50 Kevin Garnett Quotes About Heart, Passion, Work Ethic & Basketball

motivational quotes Jan 20, 2024

The top quotes from Kevin Garnett:

Kevin Garnett is a retired professional basketball player who played in the NBA for 21 seasons. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards in basketball history.

KG had a very successful career. He won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and in 2004 was named the NBA MVP while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He was also a 15-time NBA All-Star, NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2008), and a gold medal winner with the United States men's international team in 2000.

Garnett is known for his competitive nature, intensity, and heart. KG brought out the best in his team with his passion and leadership.

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Best Kevin Garnett Quotes About Heart, Passion & Attitude

Kevin Garnett is famous for his fierce competitive nature and the passion that he played with every game. KG brought the intensity and the effort night in and night out.

The following quotes give a glimpse into the mindset of one of the most passionate players in the history of the NBA.

1. "I have a problem sometimes with being too hyper."

2. "Anything is possible!"

3. "I can't control if people like me; I can't control if people like my game."

4. "We have to do the impossible, but it is possible."

5. "At the end of the day, you're responsible for yourself and your actions and that's all you can control. So rather than be frustrated with what you can't control, try to fix the things you can."

6. "I suit up every night. Banged up, hurt, whatever. 100%, 30%. It ain't no numbers, it's my heart and you can't measure that."

7. "I've always tried to leave my heart out there on the court...I appreciate every fan that has ever rooted for me and booed me."

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Work Ethic Quotes By Kevin Garnett

Garnett prided himself on how hard he worked to not only make it to the NBA, but develop into an MVP and a champion.

These quotes from KG show how serious he was about improving his craft. They serve as a reminder that nothing is given, but everything is earned.

8. "I don't think anything less than perfect, even though I'm a human being. The way I work and go at things is to better myself in perfect terms."

9. "I'm not the type of person to give up just because something gets rough. That's a coward. That's not me."

10. "They say no matter how hard you work, there's always someone, somewhere working harder than you. Guess what... I'm that someone."

11. "I've never been an individual guy. I never cared about the accolades. I've always been driven by the competition and the learning process."

12. "The beautiful thing about when you go through a slide is that you learn from it. Not just saying that you learn from it, but applying the things that you have learned."

13. "The competition, the naysayers, the owners who talk too much. The people who don’t think a 36-year-old can do what I do. I take a lot of pride in my craft, I work really hard at my craft everyday, and I’m a true professional."

14. "Performance is something we all strive to be better at. I'm no different than that. Who wants to look bad?"

15. "Can't' isn't a word that I use. 'Quit' is not a word that I use. I feel like if you want something bad enough, then you work towards it."

16. "Why else be in it? I'm not in anything for a short commitment. That's not me. That's not my makeup. I feel like if you're going to commit yourself, commit yourself wholeheartedly 1000%. Just because I'm going through a difficult time right now with the transition, that's not my makeup, that's not my speed. I'm not the type of person to give up just because something gets rough. That's a coward. That's not me."

Top Kevin Garnett Basketball Quotes

17. "The last couple of practices, all we've been doing is a lot of defensive things. We've been going over some drills that make all of us have to communicate."

18. "Kev has these old Boston drills, where you all have to talk to each other, and interact, and it's helped us."

19. "So we take a lot of pride in that. It's really on us to turn this thing around. I think this last month we've done just that. We've pointed ourself in the direction that we want to be, and I think we're starting to head towards that. Right now we're in a nice rhythm."

20. "Our league now is at a point where you have to teach more than anything. AAU has killed our league."

21. "We’re all one. The WNBA is our sister league. The NBA is their brother league, so I think they go together and they’re parallel and belong side-by-side. They need to be cohesive."

22. "So you're dealing with a coach, and you're dealing with a guy who's actually experienced NBA basketball from a player's perspective and actually goes about it that way."

23. "Going from Flip to Kev, obviously you don't want to see someone ever lose their job. For me it's probably a little more difficult, because other than Bill Blair, Flip is all I knew."

24. "I would love to see Flip get back into the league. I think he can definitely still coach in this league. I think he will be in this league quicker than sooner."

