Isiah Thomas recalled a high school Kevin Garnett dominating in a pick-up game vs. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen: "It was one of the most poetic, beautiful experiences I had"
Kevin Garnett's leap from high school straight into the NBA in 1995 wasn't a gamble but a moment that had been simmering behind the curtain for years, witnessed by those who could already see the future.
One of them was NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, whose history in the game goes beyond his playing days and deep into the fabric of talent evaluation and legacy-building.
Thomas' observation
Thomas was no longer donning the Detroit Pistons jersey but navigating the infancy of the Toronto Raptors. His eye was cast far and wide for someone who could serve as the soul of a new franchise.
And then came Garnett.
"I had targeted him as the person that I wanted to draft and start our franchise with," Thomas said of Garnett. "Being in his presence... it was overwhelming. You felt his energy, his intensity, his passion, his love for his craft in high school, beyond anybody else who was in the gym."
"It was one of the most poetic, beautiful experiences I had had or felt from a young player," he added.
This wasn't flowery praise. It was a window into the exact kind of conviction that defined Thomas as both a player and an executive.
He saw Garnett not just as a talented big man but as a force of nature in motion. The gym where this impression was cemented wasn't just any gym. It was in Chicago, and the pickup game featured none other than Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, two icons who had already rewritten the rules of excellence by then.
Thomas, who grew up on the west side of Chicago himself, knew exactly what a gym like that meant. Those kinds of gyms had always birthed legends, men whose names lived on in whispered stories long after the lights dimmed. Garnett walked into that same space with no professional contract, shoe deal and draft buzz. Just raw will.
What Garnett did in that pickup game was not merely impressive; it shifted the temperature in the room.
He didn't defer. He didn't ask for space. He took it.
The game, according to Thomas, was supposed to showcase dominance, not discover it. Yet he made the kind of statement that validated every whisper coming out of Farragut Academy.Garnett wasn't waiting for permission
In 1995, Garnett became the first player in two decades to leap from high school straight into the league. The last to do so had been Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby in 1975. The landscape had changed dramatically since then, with the league having become far more technical, media-dense and physically unforgiving.
For Garnett to enter through that door meant he had to redefine what readiness looked like.
The 1995 draft eventually saw the Minnesota Timberwolves take him with the fifth overall pick. Thomas didn't get his man. But the memory remained. That moment in Chicago, that burst of energy and purpose, stuck with him, not just as a scout or executive but as someone who had lived through every kind of basketball war and still felt something new that day.
Isiah already understood that Garnett's greatness was never theoretical. It had already been tested, in a no-frills gym with Jordan and Pippen on the floor, where reputations are either built or burned. What made Garnett stand out was talent and the refusal to be intimidated by proximity to greatness.
That defiance would become his signature.
In Boston, it would show up in his defensive scowls and locker-room sermons. In Minnesota, it would fuel his loyalty through years of franchise hardship.
The high schooler Thomas once watched in a Chicago gym had become the blueprint for the next generation of prep-to-pro stars: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard. But even among them, Garnett was different. He hadn't walked through the NBA's doors quietly; he had kicked them in.This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
As Terry McLaurin shifts from holdout to hold-in, Commanders' roster designation gives a clue
ASHBURN, Va. — As the Washington Commanders kicked off their fourth practice of training camp, a familiar face was back in the building. Pro Bowl receiver Terry McLaurin reported to training camp Saturday after skipping spring practices including mandatory minicamp and the first week of training camp. McLaurin did not return to practice Sunday, instead landing on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list with an ankle injury after his Saturday physical examination. 'I got a chance to sit [with him] yesterday, which I was glad,' head coach Dan Quinn told Yahoo Sports on Sunday. 'He was in a very strong head space. In a good way.' [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] McLaurin was holding out ahead of his seventh season in Washington, the final season remaining on his second career contract. Now, he's holding 'in' with what the Commanders are describing as rehabilitation for his ankle. McLaurin has caught 460 catches for 6,379 yards and 38 touchdowns since Washington selected him in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He's coming off the highest-scoring season of his career, McLaurin finding the end zone 13 times on 82 catches for 1,096 yards during quarterback Jayden Daniels' rookie season. Quinn said McLaurin's ankle bothered him at the end of last season, and it's 'not that uncommon' for an ankle injury to linger. But McLaurin's designation on the physically unable to perform list rather than injured reserve is notable — most particularly for the flexibility it provides. While PUP designation costs teams a roster spot that injured reserve players do not, the mechanism also allows players to return at any point. A player who receives a much-anticipated contract extension could, hypothetically, return to practice participation immediately afterward. 'You can come off any time,' Quinn said. 