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    Kevin Garnett Talks Missed Opportunities, On and Off the Court

    Garnett, the 15-time N.B.A. All-Star, discusses the new owners of the Timberwolves, whether he’s ready to forgive Ray Allen and his thoughts on player activism.At one point in a new Showtime documentary, Kevin Garnett unexpectedly jumps out of his seat during an interview to curse into a boom microphone.Sitting down has never been one of his strengths, whether on the basketball court or in typically sleepy affairs, like talking about yourself on camera.The film, titled “Kevin Garnett: Anything Is Possible,” premieres on Nov. 12. It traces Garnett’s life story, from his upbringing in South Carolina through his ascent to being one of the most celebrated prep-to-pros players in basketball history by winning an N.B.A. championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008.This documentary is the latest in a trend of athletes trying to shape the narratives about themselves through their own productions. Michael Jordan, Tom Brady and Russell Westbrook have been involved in similar projects.In Garnett’s documentary, for which he is an executive producer, one scene stands out. Garnett and the rapper Snoop Dogg are in a recording studio discussing athlete activism, and Garnett criticizes the N.B.A. players who resumed the playoffs after walking out to protest social injustice in the summer of 2020.“I actually thought for a second that the players had momentum to where, if they could’ve took a stance, all of them together, and said, ‘No, we’re not playing,’ that they could’ve actually went on Capitol Hill and started a conversation, a real one, and started talking about police reform,” Garnett tells Snoop Dogg.Garnett added, “Just falling in line actually didn’t really help anything.”In a recent interview, Garnett discussed those comments on player activism, his acting ambitions and his relationship with his former Celtics teammate Ray Allen.You do a very impressive impersonation of Doc Rivers, the former Celtics coach, in the documentary. We’ve seen your acting skills in “Uncut Gems.” What is your interest in continuing your acting career?I feel like obviously the character that I played in the “Uncut Gems” was myself, and I didn’t think that I can mess that up, and I felt confident in that. I’m getting some opportunities, just nothing that speaks to me. Some of the things that have come across my desk are just things that I can’t relate to and I don’t feel like fit me. But I have very high interest. I would love to do more movies if possible.There’s an interesting scene with Snoop Dogg where you’re talking about the N.B.A. players and the post-George Floyd protests. You essentially suggested that the players fell in line when it came to protesting police shootings, and that they should have stopped playing until there was real reform. Is that an accurate framing of how you feel?Well, if I’m being frank, yeah. I think what I tried to insinuate, if not say, was that I just think that if players really, really felt passionate about the George Floyd situation, and they wanted to do more, I think the way that — or at least the way I thought that — you should actually effect change is changing. If that meant you all not playing, then you shouldn’t. I thought that should’ve been an option.I thought the league actually took advantage of the players and knowing that the majority of the players needed to play and needed the opportunity to play, and that wasn’t going to be an option.It seems like during the pandemic, the world linked on sports for entertainment, or to keep things at a calm. With that type of leverage, you got to know how to actually use that leverage. I don’t think the players really had a firm leadership in being able to devise a plan and put it together.Were you particularly political in your playing career? For example, would you have been willing to stop playing until there was legislation addressing a reform that you were passionate about?I would have taken the opportunity to go on Capitol Hill and use my platform to be loud and to say whatever it was I felt. You’ve got to remember, this is your livelihood. And as 400-plus players, you’re not just speaking for yourself. You’re trying to speak for a body of players that think differently, on all accounts. This is how you eat. This is how you feed yourself, and everybody is in different categories as far as economics, when it comes to the league.I probably would have been in a position to take a stance and actually want to initiate a conversation. But, again, I felt like it would have been important to have proper people, proper politicians and proper partnerships to be able to go to the table with proper vision to talk about reform. That’s all.