Former Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett likes to speak the harsh truth, even if it sometimes feels undeserving to certain people.
In a regular NBA season, a team gets to play 72 games, and the outcome of those three games decides the future of that team in the postseason. If they qualify, a team has to play 82 games to win the NBA championship in a certain season.
The number might sound like a pretty huge amount of game time, and the Celtics star thinks any player is able to appear in that many games every season.
What did Kevin Garnett say regarding the games of the NBA?
The 41-year-old star directly criticized and bashed the current athletes’ mentality for being too much commercial. “You get paid for 82; they pay you for 82; they pay you for ten exhibition games,” he said on the BetMGM Unleashed Podcast.
“They pay you for the playoffs. They don’t pay you to play 70; they pay you to play 82. You understand?” Kevin continued.
The power forward had played 20 years in America’s top basketball league and became a champion once in 2008, a 15-time NBA all-star, NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, a four-time NBA rebounding champion, and many more accolades.
He doesn’t achieve all of these feats by just playing at an average standard with a typical mindset. Garnett had to fight for each of his minutes on the court, and thus the victory felt sweeter than ever to him.
The 6.11-footer also added, “And then that says something about you, on both sides of the ball. You know what kind of stamina you’ve got to be in, you know what kind of shape you’ve got to be in, and you know what’s got to be in your heart to play 82.”
Kevin started 82 games in a regular season four times, including three years in the 2002–2005 span, and set an example of something that is possible to achieve. However, it must hurt him to watch today’s professionals, who don’t show that much dedication to their teams anymore.
Do you think the players are reluctant to give their all these days? Do you agree with Kevin Garnett? Leave your opinion with us in the comment section.
