It was sixteen years ago when Kevin Garnett—overcome with emotion—ripped off his white, black, and Celtics-green 2008 NBA Championship hat and shouted “Anything is possible!” into the heavens. A Larry O’Brien Trophy was the last piece of hardware eluding the Hall of Famer’s bulletproof resume, and helped solidify Garnett as one of the greatest players in NBA history.
That moment has become immortalized, racking up millions and millions of views online, becoming a meme, and even becoming the source of inspiration for fellow Boston Celtic champion, Jayson Tatum. Of course, it can’t be confirmed that Tatum had The Big Ticket on his mind during his celebration—but the similarities are there.
Both of them said a phrase once a bit softly (“Anything is possible” for Garnett and “We did it” for Tatum) as if they were still trying to convince themselves that it actually happened, and then a second time at the top of their lungs for a jam-packed TD Garden crowd to hear. But Garnett isn’t here for the Tatum jokes—he feels that Tatum earned that moment just like he did.
“I thought Jayson Tatum had his own moment, which was dope,” Garnett tells Complex. “As I was watching it, it felt like he was like ‘Oh my god, I get it. Oh my god I see why he said this.’ And then he went on so, I was in that moment with him.”
Those are not the only comparisons that Garnett draws to this year’s Celtics team and his beloved 2008 squad. When asked who he thinks would win between the two teams in a seven game series he gave the “Young Cs” plenty of respect, but pulled no punches, exclaiming that ‘08 would get the job done in an easy five games.
Before Garnett’s championship run in Boston, he spent the majority of his career as a franchise player for the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that has been yearning for a star of his caliber to replace him since he left. Enter Anthony Edwards, a budding Timberwolves superstar with a legitimate chance at becoming not only the face of the franchise, but the face of the NBA.
“I think he should [become the face of the league],” Garnett says. “I think Ant Man is what you want in the face. Ant talks, he talks his shit and he backs it up. And when he's wrong, he's accountable. I love his character. He has a personality.”
On top of his on-court prowess, Edwards and his debut signature shoe, the Adidas AE 1 are taking over the sneaker game, earning the number one spot on the Best Sneakers of 2024 (so far) list. Garnett is no stranger to the sneaker game himself, as the forward repped Nike, Adidas, And1, and more throughout his 20-plus years in the NBA. Notably, Garnett was one of the faces of the Nike Flightposite, a shoe that Nike recently announced the return of during Paris Fashion Week.
“I thought I was fucking Bruce Wayne in that shoe,” Garnett says of the Nike Flightposite. “They gave me an all black pair that looked like Batman. I put those on, and that’s kind of what I thought, I was a superhero.”
Now, like many other former NBA players, Garnett has his own podcast, KG Certified, which he confidently says sticks out from the rest of the NBA pods out there. “We think differently,” Garnett says. Complex caught up with Garnett in Jersey City, New Jersey at the BetMGM headquarters to discuss the KG Certified podcast, Anthony Edwards, KG’s sneaker history, and much more.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
You’re one of the faces of BetMGM, can you speak to what it's like working with them and having them as a partner?
MGM is dope. The brand's logo is a lion, you know what I'm saying? That fits, right? Where I'm at with things, I like to think that the partnership is a cohesive one and where we both think along the same lines of new content and what we put out, the integrity of the brand, the integrity of the content and what we're putting out is important.
In the same vein, podcasts are really taking center stage in the sports world, BetMGM’s KG Certified is only getting bigger and bigger, what separates you from the rest of the pack?
I wouldn't necessarily say KG Certified is better. I just think that we're different and I think that some of the stuff we talk about just has different views. Shout to everybody that's out there that's doing endless work that's giving their views on things. But KG Certified, we think differently and we're going for different things.
Obviously the Boston Celtics just won the NBA title for the first time since you hoisted the trophy in 2008, what’s it like seeing the Larry O’Brien trophy back in Boston?
It's dope, man. Dope to have the trophy back in Boston. It's dope to have the road go back through Boston. It's going to be a very, very interesting summer and probably an even more interesting season coming up in 2024-25, but everybody is trying to catch up now, so it should be dope.
It seemed like the Celtics were the best team all season and they were the favorites to win, but for some reason people doubted them, whether it was they didn't want them to win or they really truly doubted it. Why do you think that was? Was it just an anti-Celtic agenda?
That's part of anything, man. Especially when you're playing King of the Hill. Everybody's supposed to doubt you. It's a lot of hurdles, a lot of components go into it when you win. A lot of components go into it when you lose. Upon that whole journey, there's going to be doubters, there’s going to be pitfalls, all of it. That's what makes the winning so sweet though.
So Jayson might not have won an NBA finals MVP, but where do you think he ranks now on the all-time Celtics list?
Man, Jayson Tatum has just started. Him and Jaylen Brown, they just started that journey. You know what I'm saying? They went through enough to where they built up a certain rapport for them to actually get over the hump. Now they're over the hump, they're king of the mountain. Now it's time for them to settle in. They have a special chance of being able to grow this and create their legacy.