[Later, Garnett added a clarification.]I want to make clear that I actually love the way the players stayed together, and whatever decision they came up with, they were in unison with it. I don’t want to come off like I’m going at the future players or the players that are current and they should have did this.I actually support the players, LeBron, Chris Paul and all they do for the union and for the players.Garnett and some of his Celtics teammates were upset that Ray Allen, left, would join the Miami Heat right after Miami defeated Boston in the 2012 playoffs.Mike Blake/ReutersPaul Pierce is featured heavily in the documentary, as are several other Celtics teammates from 2008. One who is barely mentioned is Ray Allen. Have you softened your stance toward Ray at all? [Some of Allen’s teammates were angry after Allen, who was with the Celtics from 2007 to 2012, left for Miami in free agency after the Heat defeated the Celtics in the playoffs.]I wish Ray all the best, and I wish him and his family all the best, and whatever he’s doing, I’ll always be supportive of it. And that’s all I got to say.Your teammates from that team have said, “It’s K.G. who has to be the one who wants to talk to Ray.” Are you open to any sort of reconciliation with him?It’s not that big of a deal to me. I think Ray’s living his life. I’m living mine. That’s where I stand on it. I think if people wanted to do something, we would have done it by now. So it’s pretty obvious where we’re at, but I wish all the best to all my teammates and people that I played with. Not just Ray, everybody.Paul Pierce mentioned recently that you and he were in the process of maybe starting a podcast. Who would you have as your first guest?Probably [former President Barack] Obama or Jamie Dimon [the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase]. Yeah. You caught me off guard.Well, you can call Paul after and talk about it.I was just about to say, right? “So Paul, since you put it out, who would be the first guest, right?” Paul would be like, some “Girls Gone Wild”-type stuff.Garnett was the fifth overall pick in 1995 when the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him out of high school.Ann Heisenfelt/Associated PressCan you tell me a bit about your relationship with Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, the new ownership group of the Minnesota Timberwolves?I haven’t had any conversations with them. I haven’t spoken to A-Rod personally.Do you have any interest in being part of the new ownership group, whether in basketball operations or as a minority owner or in some way being part of the franchise?I think that opportunity has passed. I actually think I’ve been hearing whispers that A-Rod is actually going to take the Timberwolves to Seattle. So we’ll see. I don’t know.Would you be upset if that happened? [The Timberwolves didn’t respond to a request for comment.]No one wants to see the Wolves leave Minneapolis, but you know, it’s business. I would never want the Timberwolves to leave Minneapolis and Minnesota. I think that team means a lot to that state. More

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    Vanessa Bryant Delivers Emotional Hall of Fame Speech for Kobe

    Kobe Bryant, the former Los Angeles Lakers star who was killed in a helicopter crash last year, was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.Vanessa Bryant, the wife of the late Kobe Bryant, accepted induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame on her husband’s behalf on Saturday, saying that his absence made writing a speech all the more challenging.“If my husband were here tonight, he would have a long list of people to thank that helped inspire him and equip him to be in the Hall of Fame,” Bryant said. “Family, friends, mentors, the Lakers, teammates, muses and opponents.”She continued: “This is one of the many hard parts about not having him here. At the risk of leaving anyone out, I can only say thank you. To all those who helped him get here, you know who you are, and I thank you on his behalf.”Kobe Bryant, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2016, was the biggest name in one of the most anticipated Hall of Fame classes in history, alongside other basketball luminaries, such as the players Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Tamika Catchings and the coach Kim Mulkey. The induction ceremony, which took place at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., was supposed to have been held last year but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash in January 2020, was announced as a posthumous inductee last spring.Now, what has long been seen as a formality is now official: Bryant, an 18-time N.B.A. All Star, a five-time champion and one of the most influential basketball players ever, is a Hall of Famer.Vanessa Bryant, right, with her daughters Capri, left, and Bianka.Kathy Willens/Associated PressVanessa Bryant gave a poised speech in her husband’s place, with Michael Jordan, whom Vanessa referred to as Kobe’s “favorite player,” standing off to the side. Each inductee had a presenter, and Jordan served as Kobe’s. Vanessa said that she “wished my husband was here to accept this incredible award.”