[外電] ALWAYS AN ALL-STAR
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/16724435.htm
This year marks Kevin Garnett's 10th All-Star Game selection. The Pioneer
Press gathered a cross-section of Garnett's favorite memories and anecdotes
from his all-star appearances, and other players offered their thoughts and
insights regarding Garnett through the years, on and off the court:
KEVIN GARNETT
On his first All-Star Game, in 1997: "I remember Charles Barkley giving me
crap, how him and G.P. (Gary Payton) were on my (butt) every five seconds
about nothing. G.P. and Shawn Kemp just giving me stories. I can remember
coming in after the game and how you really saw the intensity of the talk of
the second half (of the season). Come in the locker room, and G.P. is talking
trash to (John) Stockton about how they're about to make a run in the second
half of the season. It was good."
More on his first All-Star Game: "I was nervous. I'll never forget I had a
jump shot against (Dikembe) Mutombo, and I banked it. Mike Jordan came up to
me and told me I was going to airball my first shot. That made me even a
little more nervous. My first experience in Cleveland, probably the thing
that stands out the most is I got to meet Wilt (Chamberlain). I saw Wilt
sitting right in the front row. I was kind of a little nervous. I just went
up to him, introduced myself, and he gave me some words of wisdom."
On the 2003 All-Star Game, when Garnett won the Most Valuable Player Award in
Michael Jordan's last All-Star Game: "Part of me obviously wanted to cherish
it, but in respect to what he's done for the game and his inspiration to not
only me but other young guys, I wanted to give that to him. It was his last,
and I felt like it was only right. He declined and told me to enjoy it. That
made me feel a lot more special about the award. It was a very fun game."
On his rookie/sophomore game appearance in 1996: "That was in San Antonio. I
wasn't really nervous for that. It was with guys that were in my draft. I had
gotten to a point where I had some confidence under my belt a little bit. It
was against Joe (Smith), Stack (Jerry Stackhouse), and Brent Barry was there.
He won the dunk contest."
On his favorite all-star memories: "New York. I think that was cold, the
first time. M.J. was back in the Garden. D.C. still stands out to me, when
the East came back and beat us. Obviously Atlanta, when I was close to home,
I won the MVP. That was cool. Those three are probably my top three."
WOLVES GUARD TROY HUDSON
On Garnett's compassion: "I remember my first stint (with Minnesota), when I
came to training camp here in 1998. I made it all the way until the last day.
I really played my heart out. This wasn't my first time ever being cut (by an
NBA team). I had been cut two or three other times. As I was walking out the
door, he really pulled me close to him. He talked to me, and you could really
tell it was heartfelt. He said, 'Keep working, you're supposed to be in this
league, you're going to make it.'
WOLVES FORWARD MARK MADSEN
On Garnett's leadership: "There was one time I was injured two years ago. We
had a road trip to L.A. and Golden State, and I went because I had people
down there, and I went to cheer the team on, also. We had a road trip to
Memphis, for example, or Orlando, where I don't really have anybody, and I
would stay at home. After like four or five games like that, I walked into
practice one day, and Kevin was sitting on the training table, and he said,
'Mark, I need to talk to you.' He said, right now, you're just being
selective about the road trips you want to go on. He said you're going on the
road trips where you have family and friends. He said either come on all of
them or stay at home on all of them. You decide. I said I'm coming on all of
them.
"Kevin is the type that he's always going to tell you how he feels about
something. I think that's what makes him a great communicator."
On Garnett's loyalty to Wolves: "The one thing about Kevin is he's really
loyal to the Timberwolves, so if somebody comes in wearing something that's
not T-Wolves, he's going to let that person know.
"A member of our staff (assistant athletic trainer Anthony Aldridge) had a
Dallas Mavericks screensaver on his phone. We were all on a bus during the
preseason for a game. One of the players saw it and said, 'Hey, Kevin,
Anthony has a Dallas Mavericks screensaver on his phone.' Kevin saw it and
said, 'Heck no, heck no.' Kevin said, 'When the bus stops, I'm going to hold
the Dallas Mavericks phone, and you've got to sprint to that truck over
there, 150 yards away, and you've got to sprint over there and jump up and
down three times and say I love the Timberwolves.'
"Kevin gave him a time limit, too, like 35 seconds. Anthony made it in like
33 seconds or something. Everyone was having a good time. All the players
were there, laughing. Kevin can be the most intense guy on the court, but he
can also be the guy that loosens people up and gets guys to relax and laugh."
Rick Alonzo can be reached at ralonzo@pioneerpress.com.
DETROIT'S CHAUNCEY BILLUPS
On Garnett's vocabulary: "I always get on K.G. jokingly all the time about
him using big words all the time. He uses them out of context. I always kill
him. He hates that about me. He wants to seem intelligent. It's just a fun
thing, though."
INDIANA'S JERMAINE O'NEAL
On Garnett's competitiveness: "I enjoy playing against K.G. because he's one
of those rare guys when you're competing against him, he's still pushing you.
We can just be battling head to head, and he'll see me wearing down, and
he'll tap me on my back and say, 'Keep it up, keep going.' There's not very
many people that would do that. People want you to get tired so they can take
advantage of that. K.G. is one of the great guys in the league that plays
with a lot of energy all the time. I respect everything he brings to the
table, everything he brings to the NBA. You just want to emulate what he does
as a player, that intensity that he brings, that focus that he brings."
MIAMI'S DWYANE WADE
On hanging out with Garnett in Miami: "I just love K.G., of course, for what
he does on the basketball court. But off the court, I was in my rookie year,
K.G. came out to Miami and somehow got a hold of me. He took me out with him.
We were hanging together for like two days. We were going on boat rides and
just chillin'. He showed me a lot of love, a lot of respect. I love K.G. for
being a real person.
"It was during the offseason (in 2004). We got out of the playoffs a little
early. He was down in Miami, and we hooked up. Sam Cassell was there. That
was when he was still in Minnesota. We just had a great time. That just shows
what kind of person he is. He was the MVP that year, and I was just a rookie,
but he showed me just as much love as anybody else."
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