When Kevin Garnett first learnt that the NBA was coming to Abu Dhabi, he made it clear he wanted to play a part in bringing the game over to this part of the world.
One of the greatest power forwards of all time, Garnett, 48, finally made the trip down to the UAE capital as one of the legends invited for the third staging of the NBA Abu Dhabi Games, which fittingly featured his former team, the Boston Celtics, up against the Denver Nuggets.
“I see so many developments going on, and it makes sense to bring the NBA over here, with all the new developments and things growing,” Garnett, who won the 2008 championship with the Celtics, told The National in Abu Dhabi.
“When we were all talking about the development of the game and teaching these young kids, I had a bit of a, not a riff, but I had an opinion about it.
"Because I think that when you bring the game somewhere new, it's important on those first pieces of interaction, how you teach is how a lot of these kids are going to think. So when it came to growing the game over here, I was very vocal about coming over and being able to be part of that.”
Garnett, who announced his retirement in 2016 after 21 seasons in the league, is an NBA champion, former MVP, 15-time All-Star, and Hall-of-Famer.
During his time in Abu Dhabi, he took part in multiple community events, made appearances at the NBA District, taking part in Q&As with fans, and did his best to help spread basketball to the younger generation in the Emirates.
“I hope that we leave a lasting impression that not only we have new basketball fans that can pick up the NBA game, but also want to play it and not only watch it,” said Garnett.
“But, yeah, I'm seeing so much growth throughout the world. And I hope that Abu Dhabi actually embraces basketball. I think it's great for life and sport.”
This past season, the Boston Celtics won a record-breaking 18th NBA title, and their first since Garnett and Co. lifted the trophy in 2008.
They tipped off their pre-season campaign with two wins over the Denver Nuggets during the weekend at Etihad Arena and will be looking to become the first team to successfully defend their NBA title since Golden State Warriors went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
Garnett feels the Celtics have what it takes to become repeat champions.
“It’s about time, right?” Garnett said, referring to the lack of successful title defences in recent years.
“I feel like Boston have all the tools to [defend the title]. When I look at the East, the East has got a lot better with the Knicks and with Philly. But with the two guards up front and how you finish games with Derrick White and [Jrue] Holiday, I think that is really key.
“When I look at these teams [in the East], I don't know if they have that same guard combo to be able to finish games. So yeah, I like the C’s chances, obviously health and a bunch of variables go into it. But for the most part, I like them. I like them, all healthy, I like the Cs.”
White, Holiday, and Jayson Tatum were all part of Team USA that secured the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, backing their NBA triumph with further success on the international stage.
But Tatum, considered one of the biggest stars on the Celtics roster and a key figure behind their historic title run, had a mixed summer as he – to the surprise of many – received limited playing time during the Olympics and wasn’t selected to play in two entire games of the six USA contested in France.
It’s unclear how Tatum’s experience at the Olympics will affect his mentality moving forward but Garnett has his own perspective as to why it wasn’t such a bad thing the 26-year-old didn’t play much at the Games.
“If anything, I think it would encourage him. Anytime you have, what I call like thorns ... you know how you reach for a flower, and there’s just like a bunch of thorns in there? Sometimes things are thorns in your side, but they're also motivating factors that get you over bumps. I look at that like that,” said Garnett.
“I’m actually glad he didn't play a lot of minutes, being able to come off of a Final run and then not really have a vacation or have a summer, and then be able to come in and watch and then be played as needed; I thought that was great for him. I know it probably didn't look great, but he didn't have a real chance to get rest, and rest is important.
“So if anything, I think he'll do fine this year. I think he's going to be encouraged.”
On his part, Tatum appears to be as motivated as ever to help guide the Celtics to a second championship, and in an interview with The National last week, the star forward said he is chasing greatness, and would “absolutely” love to be considered a GOAT – greatest of all time – one day.
“Anything is possible, and he is a very good player, and he has all the tools to be a GOAT,” said Garnett.
“When we sit back and we give a definition of that, that’s just not about basketball, but sometimes it's both sides of the ball, and then it’s the influence off the court.
“I think he has a very, very good narrative off the court. He's a dad, he's a community guy. He's from a tough city like St Louis. I think he's done a great job of seeing where we are at.
“I followed his journey all the way up from Duke to where he's at now. So yeah, Jayson is one of the rare, rare forms of being able to have the ability to be a star, and carry it with confidence and know what that means. So yeah I think he has the tools to do that.”