“He and Gigi deserve to be here to witness this,” she said, referring also to Gianna Bryant, their 13-year-old daughter, who also died in the helicopter crash last year outside Los Angeles that killed nine and sent shock waves through the basketball world.Before she started her speech, Vanessa Bryant said to someone in the crowd: “I’m OK. Love you.”Members of the crowd could be heard shouting back, “Love you, Vanessa!”Bryant continued: “I used to always avoid praising my husband in public, because I felt like he got enough praise from his fans around the world and someone had to bring him back to reality. Right now, I’m sure he’s laughing in heaven because I’m about to praise him in public for his accomplishments on one of the most public stages.”She added: “I can see him now — arms folded with a huge grin saying, ‘Isn’t this some …’” followed by a profanity, spurring a ripple of laughter from the crowd.Bryant was also praised in other speeches. Garnett, referring to Duncan and Bryant, both of whom were often obstacles in his quest for a championship, said that it was an honor to enter the Hall of Fame with them. Duncan returned the favor in his speech, saying: “You guys demanded the best out of me, and it brought the best of me. Thank you.” Rudy Tomjanovich, who coached Bryant in 2004-5 with the Lakers and was also inducted on Saturday, said that Bryant “thrilled us for 20 years right down until the last game.”Vanessa Bryant, in her speech, nodded to her husband’s infamous competitive streak.“I do know that he would thank everyone that helped him get here, including the people that doubted him and the people that worked against him and told him he couldn’t attain his goals,” she said. “He would thank all of them for motivating him to be here. After all, he proved you wrong.”She also spoke about Jordan’s influence on her husband, and the work ethic he had inspired.“People don’t know this, but one of the reasons my husband played through injuries and pain was because he said he remembered being a little kid sitting in the nosebleeds with his dad to watch his favorite player play,” Vanessa said, looking at Jordan. “He could recall the car ride, the convos and the excitement of being lucky enough to have a seat in the arena.Tim Duncan said playing against Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant had brought out his best.David Butler Ii/USA Today Sports, via ReutersGarnett said it was an honor to be inducted with Kobe Bryant.Kathy Willens/Associated Press“Kobe didn’t want to disappoint his fans, especially the ones in the 300 sections that saved up to watch him play — the kids with the same excitement he once had.”Vanessa Bryant ended her speech by paying homage to her husband’s retirement letter, titled “Dear Basketball,” which he published in 2015. It was then turned into a short film and won an Academy Award in 2018 for best animated short film.“Dear Kobe, thank you for being the best husband and father you could possibly be,” Bryant said. “Thank you for always trying to be better. Thank you for never giving up on us.”She closed with her voice cracking slightly.“You did it. You’re in the Hall of Fame now,” Bryant said. “You’re a true champ. You’re not just an M.V.P. You’re an all-time great. I’m so proud of you. I love you forever and always, Kobe Bean Bryant.” More

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    How Kevin Garnett Made His Case for the Hall of Fame

    Garnett was widely doubted before he was drafted, but over more than 20 years in the league he reset the limits for N.B.A. big men and made a case for the Hall of Fame.“Does the N.B.A. have no shame?” a Dallas Morning News columnist wrote in 1995 about the prospect of Kevin Garnett going right into the league from high school.Soon after, a Washington Post columnist chimed in, “If Kevin Garnett winds up leaving childhood for the N.B.A. without first going to college, then a whole lot of adults who claim to have his best interests at heart will have failed him.” That same columnist added, “The kid isn’t physically ready to play under the basket in the Big Ten, much less against Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson.”“It’s preposterous,” Marty Blake, a veteran N.B.A. scout, told The New York Daily News.It’s hard to envision now, but before Garnett was chosen by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick of the 1995 N.B.A. draft, he was viewed by many — including The New York Times — with a great deal of skepticism. The conventional belief was that a teenager could not adapt to the rigors of professional basketball. A columnist for the Detroit News even scoffed at rumors that Garnett was interested in playing for the University of Michigan, saying: “Michigan doesn’t need the huge headache Garnett would bring. Sorry. This is an easy call.”We all know what happened next. Garnett starred in the N.B.A. for more than two decades and retired in 2016 as one of the greatest players to ever take the court. He made 15 All-Star Games, his first coming during his sophomore campaign. He won the Most Valuable Player Award in 2004 and the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2008. And last year, Garnett was selected for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside the journalist Michael Wilbon, who is now with ESPN but was at The Washington Post in 1995, when he wrote that Garnett was not ready for the N.B.A.In an interview, Wilbon said that Garnett was “one of the great players of the last 25 years,” but that he also wished Garnett had gone to college. Wilbon said that he still felt there were too many people who said “education was an impediment to success.”“That’s not on Kevin or Kobe,” he said. “That’s on the system.”Wilbon added later: “I look at what these things have done to Black Americans and all the kids who think that they’re going to play pro basketball at 18 or 19, and they’re not.”In 1995 Kevin Garnett went directly from Farragut High School in Chicago to the N.B.A Todd Rosenberg/ALLSPORT via Getty ImagesOver his career, Garnett disproved the predraft doubts and disrupted the conventional wisdom about how someone who is nearly 7 feet tall should play.