House hilariously pointed out, “he never came in” for food after that. This had Pierce adding another achievement to the Ticket’s list, 8 years after his retirement.
He proudly announced, “hey G, you ended your career with a top scoring, rebound, assist and you lead the league in plate slaps too.” Pierce also revealed KG did the same with some new doctors, too.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Kevin Garnett’s rules even applied mid-flight. According to Boston.com, video coordinator Brian “Lucky” Adams once took food before the players on a team flight. Garnett’s reaction? “You know the rules,” he allegedly told Adams, sending him to sit in the back of the plane with no food privileges until told otherwise.
KG holds nothing back for enforcing the rules
It wasn’t just the doctors who learned the hard way about Kevin Garnett’s rules. Rookie Mason Plumlee got a crash course in Garnett’s discipline when they were both with the Brooklyn Nets. The lesson came quickly and sternly—never break the rules, especially when it comes to food on a plane.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
One day, Plumlee made the rookie mistake of ordering his meal before the veterans on the plane. Garnett wasn’t having any of it. In a move that only KG could pull off, he snatched Plumlee’s crab cakes and handed them over to veteran Reggie Evans. But it didn’t stop there. Garnett made Plumlee serve the rest of the veterans their meals, ensuring that the rookie never forgot who eats first.
And if Plumlee thought that was bad, there was another unforgettable lesson on a flight to a preseason game. The Nets rookies forgot to bring the boombox, a crucial part of the team’s routine, and Garnett wasn’t about to let it slide. “KG kicked all the young guys off the plane,” Plumlee recalled in an appearance on ESPN’s Highly Questionable. “He had us run through plays on the tarmac while we waited for the plane to get ready.”
Have something to say?
Let the world know your perspective.
What’s your perspective on:
Did Kevin Garnett's locker room rules make him a leader or a tyrant?
Have an interesting take?