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| "I'm All In" |
Kevin Garnett has been my favorite player in the league since the day he became a professional. Not because of his game or because of the team that he played for. It was simply his passion for the game and his passion for his team. KG for years has been the only player in the league that plays with a child’s enthusiasm every night. I don’t care if it’s the first game of the season or a Wednesday night in January, he’s going to leave it all on the court.
There are so many guys in the league that have dogged it until the playoffs start like Shaq, Barkley, Malone, Iverson, just to name a few, for so many years. How many times do you hear of guys not even playing on any given night? I’ve been burned so much trying to see cats play that just decided they're not playing and won’t even make the trip.
My wife was a huge Iverson fan while he was in the league. So we would get tickets to see him whenever they would come to Indy to play the Pacers. I can’t even count the number of times that Iverson didn’t even make the trip with the team bruh. If you see him tell him I'm looking for him because he owes me money too!
Tickets aren’t free and I want to see guys give it all they’ve got every night. Garnett has been that guy since day one. My wife can’t stand him because she says that he’s animalistic because he beats on his chest and talks to himself all night long. I keep telling her that that is passion pure and simple. He wants to win every night no matter who they're playing.
Yeah, he picks on guys smaller than him from time to time but you won’t find a player in the league that plays harder than he does every night. Even when he was playing for the Timberwolves and he had absolutely no help, he had played with the same unbridled passion every night.
It’s only been recently that the guys in the NBA are playing hard during the regular season. There’s a new breed of player in the league now that we’ve never seen before. Guys like Lebron, D. Wade, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin all play with the same passion. They’re only going to be on the sideline if they are truly hurt and they all want to win every game. They aren’t doing what the old school guys did by pacing themselves and taking nights off to make it to the playoffs. I think they understand that the game is bigger than them and want to be a part of it more than anything.
Last year, D. Wade and LeBron got together in South Beach to win a title and remain on that mission today. They put ego’s aside and put a plan in place to win a championship and you have to appreciate the effort. I'm cool with that just don't waste folks money when they come to see you play. Let's keep it real or all the 100, whichever comes 1st! It's all entertainment and folks want to see the product on the floor. If I wanted to see some cats goof around I could go to the rec center and watch old cats run up and down the floor for free.
I’ve never been a fan of the NBA until just recently when guys like this have taken the floor. Back when Magic, Bird and Jordan
People would suffer through the season and get dialed in, in April. The only guy’s worth watching during the regular season was Jordan, Clyde and Dominque. They were so athletic that they would give you a reason to tune in. Nobody cared about watching Bird until the playoffs. It wasn’t until the Lakers and Celtics took the floor that anybody cared bruh.
I just think that Kevin Garnett raises the play and passion level of his teammates and we need more guys like him in the league. Before KG joined forces with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen those guys didn’t play at a maximum level every night bruh. Now they're getting old now but you understand what I'm saying. Sure, they’ve always been good but they would take nights off but not with KG on the floor or sideline. Even when he is hurt he’s going crazy on the bench and that is contagious. There is no substitute for passion!
Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
My 20 year old daughter and 14 year old son and I were recently discussing this very subject. We were trying to break passion down for my son and I love what my daughter said. For her, passion is doing something that you just love doing whether or not you are being recognized or paid for it. As an example to my son, the way she demonstrates passion is by voluntarily babysitting young children for other parents over the weekends when other college kids are out partying. You see, she clearly does not have to provide babysitting service, she just does because she has passion towards improving the lives of children. And get this, watches the children for teen moms and she does not get a dime for it. In fact, she often goes into her own bank account to buy clothes, diapers, medicine etc. I must admit that after hearing explanation, I became teary-eyed and a little more understanding as to why many times when we go places as a family, we have small kids with us and I feel obligated to explain to others whom we might bump into that, "we are not grandparents!!!". We thank God for the passion he has put inside of her, and interesting enough, it manifested itself many years ago back when she was 4 years old. My wife and I are very proud now and the young lady she is becoming.
ReplyDeleteYou see passion is contagious to all those around. Which, for example, why you do see others around the Celtics organization play at a more intense level. It can't be taught or bottled. If it could, this would be a much different world than it is today. You know, the younger generation (generation X) gets blamed for a lot of stuff but at least in the NBA they are demonstrating (in pockets) truly how passion is defined. Great discussion point Jay!!!
Couldnt agree more Jay. Clarence here, without a doubt KG brings it night in and night out along with the verbage
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