Kevin Garnett was one of the biggest trash talkers in the NBA.
But there was one time when KG went all-in against the wrong opponent and he still regrets his mistake.
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Early in Garnett’s career, he was a loud young athlete with tremendous potential and fresh out of high school.
But when the No. 5 pick in the 1995 NBA draft went to Michael Jordan during his peak with the Chicago Bulls, KG and the Minnesota Timberwolves – returning to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years against the Dallas Mavericks – – paid a heavy price.
“He’s right there. Mike can hear me,” Garnett said on All The Smoke, recalling how the six-time NBA champion heard his vicious trash talk.
“I say that and I feel it,” Garnett said. “Hands on hips, legs locked, then (Jordan) looked and he stabbed me for about 15 seconds.”
Garnett, a Pro Basketball Hall of Famer who made 15 All-Star teams and earned 12 All-Defensive All-Star selections, told a hilarious story about a young Minnesota team that ‘returned to Jordan’s Bulls.
It was KG’s rookie season and the second half of a campaign that saw the eventual 2003-04 NBA MVP average 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds as a 19-year-old.
Now Anthony Edwards is making huge shots and earning Jordan’s respect in the playoffs.
By 1996, Garnett thought he had learned how to operate in the NBA.
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With Minnesota’s Isaiah “JR” Rider off to a hot start, Garnett supported his teammate, despite being a rookie playing on no sleep.
“As we get to the end of the timeout, I’m totally, yeah, I can’t even explain it,” Garnett said. “I was just like, yo, keep killing it.”
Rider knew Garnett needed to tone down his loud talk.
But the fiery rookie did the opposite, even with Jordan looming nearby.
Suddenly excited by an unproven NBA player embarrassing him in public, Air Jordan turned on the jets and reminded Garnett who was in charge of the league.
“I can’t even really describe the next six to seven minutes of the game,” Garnett said.
“Not one but two 10-second calls. … Down 25 (points) now, it was down to two.”
The best player in Timberwolves history revealed that “it went downhill fast” as Jordan played like the best basketball player on the planet.
Although Garnett did not specify the matchup, a February 27, 1996 game between the Timberwolves and Bulls saw Minnesota stay close for three quarters, then get outscored 38-23 in the fourth quarter on the road at the famous United Center .
Garnett and Rider scored 20 points each for Minnesota.
Jordan absolutely dominated, scoring a game-high 35 points on 11-of-24 shooting while hitting 11-of-12 free throws, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out seven assists and collecting two steals in 41 minutes.
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“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Garnett said upon his return to the Timberwolves bench.
It was too late.
MJ picked up another victory in the NBA en route to another world championship.
His Bulls were 45-5 and in the midst of one of the greatest seasons in league history.
A KG rookie learned an important first lesson.
And he got a great story about Jordan that he was still telling two decades later.
“Don’t ever talk dirty to Mike again,” Garnett said.
Minnesota hosts Dallas in the opener on Wednesday.
Edwards is also an elite trash talker as the Timberwolves attempt to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