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Kevin Garnett Quotes About Success And Winning

KG's main focus was to win, but he understood the value of losses as well, stating that losing teaches you some things that can help you grow and succeed in the long run.

25. "I'm very simple. I'm not for the flashes, I'm not for glitz and glamour, you know. I just want to win, I want to be good at what I do... and look back upon these days of playing in the NBA. I want people to be able to say, or I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and say I gave everything that I had and I enjoyed it while I was doing it."

26. "I don't play to sweat, I play to win."

27. "A winner is someone who recognizes his talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills & uses these skills to accomplish his goals."

28. "You know, you learn a lot about yourself when you lose, you learn a lot about yourself when you're down, the people around you and so forth, and this shows what you're made of, to be honest."

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Best Quotes From KG About Teamwork

Despite all the individual success he achieved, Garnett was focused on the importance of the team throughout his career.

These quotes serve as a good reminder that basketball is a team sport.

29. "I want to be known as the best teammate ever."

30. "It's not about me, it's about us."

31. "We know that in order for us to turn this around, it doesn't matter how many coaches they bring in here, assistants, weight trainers, whoever, we're the ones that are going to have turn it around. And I think just took that responsibility on ourselves."

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Funny Kevin Garnett Quotes

32. "I’m like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. If I’m not ready, the sled isn’t going to go."

33. "Too much coffee. Too much coffee and Gatorade. It's a hell of a mix. If you're ever tired in the morning, just try that mix, and tell me what you think."

34. "This ain’t the Girl Scouts. This ain’t the Boy Scouts. This is the NBA."

35. "They’re really aggressive. They’re like roaches on bread – you drop some on the floor and, boom, they’re on it."

36. "Timing is everything. Chemistry is something that you don't just throw in the frying pan and mix it up with another something, then throw it on top of something, then fry it up and put it in a tortilla and put in a microwave, heat it up and give it to you and expect it to taste good. You know? For those of you who can cook, y'all know what I'm talking about. If y'all can't cook, this doesn't concern you."

37. Charles Barkley: "I think I look good tonight." Kevin Garnett: "You think that, but thinking and reality are two different things, sometimes."

38. "I'm so happy right now—I'm not going to sleep for a week."

39. "You can't teach the beast. It's either in you or it isn't. You can't just go to the store and buy a six-pack of beast. It don't work like that."

40. "What the hell would I do? I don't have a barrage of dunks. I can barely jump. I'm not that creative. I just put the ball through the basket. Depending on how I feel, I might growl every now and then, but that's about it. I don't think people want to see that."

41. "I'll be Batman, I'll be Robin. I'll be anybody you want me to be. I'll be the Garbage Man."

42. "Playing for Doc is like coming home to a birthday cake, you know? Coming home to a birthday cake. Every day it's something you don't know -- it's going to be sprinkles, you know it's going to be sweet. You know it's going to be beautiful, but what you don't know is sometimes [they] might use too much salt in the recipe and you bite into the cake and get a salty taste. But you have to remember that every day is a birthday cake in here waiting on you. So if you can figure that riddle out, that's what it's like to play for Doc Rivers."

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Other Motivational Kevin Garnett Quotes

43. "I'm not someone who is going to give in to a lot of pressure. I've always understood that everything is not always going to be good."

44. "Millions of kids want to play pro basketball, and here I am getting the chance early. I learned one thing -- never hate a positive option."

45. "Coaching takes patience. I'm more enthused when teaching players who want it versus when I have to."

46. "I'm from the bottom, I understand what it's like to have and to not have. My perception on giving is to put yourself in those people's shoes and go from there. So that's what I did."

47. "Sometimes when I hear commentating, it's sickening. People who never played the game, people who never played in the league have an opinion, and that's all it is. You are here to educate the watcher or the viewer. Sometimes it comes off as personal. I don't ever want to come off like that. My opinion is my opinion about someone."

48. "There are a lot of things that frustrate me. I get frustrated when I have to wait at a red light."

49. "Playing video games is something I enjoy in my spare time. I'm a gamer, always have been."

50. "I like upfront people, you know where they’re coming from, you know what they’re talking about. I think when you have someone who knows the issues and understands the issues, I anticipate that person to have effective solutions."

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