Michael Jordan. Larry Bird. Gary Payton. Reggie Miller. Kevin Garnett. What do these players have in common, other than being incredibly talented at basketball? And also other than the fact that they’re all retired (Oh great, I’m crying again). The answer: Their trash-talking tendencies. There are countless stories about each of these players mercilessly talking trash to their opponents. It is a sign of true competitiveness, the way that these players (and others like them) would try to destroy the confidence of their opposition. It was the mental side of the game to these players that mattered the most. They weren’t just playing basketball, they were waging psychological warfare.
Going up against any of these players would not have been easy, or fun, as many of their former foes can attest to. Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams reveals to The Oklahoman‘s Erik Horne his brilliant way to avoid trash talk from Garnett:
Steven Adams reflecting on Kevin Garnett's retirement. Said he pulled the "no English" card when KG tried to talk to him: pic.twitter.com/uUVgisG4vb
— Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) September 25, 2016
More Adams on Garnett: "It's not so much his trash talk, it's how he runs a team.": pic.twitter.com/HWV4HEXAKn
— Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) September 25, 2016
“He’s got this presence about him,” Adams said. “It’s intimidating, and he doesn’t talk to me at all. I played the ‘English card’ one time. He said something and I was just like ‘no English. No English mate, sorry.’ He kind of left me alone which is brilliant.”
Adams continued to speak about Garnett’s presence on the court: “The way he just talks to everyone — it’s not so much as trash talk, obviously he’s, like, phenomenal at it. But it’s also how he runs the team, and how everyone on the team kind of picks up off his energy, and just does what he says. He’s a real smart guy, and he just understands everyone. He’s real equal amongst all his teammates. That’s what’s brilliant. People come to him and talk to him, but he can also say something back. It’s a two-way road. That’s what I’ve seen. Yeah, I look at a lot of things, mate, while I’m on the floor.”
