'Coffee made me like a wild animal' - Kevin Garnett on how he adjusted to the pros after high school

In his rookie season, Kevin Garnett was tutored by legendary big man Kevin McHale, then the vice president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Though KG was honored to be mentored by one of the greatest players, he discovered that McHale's maneuvers weren't exactly meant for him.

"'Mac' had these big, wide shoulders, and he's showing you a move where, if you don't have big shoulders, you can't do the move. 'Do the [bleep] move!'" KG said in 2020, per nba.com. "Finally I'd go home, I'd be so traumatized, think 'That stuff don't work for me."

Transitioning to the NBA

It was a shocking experience for the young stud. He wanted to make an immediate impact and be great. And so he reflected on his strengths and his genetic makeup. He thought of a playstyle that would suit his God-given abilities.

"I got two, three moves, I got confident, I knew how to get 'em off against smaller," Kevin continued. "Taller guys I could face and go around 'em, and I started to understand how to use my speed. The strength that I did have. My jumping ability. Once I figured it out, that's where my confidence came from."

Garnett said it took him 45 games to make the transition; the stats back up his claims. In the first half of the season, the Wolves forward was wildly inconsistent. He would record double digits in one game, and then his production would suddenly dip. He even had some scoreless nights despite playing ample minutes.

But by the season's midpoint, the "Big Ticket" figured it out, consistently logged in double figures in scoring, and became a ferocious rebounder.

"My first 20-point game, it was all from those two moves and hustling," Kevin recalled. "I was seeing people who wasn't in great shape, so I started outrunning people and using my youthfulness. Now I'm dunking everything. I'm not laying nothin' up. I'm putting it on your head and I want you to know I'm putting it on your head. I wanted to be this young lion that everybody was looking at. He came out of high school?"

Caffeine aided his rise to stardom

Looking back at his younger self, Garnett saw a 19-year-old kid hungry to prove himself and someone with oozing fury. Fans who saw KG grow into a champion and MVP would say sheer dedication and love for the game brought him to legendary status. But for Garnett himself, it was a magical elixir that helped him make that critical jump from high school to the pros.

"You see some of my early times, when I watch film of myself, I was such an angry kid. [But] it was really coffee. Coffee made me like a wild animal."