An 18-year career with the Miami Heat means that Udonis Haslem has played with and against some of the toughest guys the NBA has had to offer throughout it's history. And we're not talking "tough" as in difficult to defend or impossible to score on, though that's true for Haslem as well. We're talking about "tough" in the mental sense: those stone-cold competitors who set themselves apart from the rest of the league, can flip a switch and turn their game up a notch when it matters most and will tune out all the buzz, all the noise, and just start hooping.
Apparently, that type of toughness doesn't apply to Kevin Garnett in Haslem's eyes, a fun little factoid that was revealed after the longtime Heat big man was asked about the Hall of Fame class including Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. When a reporter referred to them as three of the "toughest guys" to ever walk the planet, Haslem took exception to that exact phrasing.
"Two of those guys, I would probably say that I consider them tough guys, and that's more so mentally tough," Haslem said. "And one of those guys just do a lot of this (makes talking hand motion) — that's not tough at all... so you probably want to take KG off that tough guy list. Now, great basketball player, yes."
And no one is arguing that. But what Haslem is arguing is that the way Bryant and Duncan led their teams and found individual success differed from the way that KG did so.
"Obviously, Kobe was a guy that basically said I'm going to lead, I'm going to knock down every wall, I'm going to push every brick, and you guys just get on board and follow," Haslem said. "And if I can implement my mentality and my heart into you guys, then we'll be alright. That's the way Kobe did his thing.
"I think Tim Duncan was just a quiet assassin. He was just one of those guys that didn't say much and those guys probably pissed you off more than anybody. Not gonna talk to you, not gonna say much, and then at the end of the night, he's gonna fry you like chicken. He's gonna have 30 and 15 and they're gonna win the championship.
"Obviously, KG chose a route that I don't really condone. A lot of that talking and disrespect, but you can't take away from what he's done on the basketball court and who he's been as a basketball player. Obviously, coming in at such a young age and from the get-go, being able to dominate his game of basketball on both ends of the floor. You talk about a two-way player, he was one of the first guys to be able to do it at 6-11. Talk about guarding one through five, and just the way he was disruptive on defense, and then took it to the offensive floor, and just approached both ends of the game with the same mentality and aggressiveness."
But, again, Haslem wanted to emphasize that his production and success didn't necessarily mean he was as mentally tough — or "tough" in general — as the other names that are set for Hall of Fame induction.
"Don't be loosely throwing around 'tough guys.' "
Of course, it's no secret that Garnett was one of the game's most fearsome forces and prevalent trash-talkers, all wrapped into one intimidating package. Interestingly enough, Garnett picked Duncan out of anyone to call out as a great fellow trash-talker.
"Tim Duncan, people would not see him verbally saying stuff because he wouldn't talk in sentences," Garnett said in a 2020 interview. "Timmy would hit you in phrases. 'Gotcha.' 'Ooh.' 'Almost.' This the worst right here: 'Nice try.' Like subtle s--t. No gangster s--t. No real hardcore s--t. Just subtly... and then what really, really, really pissed me off was when the trash-talking wasn't affecting him."
That's right — Duncan was not only a great trash-talker, according to Garnett, but he was a great trash-talk absorber. That's a lethal combo.
As for whether or not Garnett is "tough" like Haslem disputes, I suppose it's all up to interpretation. Is dishing out steady streams of trash-talk while backing it up with a Hall of Fame-level career something that falls under the umbrella of "tough?" Does Garnett's rocky Timberwolves relationship come into Haslem's consideration of how "tough" he is? Does the fact that Haslem, Duncan and Bryant all played for one team throughout their whole careers put them into a whole category of mental "toughness" that Garnett can't rightfully claim for himself?
Here's what I do know: if Garnett, or any professional athlete who completely dwarfs me in size, asks me if I think they're tough, I'll probably just nod my head and avoid any further confrontation.
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