The NBA has always been about superstars who set themselves apart from the others. Kevin Garnett was a talented individual who could outplay anyone on offense and defense, but he had a tremendous personality that made him such a challenging player to go against.
KG is one of the most intense and bold players in NBA history. The power forward was intense in his play, but he also loved to talk smack to his opponents.
Kevin's former teammate, Deron Williams , saw how the 2004 NBA MVP played the game. D-Will thinks some current players, like Patrick Beverley and Draymond Green, share Garnett's mindset.
"Draymond is one. Dillon Brooks thinks he is; in his mind, he is. Pat Bev is like a mini KG; he's from Chicago. Let's rewind; Pat Bev is the most like KG," Deron said on Players TV.
Draymond has many of KG's qualities
While Dray is not the offensive powerhouse that Kevin was, he has a similar impact on the defensive end. Green is one of the unique players who can legitimately defend any position, from point guard to center, while having a good impact on offense with his screens and passing ability.
The Warriors legend has the foot speed to catch up to guards and use his length to prevent them from scoring. He has no issues matching up against the big men because he is strong enough to bang bodies with them.
Apart from his physical traits, Dray loves playing mind games, mainly through trash talk. He always finds holes in his opponents' morale and then attacks that sore spot to throw them off their game. An excellent example of this is when Green told Moe Harkless he was afraid to shoot a three because it would jeopardize a million-dollar bonus on his contract.
"So we meet up with them in the playoffs right after he's doing that, and I say to him right away, 'You're gonna shoot tonight 'cause you got your bonus now, or are you still scared to shoot? Hey, he's scared to shoot, fellas. He doesn't want to shoot tonight. He's still worried about his bonus,'" t he four-time All-Star said in a conversation with Jeff Teague.
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Beverley also has the KG mindset
Pat Bev is not an All-Star player like Draymond but is always one of the most vocal players in the league. The Chicago native is a superb perimeter defender, as his relentless defense could lock up most point guards, akin to Gary Payton .
The mindset of throwing the matchup off their game is alive and well with Pat's style. Unfortunately, Beverley does not impact the game outside of defense and trash talk because he is a less-than-average offensive player.
Pat still carved out a steady NBA job for a decade and became infamous for being one of the most challenging matchups for guards. He is now set to exit the Association as he signed with an overseas team, but Beverley will remain a topic in NBA circles.
Those two might not have had the same impact on his teams as Garnett, but Deron's opinion is valid, especially since both Green and Beverley were prominent defensive stars during their primes.
Related: "60 minutes before the game and around 50 minutes after" - Brian Scalabrine shares how long Kevin Garnett stayed intense during games
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