Kevin Garnett Blasts Kawhi Leonard and Zion Williamson’s Fragile Health: “I Was a F*cking Machine”

Published 04/26/2024, 9:22 PM EDT

Isn’t it lovely to see the electric playoff atmosphere in the NBA back again? Teams have battled throughout the regular season to find a spot in one of the most competitive postseasons in NBA history. Sadly, the hype has reduced a bit after a few superstars were forced to sit out due to injury. These injuries have been costly for their respective teams, so Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have come up with a solution for it. However, this also gave them a chance to blast injury-prone stars like Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, and Zion Williamson.

On the podcast All the Smoke, Pierce told KG, “Less guys play 82. More injuries to superstars. I mean like you see Kawhi, you see Joel Embiid, you see Zion…Giannis.“ The Big Ticket replied, “Let me say this y’all. You know practicing every day?” As soon as Garnett made this point, Pierce added, “That builds up your legs and your strength. That’s what I was thinking, I swear to god. I was like coz they don’t practice.“

Garnett even compared himself with the modern stars. “Do you know what we looked like, bro? I don’t know what old pictures and s***, but bro I was a f****** machine. If I drink ginger, my system would feel it right away. I was such a machine bro. The fact of you getting hurt is you usually overworking, but we were not out of shape, we were not injury prone.“

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KG also highlighted a solution, which was to lift weights, work out, and play basketball every day in the off-season. This could be a crucial factor in avoiding injuries, but let’s see if the above-mentioned superstars are ready to take up Garnett’s advice. Many may or may not agree with the Boston Celtics legend, but he and Pierce had one of the healthiest careers in the NBA.

How did a healthy body keep Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce going?

It’s safe to say that the above assessment by KG is backed by facts. The 2008 NBA champion played 80+ games in a single season eight times in his career. He played more than 70 games in a further five seasons as well. Similarly, Paul Pierce played 80+ games in seven different seasons, and 70+ games in six more seasons. This could be surprising for modern-day NBA fans, but playing 82 games was very common in the league back then.

The times have changed now. For ex., the maximum number of games Embiid has played in a single season is 68, which was in 2021-22. The maximum number of games that Kawhi Leonard has played is 74, but that was in 2017 when he was with the San Antonio Spurs. Zion Williamson reached the 70 mark this year, but he is out of playoffs currently. This proves Kevin Garnett’s and Paul Pierce’s point. Let’s see if their advice can help the modern-day NBA stars.

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Written by:

Rohan Dharmalingam is an NBA beat writer at EssentiallySports, who extensively covers the Lakers. Be it a multimillion dollar deal breaking or a classic throwback, Rohan has covered the many themes and formats. Most notably, his coverage received a shoutout from the Purple & Gold icon Shaquille O'Neal and the rap legend 50 Cent, on Instagram.

Edited by:

Pragya Vashisth

Kevin Garnett Blasts Kawhi Leonard and Zion Williamson’s Fragile Health: “I Was a F*cking Machine”

How did a healthy body keep Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce going?

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