'There's not like, 'Hey you have to be on it for this amount of time.'' [Get more Commanders news: Washington team feed] McLaurin can attend meetings and work on rehabilitation exercises with strength and conditioning coaches or athletic trainers. He cannot work with coaches on the field, nor practice in walkthroughs, practices or any 'football activities.' But once he comes off PUP, he would be cleared to do anything. Any slower timeline would be by choice. 'Most times, teams [decide], 'OK, we're going to start on just individual and then go a little bit of team,'' Quinn said. 'So there's usually a self-imposed ramp up after you come off PUP. 'But there doesn't have to be.' How much might McLaurin command? McLaurin signed fan autographs Sunday despite not participating in practice. His take on the rehabilitation plan amid negotiations? 'It's tough,' McLaurin said. 'But it's the business right now, and just trying to take things day by day.' With one year left on his second career contract, McLaurin is due $19.65 million cash this year. He spoke recently about his frustration with the lack of an extension, particularly after McLaurin was a bright spot through five years of Washington football without a winning record. The receiver market has exploded in recent years, with the Cincinnati Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase becoming the first receiver awarded a contract that reached $40 million per year in new money. The Minnesota Vikings gave Justin Jefferson a $35 million per year extension last offseason, just before the Dallas Cowboys awarded CeeDee Lamb $34 million per year. Jefferson's $110 million in guarantees topped the market, Chase's $109.8 million and Lamb's $100 million following suit. It's unlikely the Commanders view those three as realistic comparisons for McLaurin's next deal. While McLaurin has averaged 1,118 receiving yards per 17-game season (he joined the league in the good old days of 16), he's older and has been less prolific than the top-earning trio. McLaurin will turn 30 on Sept. 15; Chase is 25 this season while Lamb and Jefferson are 26. More reasonable comparisons begin with those of McLaurin's 2019 draft classmates, A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf. The Philadelphia Eagles awarded Brown a three-year extension worth $32 million per year with $90 million guaranteed, while the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks in conjunction with a three-year extension worth $32.99 million per year including $80 million in guarantees. The Eagles afforded that while paying quarterback Jalen Hurts, among other stars. The Steelers are getting somewhat of a discount from Aaron Rodgers' $10 million paycheck, but they just gave edge rusher T.J. Watt a record-setting contract worth $41 million per year. The Commanders don't have more than $26 million in salary cap space allocated to any player, thanks in part to Daniels' cost-effective rookie contract. McLaurin's agent, Buddy Baker, was at the Commanders' facility Sunday. Will an extension materialize from the visit? Quinn tried not to focus on the business nor the timelines Sunday, instead lauding the NFC championship berth roster's leading receiver as 'a serious competitor, but a pro's pro.' Quinn said he viewed the return to the facility, even if under restrictions, was encouraging. He said he does not resent McLaurin's business decisions. 'In that space, what I've learned is give people grace,' Quinn said. 'You don't know a coach, a player who's dealing with what how it's affected you. So my No. 1 goal is man, keep the main thing, the main thing between players and coaches. So it's tricky and it's hard.' Slightly less difficult after McLaurin's arrival in Ashburn. 'I'm really pumped that he's here, man,' Quinn said. 'He's such an awesome competitor. 'It was great to see him.'
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Carlos Santana wins race to bag to end 7th
Carlos Santana sprints and slides into first base, beating Maikel Garcia to the bag to end the top of the 7th inning
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tomoyuki Sugano throws 6 sharp innings, Tyler O'Neill homers again to help Orioles beat Rockies 5-1
BALTIMORE (AP) — Tomoyuki Sugano pitched six innings of four-hit ball, Tyler O'Neill homered in a third straight game and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Colorado Rockies 5-1 on Sunday. Dylan Carlson drove in two runs for the Orioles, who followed Saturday night's 18-0 blowout with a more conventional victory in the deciding matchup of a three-game series between last-place clubs. Sugano (8-5) gave up one run, walked two and matched his career high with eight strikeouts. The 35-year-old righty, who signed a one-year contract with Baltimore in December, could be headed to a contender before Friday's trade deadline. Although he was impressive on Sunday, Sugano has yielded 21 homers in 20 games and had a 7.88 ERA over his previous seven starts. After languishing on the injured list from mid-May to early July, O'Neill appears to have found his stroke. Three of his six homers this season came in this series, including a two-run drive in the third inning Sunday off Austin Gomber (0-5) that made it 4-1. Colorado's lone tally came on a solo shot by Warming Bernabel, his first homer in the majors after making his big league debut on Saturday. The Rockies own a 27-78 record, same as the 2024 Chicago White Sox after 105 games. Those White Sox didn't win No. 28 until ending a 21-game skid on Aug. 6, and finished with a single-season record 121 defeats. Key moment Baltimore added a run in the eighth when Gunnar Henderson hustled from second base to home on a wild pitch that catcher Austin Nola was slow to retrieve. Key stat Half of O'Neill's 26 hits this season have gone for extra bases: six homers, six doubles and a triple. In addition, six of his 17 RBIs this season have come in the last three games. Up next Rockies: Bradley Blalock (1-2, 8.67 ERA) starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series at Cleveland. Orioles: Zach Eflin (6-5, 5.78) takes on the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards on Monday night. ___ AP MLB:
