KG: Loyal & Petty to a Fault

[terra haute]

I do believe Garnett’s pettiness is a common character trait that’s consistent with every NBA superstar. IMO this is what’s lacking from Brown & Tatum’s game.

For example, in 1989, when Larry Bird was past his prime and the Celtics were on the decline, Bird could find a reason to become enraged or petty.

Recently an interviewer asked Shawn Kemp who was the first person in the NBA to “bust his ass”. Kemp replied,

“We were playing the Boston Celtics, so the great Larry Bird. I’m from Indiana and Larry’s from Indiana. I knew about the history of Larry but I didn’t realize how he got down…Larry gave me 40 in three quarters. And he talked to me the whole entire game. He asked me at the jump ball ‘You’re the one that broke all my records in high school right? And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s me’. He replied ‘And you’re the one who use to dunk on my brother too right, Andy? And I said, ‘Yeah that’s me’, Bird finally said, ‘I’ve got something for you tonight’.”

Bird finished the game with 40-11-10

Highlights: https://youtu.be/0a0cXeN2Hug

Not sure about all that. i went to HS with Kemp and he was a great player and talent but not sure he is that high up on any record lists in Indiana basketball. He could have scored half again more or double than he did. I think mid 20's was his scoring avg. He should have been so much more dominant than he was. Team was actually better 2 years after he graduated , went undefeated and lost to Damon Bailey in the finals. 55,000 at Hoosier Dome for the game.

[celticsclay]

KG is an ****.  He played like one on the court and holds grudges like one off the court.  He always has been and always will be.  That is probably some of the reason he has been so successful as that stuff fuels him.  It works for all sorts of all time greats in all sorts of sports, but as we just saw with Giannis there are lots of different ways you can lead a team to the promised land.  I much prefer the Giannis style to that of KG or Jordan or the countless other ****s that reach the ultimate level of success.

It is so weird you want to single out kg and Jordan for their stuff but just completely turn the cheek all of lebrons passive aggressive diva behavior over the last 15 years. Like is one really better than the other?

[Ed Monix]

KG is an ****.  He played like one on the court and holds grudges like one off the court.  He always has been and always will be.  That is probably some of the reason he has been so successful as that stuff fuels him.  It works for all sorts of all time greats in all sorts of sports, but as we just saw with Giannis there are lots of different ways you can lead a team to the promised land.  I much prefer the Giannis style to that of KG or Jordan or the countless other ****s that reach the ultimate level of success.

It is so weird you want to single out kg and Jordan for their stuff but just completely turn the cheek all of lebrons passive aggressive diva behavior over the last 15 years. Like is one really better than the other?

Exactly, this is what I was suggesting earlier. That all true superstars have a petty or aggressive type of personality, it’s engrained. What I’ve seen from player to player is that some know how to turn it off or channel it.

Bill Russell talked about how he would almost transform before a game, he have this surge of anger and hate. From what I’ve seen he was similar to Jordan in that he took any slight or the simplest suggestion that he wasn’t the greatest, extremely personal. But anyone who meets him says he’s a polite gentleman, so it seems he has a switch.

Larry Bird has that aggressive personality trait too, he apparently use to bully his teammates especially Kevin McHale. Obviously he used personal slights just like Jordan as a motivational tool.

Even Magic Johnson, mr. happy go lucky has an a**hole in him. This is a quote from the man himself, “If my mother were here right now,” he says, “and she asked me to play basketball one-on-one, I would let her get to nine-point-five out of 10. That would be hard for me to do. Then do you know what I would do to my mother?”
“I would crush her,” he says. “It wouldn’t be ‘no hard feelings.’ I still love her. But I’m a winner.”

Look at Giannis, if you watch his face and mannerisms on the court he becomes a murderous beast.

The two superstars I have a hard time understanding are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan. They seem to be very passive & shy by nature, still maintained their level headed almost intellectual like approach to basketball and yet achieved excellence not usually connected with their way of playing.

[RockinRyA]

KG is an ****.  He played like one on the court and holds grudges like one off the court.  He always has been and always will be.  That is probably some of the reason he has been so successful as that stuff fuels him.  It works for all sorts of all time greats in all sorts of sports, but as we just saw with Giannis there are lots of different ways you can lead a team to the promised land.  I much prefer the Giannis style to that of KG or Jordan or the countless other ****s that reach the ultimate level of success.

Im not sure Giannis style is really that effective to emulate. For one you have to wish majority of the playoff team's all-stars get injured.

[Moranis]

KG is an ****.  He played like one on the court and holds grudges like one off the court.  He always has been and always will be.  That is probably some of the reason he has been so successful as that stuff fuels him.  It works for all sorts of all time greats in all sorts of sports, but as we just saw with Giannis there are lots of different ways you can lead a team to the promised land.  I much prefer the Giannis style to that of KG or Jordan or the countless other ****s that reach the ultimate level of success.

It is so weird you want to single out kg and Jordan for their stuff but just completely turn the cheek all of lebrons passive aggressive diva behavior over the last 15 years. Like is one really better than the other?

This is a thread about KG though and MJ had a very similar pettiness to him.  Giannis is the opposite of the that.  Lebron is absolutely passive aggressive which is not what KG was and is not something others should emulate, which is why I mentioned Giannis and not Lebron.  You constantly do this with my posts where you bring up things that have no relevance, just because.  I'd appreciate it if you just didn't respond to my posts at all, but if you are going to at least keep them on subject and don't bring up irrelevant nonsense.

[timpiker]

Good for KG.  I hold grudges, too.  And Traitor Ray will always be a traitor in my mind.

[Roy H.]

Exactly, this is what I was suggesting earlier. That all true superstars have a petty or aggressive type of personality, it’s engrained.

I think they’re all going to be highly competitive.  But, not all will be outwardly aggressive or emotional.  Tim Duncan is the model for a stoic superstar.

[Moranis]

Exactly, this is what I was suggesting earlier. That all true superstars have a petty or aggressive type of personality, it’s engrained.

I think they’re all going to be highly competitive.  But, not all will be outwardly aggressive or emotional.  Tim Duncan is the model for a stoic superstar.

Yes.  He is another guy like Giannis that just has a much more pleasing leadership style. 

[celticsclay]

KG is an ****.  He played like one on the court and holds grudges like one off the court.  He always has been and always will be.  That is probably some of the reason he has been so successful as that stuff fuels him.  It works for all sorts of all time greats in all sorts of sports, but as we just saw with Giannis there are lots of different ways you can lead a team to the promised land.  I much prefer the Giannis style to that of KG or Jordan or the countless other ****s that reach the ultimate level of success.

It is so weird you want to single out kg and Jordan for their stuff but just completely turn the cheek all of lebrons passive aggressive diva behavior over the last 15 years. Like is one really better than the other?

This is a thread about KG though and MJ had a very similar pettiness to him.  Giannis is the opposite of the that.  Lebron is absolutely passive aggressive which is not what KG was and is not something others should emulate, which is why I mentioned Giannis and not Lebron.  You constantly do this with my posts where you bring up things that have no relevance, just because.  I'd appreciate it if you just didn't respond to my posts at all, but if you are going to at least keep them on subject and don't bring up irrelevant nonsense.

We are discussing kg. You bring up another all time great in mj and bash him. I bring up another all time great to point out they all have personality traits that are bad when they are this good and it seems weird to bash any of them. You somehow feel this is off topic or irrelevant nonsense? Very strange.