Claiming LeBron James And More Wouldn’t Run Back After Not Getting A Call, Kevin Garnett Lambasts Players For Not Playing Through Injuries

In the latest episode of KG Certified,  Boston Celtics legends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce raised their concern that the current generation of players do not play through their injuries. Very recently, there has been an increasing phenomenon among NBA players to miss out on games due to injuries to avoid potential long-term consequences.

According to KG and Pierce, in their playing days, players would play through any injuries of any sort and have a higher number of minutes and games played per season compared to today’s era. Garnett highlighted how the current best players in the league- LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid- will get disheartened when they don’t get a call and eventually not run back on defense when required. However, that wasn’t much of a case during KG and Paul Pierce’s era of play.

In a frustrating fit, KG ranted,

“I hate comparing the eras. You had to be mentally f**ked up to be pushed. Man, you know pain? Bro, you know what you gotta be? You gotta be what kind of animal to push through some pain. I’m talking about pain that’s not going away just cause you manned up and got through it.” 

Here, Kevin Garnett was trying to highlight the adversities that he played through during his playing career. Previously, the Celtics legend had revealed he played through a serious heart condition for 21 years in the league. Paul Pierce completely agreed with Garnett’s explosive rant and described himself as giving it all for the team despite serious ailments such as knee injuries.

“Remember the game in Atlanta, I drained my whole knee right there in the training room…My knee was swole, and I am sitting right there, squeeze my knee, and liquid was coming out of it, right before it,” described Paul Pierce, who played a game with a knee injury against the Hawks in 2012.

Though Pierce played just 16 minutes on the court, he still helped add a game-high 24 points on 10-13 shooting that night. Adding to his statement Pierce explained his mentality, saying,

“I was trained to, like, if I can walk, I can run. It was just like, sh*t. I took pride in being out there. I don’t want to show no weakness when my team because these are my brothers and I want to show them with pride that I’mma be out there through it all. If I can walk, I can run.” 

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce’s contention was regarding players being unable to stay healthy or not pushing through their injuries to give it all for their team. Since the time of Wilt Chamberlain, players have only missed very few games in a season. For example, Michael Jordan played at least 78 games or more in an 84-game season at his peak. However, in today’s era, we hardly see players such as Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant step up the same way.

As Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce pointed out, players must have enough effort and a winning mentality to play through every adversity. This is something that almost every player used to follow religiously, including both KG and Pierce.

Players such as Kobe Bryant would continue playing a game despite shoulder dislocation or any other injuries. For the players from the bygone era, missing games was associated with a lack of respect for the game and a feeling of losing grip on chasing the title in a given season. This mentality is something that both KG and Pierce find to be missing even within the best player in today’s era.

Injuries spark a debate in the NBA

Injuries have become a subject of debate in today’s NBA era ever since Joel Embiid was diagnosed with a meniscus contusion after his game against the Warriors. Embiid has been on a hot streak this season, playing a 70-piece game and averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, with a true shooting percentage of 64.5%. These stats are astronomically better than last season’s, earning him the MVP award.

Embiid is once again one of the favourites to win the MVP award again this season. However, the current league rules mandate players to play at least 65 games to be eligible for any NBA awards at all. This rule doesn’t bode well for the injury-prone players, for whom reaching such a standard might be a major issue. Hence, Joel Embiid’s second consecutive MVP contention might come under scrutiny, as the Philadelphia 76ers star might as well not reach the minimum threshold due to his injury issues.

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• Kevin Garnett
• paul pierce