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, an early critic who once told The Hartford Courant that Garnett was “in for a rude awakening,” now describes Garnett as “a consistent offensive threat and a great rebounder and defender.”“He was able to play and lead at both ends of the court,” Abdul-Jabbar said in a statement emailed by his manager. “It was like that from Day 1 until he retired, and that’s why I consider Kevin a Hall of Famer.”Garnett’s impact on the league went far beyond his on-court accomplishments. He showed that a 19-year-old could thrive in the N.B.A., and he influenced the thinking of scouts and executives, most likely easing the transition for others who were drafted immediately after high school, such as Kobe Bryant (1996) and LeBron James (2003).“He’s paved the way for a lot of players,” said Thon Maker, a fifth-year center who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season and has worked out with Garnett. “A lot of young bigs in the league like myself, the first thing I learned from him is to drown out the noise and let your basketball do the speaking.”Garnett became one of the country’s top high school prospects after playing for three years at Mauldin High School in South Carolina and his senior year at Chicago’s Farragut High School. He was compared to players ranging from Shaquille O’Neal and Abdul-Jabbar to Bill Walton and Shawn Bradley. His 220-pound frame made him difficult to assess, as did the paucity of prior high school draftees.One of them was Moses Malone, who was drafted in 1974 out of Petersburg High School in Virginia by the N.B.A.’s competition, the A.B.A. Malone would, like Garnett, have a Hall of Fame career, and in some ways, Garnett’s debut represented a passing of the torch. Malone’s last season was the year before Garnett’s first.“Garnett has more skills than Moses, but he doesn’t always come to play every night,” Tom Konchalski, an N.B.A. scout who died this year, told The Chicago Sun-Times in 1995. “He takes nights off. Emotionally, he isn’t ready to handle the N.B.A. lifestyle. He still is a kid. Moses was a man.”Kevin Garnett was chosen by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick of the 1995 N.B.A. draft.Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE, via Getty ImagesThere was also Bill Willoughby, who spent eight seasons as a role player for six teams from 1975 to 1984. He struggled in his transition and lost much of his money. (He called Garnett to offer advice as Garnett prepared to make his decision to enter the league.) Darryl Dawkins had a productive career from 1975 to 1989 after being drafted fifth over all. Both Dawkins and Willoughby entered the N.B.A. through a hardship waiver.Shawn Kemp enrolled at the University of Kentucky but left without playing and briefly went to a junior college instead. He did not play there either before becoming the 17th overall pick of the 1989 draft and joining the Seattle SuperSonics.There was a downside to Garnett’s brilliance: His immediate triumphs in the N.B.A. set a lofty bar that few players coming out of high school could meet. In his rookie year, he averaged a productive 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds, while starting roughly half of Minnesota’s games.“His legacy is as one of the greatest players, one of the greatest two-way players,” said Danny Ainge, the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics. Ainge traded for Garnett in 2007, revitalizing the franchise and helping it win its first championship in more than 20 years.Garnett was, Ainge said, “a guy that was all about winning and gave great energy night in and night out. The ultimate teammate.”Before entering the N.B.A., Leon Powe, part of Boston’s 2007-8 championship team, was on an A.A.U. team called the Oakland Soldiers along with a future Celtics teammate, Kendrick Perkins, and LeBron James.“LeBron, me and Kendrick, everybody, we all wanted to go out of high school,” Powe said, referring to the N.B.A. “Especially because we knew what happened with Kobe, K.G., everybody that came before us. That just inspired us.”Like James, Perkins made the leap in 2003, becoming a late first-round pick who would have a 14-year career in the N.B.A. If not for an injury, Powe might have jumped too, he said. Instead, he attended the University of California, Berkeley.There were more high school players who did not meet expectations in the N.B.A. — such as Kwame Brown and Sebastian Telfair — than those who did. The result was a rule in the mid-2000s that said a player had to be a full year removed from high school before he could be eligible for the N.B.A. The last high school player to be drafted into the N.B.A. was Amir Johnson in 2005.But the clamor to reverse the rule has grown larger with every passing season. In 2019, N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver said that it would probably be eliminated within a few years, and in March he told reporters that it would be discussed as part of the next collective bargaining agreement. So soon enough, the craving will start anew for another Garnett: a worldbeating talent whose prime might last 15 years. That’s still a lofty bar to clear, but he was the one who, as he might say, made it so that “anything is possible.” More