Jayson kind of reenacted your “anything is possible” celebration a bit during his postgame interview and the internet is on him for copying other famous moments, what is your reaction to that?
I thought Jayson Tatum had his own moment, which was dope. As I was watching it, it felt like he was like “Oh my god, I get it. Oh my god I see why he said this.” And then he went on so I was in that moment with him. Shout to JT man for having his own and winning that ship and bringing banner 18 home. Shout to the whole city. It’s a green summer.
Who do you think would win a seven-game series? This year’s team or your team in ‘08?
I'm gonna always go ‘08, you know what I'm saying? But it's all love. I respect these young boys and how they play. I respect the pace that they play at. I respect their shot making and their ability and they’re fun to watch. Shout to the young C’s man, the Champs.
How many games would ‘08 win in?
Five. [Winks.]
So moving over to Minnesota a little bit, Anthony Edwards.
Anthony Edwards is him. He is must-see TV. He’s it. Shout to Ant-Man doing his thing, man. Straight up.
Anthony Edwards seems to have a serious opportunity to become the face of the NBA. How important is he to the league and just how good do you think he can be?
I think he should. I think Ant-Man is what you want in the face. Ant talks, he talks his shit and he backs it up. And when he's wrong, he's accountable. I love his character. He has a personality.
He has that personality that you want your team to take on. He plays both sides of the ball. His fucking energy's infectious. I love how he scratches every time, he’s a real dog at this shit, man. You want your face to lead, to have all those things that he has. So yeah, shout to Ant-Man doing his thing.
The Olympics are coming up. He's obviously on the team. It feels like a real opportunity for him to have a global coming out party. We obviously know how he is here. Do you think that he's going to step up to that pressure of being on the global stage?
I think the opportunity with the Olympics, it's not even going to be global. I think it’s going to be universal. I think people in space are going to watch this shit. You feel me? You're going to see Ant-Man do his thing along with the other guys that are on the USA team. I feel USA is going to win gold, but man, it's going to be tough playing in Paris and playing against the French. You know what I'm saying? It should be a fun Olympics.
Adidas has really done a great job with Ant’s first signature shoe with the marketing and everything behind it. Do you like the AE 1? Has Ant sent you a pair?
Yeah, Adidas sent me, Ant actually sent me some Timberwolves blue AE 1s man. So I want to shout out Anthony; that was on his team and Adidas for sending me some shoes. I appreciate that, the shoe is hot too.
I’m not sure if you saw, but Jordan dropped an ad after the Celtics won that kind of took shots at Adidas and Ant, what are your thoughts on sneaker brands taking shots at each other?
I love it [laughs]. I love the competition. I love the gamesmanship. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it all, real shit. So it was a little orange underneath there?
Yea, the same color as your shirt actually.
I love it. That's funny. It’s needed, you know what I'm saying? That's all in good fun, man, it’s all in good fun. And if I'm being honest, man, it's needed. The industry is too fucking, everybody's too up in their ass. You know what I'm saying? N*ggas need to relax. It's a competition.
Who in the league would you most want to post up? And then who would you most want to defend in a post up situation?
Embiid. Embiid is like Shaq. I've never seen a guy the size of Shaq, but have handles and have KD [ability]—you know what I'm saying? I would love to play Embiid. I obviously worked him out a couple of times and have done some things with his development. But Joker looks like he’d be fun to play against and Embiid looks like he’d be fun to play against. Those two stand out right away.
Back in 1999 you were in a Nike Flightposite commercial. I’m not sure if you saw, but Nike just announced the return of the Flightposite during Paris Fashion Week. Are you excited for that shoe to come back?
First off, shout to the Flightposite. You know what I'm saying? Nike holler at me, you feel me? But yeah, I think it's dope for it to be coming back out. I think when that shoe came out, it was such a different shoe. It was such a different, yeah, it was a different energy from all the other shoes that you saw. I thought I was fucking Bruce Wayne in that shoe. They gave me an all-black pair that looked like, like Batman. I put those on, and that’s kind of what I thought, I was a superhero and played out of my mind in those. But yeah, it was a very comfortable shoe. One of the more dope shoes I've worn with Nike. And yeah, shout to the Flightposite man.
A lot of people can say they’ve had their name on a shoe, but not a lot of people can say they’ve had their actual face on a shoe like you can with the TS Commander. How did you and Adidas come to the decision for your face to be on that shoe?
Those shoes represented the apex of where I was at and me having a chance to capture the championship and be part of that. Adidas and I collaboratively thought that putting my face on those shoes, having it being commemorated by the trophy was a dope idea. And yeah, we won it that year and that was the only face on the shoe.
One more for you. There's a bit of a stigma in the sneaker industry, that big man can't sell shoes anymore. Victor Wembanyama with Nike obviously is getting his own shoe. Do you think he's going to be able to break that mold and sell his own sneaker?
I think the cooler you are, the cooler your shoe is. And I think that we are all infatuated with Victor's play. And I think that as he grows as a young player and continues to wow us and take us outside of this box and continue to be this great alien that he wants to be, I think as long as Nike puts out dope shit and dope product to follow it along with merchandise. I think he'll do well. He's cool. He's on the apex.
