“Facing him was like playing a game of chess” Kevin Garnett regards ‘childhood hero’ Charles Barkley as the toughest opponent he has ever faced
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Charles Barkley and Kevin Garnett
Charles Barkley was a daunting name in the league during the late 90’s. The Phoenix Suns marquee was not termed as a force to reckon with, but his extreme work-rate managed to inspire the upcoming generation. One of which included Hall of Famer, Kevin Garnett, who regarded Charles Barkley as his childhood hero. Not so surprisingly, two of the best power forwards ever witnessed by modern-day NBA fans great respect for one-another.
Both Charles Barkley and Kevin Garnett were explicit trash-talkers. But what most don’t know, the Boston Celtics great saw Barkley as his inspirational and always wanted to be able to replicate his form on the court.
Kevin Garnett gets candid upon on childhood hero, Charles Barkley
While Barkley wasn’t the biggest or the scariest defenders, yet Barkley dominated his opposition, adopting a fearless outlook. As a result of which, Kevin Garnett was a fan of The Chuckster from the time he started watching basketball. Barkley’s energy and trash-talking skills had a lasting impression on Garnett.
Garnett was one of the few players to make their NBA debut straight out of high school. The former champion, who had the opportunity of facing his idol Barkley, described the latter as a dominant player both physically and mentally.
“Facing Chuck was different. It was like playing chess. There was a mental aspect to it. The more I studied him, the more I was influenced by his psyche. I also looked up to him because he said I shouldn’t look up to him. I am not your role model, he announced in that famous Nike commercial. Damn, that shit was dope. When I played against Chuck, he didn’t want no conversation with me about anything. Chuck denies it, but he didn’t like me when I first came up.”
Barkley remains to be one of the greatest players in the league who were deprived of a championship ring in their entire NBA career. Now, with Barkley probably making his way out of the Inside the NBA talk show, it seems like his admirer Kevin Garnett might be the best replacement.
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Yakshpat Bhargava
(3989 Articles Published)