Boston Celtics champion Kevin Garnett is one of the most intense players to ever suit up in the NBA. Off the court, he’s just as intense, telling it like it is during his days as a podcast co-host.
A 15-time NBA All-Star who was the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Garnett fired off an intense message to the players of today’s NBA during an episode of the “Ticket & the Truth” podcast. Garnett’s comments came after current Wolves star Anthony Edwards said he believed that everyone in the 1990s not named Michael Jordan lacked basketball skill.
Kevin Garnett Doesn’t Believe Many of Today’s NBA Players Could’ve Played 20 Years Ago
During an interview with Lane Florsheim of The Wall Street Journal, Edwards caused a stir when he said the players of years past — Jordan excluded — didn’t have any basketball skill. He made the comment despite admitting he never saw any action back then.
“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it,” Edwards said. “They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean?”
Edwards’ comment seemed to strike a nerve with Garnett, who won a championship in his first season with the Celtics in 2008.
“I don’t think anybody in this generation could’ve played 20 years ago, if I’m being 100 (percent)” Garnett said. “This is to Ant (Edwards) and everybody in the league — (Jayson) Tatum. Y’all, let me tell y’all something. Twenty years ago, bro, you couldn’t get to a triple-stepback.
“If you shot that (expletive), it had to go in. You know why? Because we had efficiency back in the day, and it was so (expletive) hard. It was too physical. And guess what? The league had to come off of it for the flow of movement to have scoring go up.
“I only think half these kids in the league could’ve been on an NBA team 20 years ago.”
Garnett’s Former Teammate, Paul Pierce, Weighs In on Edwards’ Comments
Paul Pierce, Garnett’s teammate in Boston and co-host of the podcast, had a few things to say about Edwards’ remarks. Pierce, a 10-time All-Star and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, did admit that the skill level of today’s player may be better, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into them being better basketball players.
“I will say this: the skill level has gotten better with this generation, but I don’t think overall it makes you a better player.” he said. “I think the imagination and the flair of the game is not the same.
“They don’t play as much basketball as we did. They work out individually. We played five-on-five, and our creativity for the game was a lot better in our era.”
There’s no question, Edwards is an emerging star in the NBA. He averaged a career-high 25.9 points during the 2023-24 season and was named All-NBA. He’s a two-time All-Star, but he’s clearly not up to par when it comes to the history of the NBA.
Mike Thomas is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Boston Celtics. He previously worked as an NBA and NFL writer for Sportscasting and was the Sports Editor for The Herald News in Fall River, Massachusetts for 16 years. More about Mike Thomas
