Kevin Garnett recently said that he would call himself the greatest pure hooper of all time on his show because he wouldn't bet on anyone outside of himself to prove that in open competition.
"You talking about going outside and hooping? I'm betting on me, what do you mean? I can't give that to somebody else... I am. You put a bunch of n****s in a gym? Line their as* up, let's run it. I'm with that. Ooo, that's right up my alley, I wanna see where I am at, if I'm the best in here or I ain't. Let's get it, let's run it."
Garnett was a unicorn for his time, combining his soft shooting touch with his monstrous 6'10" frame which made him one of the best defenders of his era and a one-time league MVP. While KG couldn't score as effortlessly as many of the guards of that era or even forwards like Dirk Nowitzki, many would claim that Garnett's skill set in a one-on-one might be unbeatable.
Garnett could guard all areas of the court and score from anywhere except the 3-point line. He was pacey and had a secure handle for someone his size. If you were to talk about the all-time greats and put them in a one-on-one tournament, Garnett would fare well with his combination of size and skill.
He averaged 17.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists over his career, winning one MVP, one Defensive Player of the Year, making nine All-NBA teams, and 15 All-Star games.
But winning this hypothetical isn't the same as calling yourself the greatest player of all time, something Garnett has never claimed before.
Kevin Garnett Doesn't View Himself As The GOAT
Kevin Garnett might view himself as the best pure hooper but has previously planted his flag in the Michael Jordan camp when it comes to naming the GOAT of the sport.
"Are you serious? First off, he was out of professional sports, he was here when everybody else was here. Michael Jordan was revered as a machine. Are you serious? He was selfish. He didn't trust anybody else, and he still won. And what everybody said he can't do, he came out and won. ... You saw how hard he wanted it. You saw how hard he was going. This was Magic and Bird still in the league... That man saved basketball when basketball was on the verge of losing it. When we had addicts and when guys came into camp overweight. Who do you think started coming to camp in shape? Ready to go on day one. Who started that? Michael Jordan started that."
What's conflicting is that Garnett has also hailed LeBron James as the GOAT recently, though it seems he was talking about LeBron from an overall impact on the game perspective.
"He's my GOAT of all of this. The business, the everything. He's the vision of what every black man should aspire for, has been a billionaire, having your own labels, like he's set the tone. I played against bro, it ain't personal anymore. I'm watching as a fan and I'm giving him flowers and I'm looking at it from a different perspective of things that I've never seen in the game. We ain't never seen a 39-year-old like this..."
Regardless, both players will always be compared and will likely form the majority consensus of the two greatest players in the game's history, combining both skill and accolades.
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